§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the recommended period that a defendant can be held in custody before Crown court trial; if he will indicate the trend in achieving this target; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John M. TaylorPursuant to the Prosecution of Offences (Custody Time Limits) Regulations 1987, the maximum period of time an individual may be held in custody between committal for trial and arraignment is 112 days—16 weeks. The table shows the trend in achieving the limit. In addition, the Department sets custody waiting time targets which are 12 weeks in London, 10 weeks in the south-eastern area and eight weeks elsewhere in England and Wales.
Custody waiting times Percentage of defendants dealt with within 16 weeks Average waiting time (weeks) 1989 84 10.1 1990 84 10.0 1991 84 10.0 11992 82 11.1 11993 77.1 12.59 1 Provisional figures.