§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received this year on miscarriages of justice; and what plans he has to speed up his Department's investigations into such cases.
§ Mr. Jack[holding answer 17 November 1992]: The Home Office regularly receives a large number of letters which raise the general subject of miscarriages of justice; but no count is kept of this correspondence. Departmental workload statistics show that between 1 January and 30 September 1992, 589 pieces of correspondence were received alleging wrongful conviction in particular cases. This figure may include some further representations by the same correspondent about the same case. This figure does not include representations received about individual cases which have become the subject of concerted campaigns. All representations are considered carefully and as quickly as their complexity and available resources will allow. The number of staff allocated to this work has been increased this year from 16 to 20—an increase of 25 per cent. Staffing is kept under regular review.