HC Deb 09 December 1983 vol 50 cc285-6W
Mr. Dewar

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how long the fine collection experiment has been in operation at Airdrie sheriff court; how many staff were employed in connection with the scheme; and what was the cost of the scheme for the latest convenient period.

Mr. Younger

Two fines enforcement officers have been employed at Airdrie sheriff court since November 1980 when the experiment began. The approximate cost of the experiment in Airdrie for the period November 1980 to March 1983 including salaries, basic staff costs, accommodation expenses and travel expenses, is £53,000.

Mr. Dewar

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the date for the ending of the fine collection experiment at Airdrie sheriff court; and whether he will continue this scheme on a permanent basis.

Mr. Younger

The experiment is due to end on 31 December 1983. Its effect upon the fines enforcement process is being evaluated, and I shall be considering the case for a permanent scheme of this kind in Scotland.

Mr. Dewar

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he can make any estimate of the impact of the fine collection experiment presently being conducted at Airdrie sheriff court in terms of the percentage of fines that remain unpaid at a set lapse of time after imposition.

Mr. Younger

Information from the experiment is still being evaluated, but preliminary findings in this respect are encouraging.

Mr. Dewar

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many persons fines were imposed in Airdrie sheriff court during the period in which the fine collection experiment has been in operation to the latest convenient date; how many of these served a prison sentence as the result of the non-payment of such fines; and if he will publish comparable figures from Airdrie sheriff court in a similar period prior to the introduction of this experiment and for Scotland as a whole.

Mr. Younger

The experiment began in November 1980 but since the first few months were largely taken up with training of the personnel involved the effective start of the experiment has been taken as January 1981. Since full set of figures requested is not yet available for 1983, the table gives figures for the two year periods 1979–80 and 1981–82. For each of these periods the table shows the number of persons, excluding companies, fined and the number received into prison establishments in default of payment of fine. Because of lags, the number of fines defaulters received in prison in either period is not directly comparable with the number of people fined during that period. During the experiment, fines defaulters were traced through the enforcement process in Airdrie and, simultaneously, in a control area. The results of this. when available, will give a more accurate measure for the effects of the scheme.

Comparisons between the two periods are also subject to the effects of strikes by court staff, particularly in Airdrie in 1979, and the changing balance of prosecutions between sheriff and district courts, where the pattern of find defaulters is different. The figures for persons fined and fines defaulters include those who were given no time to pay by the courts and who therefore are outside the scope of the experiment. The number who were given no time to pay and who paid is not available. These factors indicate the need for a full evaluation of the experiment before drawing conclusions from it.

Persons fined and persons received into penal establishments in default of payment of a fine
Airdrie Sheriff Court All courts in Scotland
January 1981–December 1982
Persons fined 7,532 357,495
Persons received into penal establishments in default of payment of a fine 211 16,207
January 1979–December 1980
Persons fined 9,348 379,131
Persons received into penal establishments in default of payment of a fine 207 13,416

Mr. Dewar

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a report on the fine collection experiment presently being conducted at Airdrie sheriff court.

Mr. Younger

I hope to publish the main findings of the experiment once its evaluation is complete.