§ Mr. Dubsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many inquests there have been in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years; and how many of them were held with a jury.
§ Mr. RaisonThe information is as follows:
Year Number of inquests Thousands Of which, number of inquests with a jury 1970 24.8 8.0 1971 24.4 7.8 1972 24.2 7.5 1973 24.6 7.6 1974 23.8 7.2 1975 23.4 6.6 1976 23.4 6.7 1977 22.7 6.0 1978* 23.6 1.1 1979* 23.7 0.9 * Section 56 of the Criminal Law Act 1977, which came into force on 1 January 1978, abolished the mandatory jury in cases of homicide and road traffic deaths.