§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Attorney—General whether he will publish in the Official Report as much detailed information as may be readily available giving the number of criminal trials that have taken place, for the longest and most convenient stated period of time and the legal costs involved in each case, the amounts of costs to the national Exchequer, the number of days or hours spent on each trial and the costs in total on a per diem or weekly basis.
The Solicitor-GeneralThe number of criminal trials on indictment in the Crown court which took place in 1979, the latest period for which complete figures are available was, 46,451. Information about the duration of each trial cannot readily be supplied, but the average duration of trial was 4.5 hours. Information in the form requested about the legal costs of each case and the proportion of costs borne by the national Exchequer could be provided only at disproportionate expense. The total expenditure on legal aid for criminal proceedings in the higher courts in the financial year 1979–1980 was £32.2 million and that from central funds—including expenditure on committal proceedings—was £18.8 million.