HC Deb 13 May 1993 vol 224 c553W
Mr. Dalyell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to reduce the time spent by police officers attending court which turn out to be unnecessary because they are not called as witnesses.

Mr. Charles Wardle

The implementation of the recommendations of the working group on pre-trial issues which are aimed at increasing the efficiency of the whole pre-trial process will affect this. The recommendations include improved court listing procedures and greater emphasis on pre-trial hearings. The package of measures should significantly reduce the number of occasions on which police officers attend court for no useful purpose.