HC Deb 14 June 1972 vol 838 c339W
102. Mr. Dell

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what re cent study he has made of the proportion and number of men and women sentenced to imprisonment by the magistrates' courts and higher courts, separately, who were legally represented; and with what result.

Mr. Carlisle

Because grants of legal aid have been increasing so rapidly, this has not been thought to be a good time to study the relationship of legal representation to the outcome of criminal trials. Since, however, over three times as many defendants are granted legal aid in magistrates' courts as are sentenced to immediate imprisonment and nearly all defendants appearing before the Crown Court are represented, the proportion of unrepresented defendants sentenced to imprisonment is now likely to be very small.