§ Mr. SweeneyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will give, in table form, for each Crown court in England and Wales in 1971, 1981 and 1991(a) the number of defendants tried (b) the number of defendants found guilty, (c) the number of defendants acquitted and (d) the number of defendants discharged after the trial has been halted on the orders of the judge.
Mr. John M. TaylorFigures for individual Crown court centres are not held prior to 1986. The only figures available are those set out in tables 1 to 4. Tables 1 to 3 provide the information by circuit for the years 1976, 1981 and 1991 respectively, and table 4 for each Crown court centre in 1991.
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Plea of Not Guilty to all counts Plea of Not Guilty to some counts Circuit Total Acquitted Convicted Total Acquitted Convicted Acquittal directed by judge England and Wales 30,533 17,760 12,773 4,085 1,479 2,606 3,709 544W545W
Table 4:Crown court: Defendants dealt with by trial during 1991 by court and circuit Plea of not guilty to all counts Plea of not guilty to some counts Court/Circuit Total Acquitted Convicted Total Acquitted Convicted Acquittal directed by judge Midland and Oxford 4,054 2,449 1,605 607 354 253 583 Birmingham 732 458 274 164 128 36 186 Coventry 95 59 36 30 11 19 18 Northampton 307 153 154 46 21 25 26 Oxford 166 100 66 66 32 34 36 Peterborough 162 102 60 73 65 8 87 Warwick 192 98 94 44 36 8 38 Derby 338 218 120 10 5 5 30 Grimsby 72 33 39 30 24 6 21 Leicester 187 120 67 16 5 11 28 Lincoln 137 100 37 1 1 0 6 Nottingham 452 331 121 42 10 32 24 Dudley/Wolverhampton 494 251 243 13 2 11 27 Shrewsbury 119 58 61 15 4 11 9 Stafford 262 167 95 16 1 15 26 Stoke-on-Trent 188 120 68 13 6 7 15 Worcester 151 81 70 28 3 25 6 North Eastern 2,743 1,480 1,263 357 183 174 397 Leeds 880 386 494 44 15 29 78 Wakefield 116 83 33 9 5 4 14 Huddersfield 117 74 43 6 2 4 15 Durham 107 67 40 23 4 19 15 Newcastle 404 199 205 213 142 71 154 Teesside 328 164 164 19 7 12 36 Beverley/Kingston- upon-Hull 148 96 52 3 2 1 15 Doncaster 116 66 50 6 2 4 21 Sheffield 357 218 139 25 3 22 30 York 170 127 43 9 1 8 19 Northern Circuit 3,134 1,841 1,293 417 58 359 419 Liverpool 1,085 548 537 72 1 71 101 Bolton 371 224 147 6 1 5 27 Manchester 973 579 394 286 40 246 174 Burnley 123 96 27 35 13 22 20 Carlisle 149 103 46 5 1 4 21 Preston 433 291 142 13 2 11 76 South Eastern (London) 8,748 5,353 3,395 641 310 331 904 Harrow/Acton 612 412 200 15 9 6 55 c.c.c. 974 505 469 86 34 52 98 I.L.S.H. 1,580 1,020 560 118 59 59 136 Knightsbridge 1,155 633 522 50 19 31 92 Middlesex Guildhall 812 511 301 47 16 31 68 Snaresbrook 1,888 1,116 772 163 76 87 182 Southwark 1,020 691 329 91 61 30 169 Wood Green 707 465 242 71 36 35 104 South Eastern (Provinces) 7,106 4,047 3,059 1,366 257 1,109 821 Cambridge 113 51 62 23 4 19 13 Chelmsford 604 352 252 46 10 36 60 Ipswich 237 151 86 40 15 25 19 St. Albans 501 241 260 67 13 54 28 Luton 120 55 65 11 2 9 11 Norwich 300 191 109 27 14 13 41 Aylesbury 260 116 144 136 0 136 22 Guildford 283 174 109 89 17 72 43 Isleworth 893 520 373 298 0 298 112 Kingston-upon-Thames 779 410 369 108 2 106 38 Reading 366 212 154 224 0 224 36 Canterbury 241 136 105 33 20 13 38 Chichester 205 131 74 58 39 19 41 Croydon 1,055 643 421 82 51 31 135
Plea of not guilty to all counts Plea of not guilty to some counts Court/Circuit Total Acquitted Convicted Total Acquitted Convicted Acquittal directed by judge Lewes 379 240 139 63 44 19 82 Maidstone 770 424 346 61 26 35 102 Wales and Chester 2,032 952 1,080 173 42 131 141 Cardiff 505 276 229 34 5 29 25 Carmarthen 50 21 29 5 1 4 4 Haverfordwest 15 10 5 1 1 0 1 Merthyr Tydfil 173 109 64 10 10 0 24 Newport 208 113 95 6 0 6 18 Swansea 508 195 313 34 15 19 25 Caernarvon 67 33 34 20 0 20 5 Chester 188 70 118 28 7 21 10 Dolgellau 7 4 3 0 0 0 1 Knutsford 54 14 40 9 0 9 1 Mold 162 61 101 13 1 12 19 Warrington 75 35 40 11 1 10 6 Welshpool 20 11 9 2 1 1 2 Western 2,716 1,638 1,078 524 275 249 444 Bristol 550 307 243 133 46 87 90 Gloucester 123 71 52 2 1 1 11 Swindon 165 91 74 63 16 47 22 Barnstaple 38 20 18 10 5 5 6 Truro 91 65 26 12 10 2 13 Exeter 234 163 71 120 88 32 77 Plymouth 151 104 47 22 16 6 23 Taunton 125 77 48 17 7 10 21 Bournemouth 173 89 84 26 7 19 21 Dorchester 53 24 29 7 2 5 3 Newport (Isle of Wight) 72 52 20 10 9 1 20 Portsmouth 316 190 126 17 4 13 27 Salisbury 44 32 12 6 3 3 4 Southampton 298 170 128 8 4 4 37 Winchester 283 183 100 71 57 14 69 England and Wales 30,533 17,760 12,773 4,085 1,479 2,606 3,709
§ Mr. SweeneyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will give for each Crown court in England and Wales in 1971, 1981 and 1991, the average time and number of court appearances for defendants sent for trial from charge to completion of proceedings.
Mr. John M. TaylorInformation on waiting times for individual Crown court centres is not available prior to 1986. The only data available are set out in tables 1 and 2. Table 1 shows, by circuit, the average waiting time in weeks between committal to the Crown court for trial and start of hearing for the years 1972, 1981 and 1991. Table 2 shows the equivalent figures for each Crown court centre in 1991. Information on the number of court appearances is not collected.
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Table 1: Crown Court: Defendants committed for trial average waiting times (weeks) Circuit 1972 1981 1991 England and Wales 11.2 15.7 12.6 Midland and Oxford 6.3 10.1 9.2 North Eastern 8.3 8.3 13.5 Northern 7.3 13.9 11.1 South Eastern: London 22.7 25.6 15 9 Provinces 8.3 20.8 14.3 Wales and Chester 9.6 10.1 8.1 Western 6.8 10.2 13.7 547W
Table 2 Crown court: Defendants committed for trial—1991 Average waiting times (weeks)—Committals for trial Weeks Midland and Oxford Circuit 9.24 Birmingham 9.78 Coventry 10.48 Northampton 9.64 Oxford 10.76 Peterborough 5.15 Warwick 6.82 Derby 9.86 Grimsby 11.11 Leicester 8.87 Lincoln 9.83 11.52 Dudley/Wolverhampton 7.07 Shrewsbury 11.56 Stafford 6.73 Stoke-on-Trent 8.78 Worcester 10.89 North Eastern Circuit 13.54 Leeds 15.85 Wakefield 11.69 Huddersfield 12.12 Durham 8.20 Newcastle 13.27 Teesside 12.91 Beverley/Kingston-upon-Hull 11.93 Doncaster 11.61 Sheffield 15.89 York 13.20 Northern Circuit 11.12 Liverpool 10.32
Weeks Bolton 13.53 Manchester 11.91 Burnley 11.43 Carlisle 14.98 Preston 9.13 South East Circuit (London) 16.05 Harrow/Acton 16.07 c.c.c. 15.47 I.L.S.H. 13.57 Knightsbridge 12.66 Middlesex Guildhall 17.60 Snaresbrook 17.56 Southwark 16.70 Wood Green 21.33 South East Circuit (Province) 14.30 Cambridge 11.34 Chelmsford 17.08 Ipswich 18.32 St. Albans 13.20 Luton 14.47 Norwich 17.34 Aylesbury 11.83 Guildford 19.09 Isleworth 9.59 Kingston-upon-Thames 12.13 Reading 12.33 Canterbury 9.90 Chichester 11.67 Croydon 15.26 Lewes 17.03 Maidstone 14.77 Wales and Chester Circuit 8.07 Cardiff 5.52 Carmarthen 8.80 Haverfordwest 6.89 Merthry Tydfil 11.60 Newport 10.63 Swansea 6.65 Caernarvon 10.37 Chester 7.99 Dolgellau 11.75 Knutsford 8.35 Mold 8.79 Warrington 11.11 Welshpool 12.06 Western Circuit 13.63 Bristol 15.26 Gloucester 13.12 Swindon 9.75 Barnstaple 11.02 Truro 9.57 Exeter 13.12 Plymouth 9.21 Taunton 11.77 Bournemouth 13.78 Dorchester 13.97 Newport (Isle of Wight) 12.66 Portsmouth 10.79 Salisbury 18.26 Southampton 16.46 Winchester 20.96 England and Wales 12.56