§ 90. Mr. Hobdenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek to alter the law, in the light of the recommendations of the Association of Municipal Corporations, so that the cost of prosecutions undertaken by the Director of Public Prosecutions, either directly or using a local agent, should be borne by the Exchequer.
§ Miss BaconMy right hon. Friend recognises that there could be instances in which the costs of particular prosecutions would bear hardly on the local authority concerned, but he does not consider that the nature of the prosecution should determine who should pay the costs. The incidence of prosecution costs, which my right hon. Friend recognises to be a problem, is best considered in the context of the studies that are currently being made in connection with local government finance generally.