§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if electronic surveillance schemes will be used in court areas in England and Wales which have bail information schemes.
§ Mr. John PattenNo bail information schemes, as normally defined, are operating within the three electronic monitoring areas.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it will be possible for participants in the electronic surveillance schemes in England and Wales to remove the equipment during the course of the pilot project.
§ Mr. John PattenYes, but any removal of the equipment will be readily detectable.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if telephones will be installed, or homes provided in appropriate cases, for participants in electronic surveillance schemes.
§ Mr. John PattenIf a participant who is otherwise suitable does not have a telephone, one will be installed, free of charge. But it will not be possible for him to use it in the normal way: it will provide solely for communication with the central monitoring station through electronic barring at the telephone exchange. The trials will proceed on the basis that participants must be resident in the petty sessional division concerned or be able to make suitable arrangements for such residence during any period of electronic monitoring.
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§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what will be the maximum length of time that a participant can expect to spend tagged in an electronic surveillance scheme in England and Wales.
§ Mr. John PattenThe information is not available in the form requested. The period for which a participant may be monitored will depend on a number of factors, including whether the case is committed for trial to the Crown court. In such a case the average waiting time from first appearance to completion at magistrates' courts in 1988 was eight weeks. The average time from committal to a Crown court to the start of the case was 12.2 weeks.