§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details of the number of drink-driving offences committed in each of the areas of the United Kingdom for each of the past 36 months.
§ Mr. John Patten[holding answer 25 July 1988]: I have been asked to reply.
The available information relates to convictions for drink-driving offences, which for England and Wales is published annually, by police force area, in "Offences Relating to Motor Vehicles, England and Wales, Supplementary Tables", at table 16 of the issue for 1986, copies of which are in the Library. Information is not collected centrally on the date on which the offences occurred and a breakdown of these figures by month of court appearance would involve disproportionate cost. Information for 1987 will be published later this year.
I understand from my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland that the corresponding information on convictions in Scotland and Northern Ireland is as shown in the following table.
Numbers Scotland1 Northern Ireland2 1984 13,600 n/a 1985 13,600 3,100 1986 13,100 3,000 1987 312,400 3,000 n/a—Not available. 1 Number of offences where the charge was proved. 2 Number found guilty where this was the principal offence. 3 Provisional figure.