§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the lapse of time between the charging of persons arrested for serious offences in Northern Ireland and the start of their trial has been shortened since 1 September 1994, in comparison with previous periods.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office (Baroness Denton of Wakefield)Information is not available in the particular form requested. Data on time awaiting trial are not kept on a month-by-month basis. I can, however, assure the noble Lord that the Government take a serious view of delay in bringing cases to trial. As he may know, a system of administrative time limits has been operating since 1992, aimed at reducing the time defendants spend in custody awaiting trial on indictment.
On 6 December last year, in reply to a question from my noble friend Lord Lyell (Official Report, col. WA 80) I reported on the scheme's first two years of operation. I can now report on the first three years, up to 30 June 1995. Over this period, 81 per cent. of defendants in custody awaiting trial for the most serious "scheduled" offences were arraigned within the target of 11 months. The average time to process such defendants was 37 weeks, 7 weeks quicker than before the start of the scheme. Ninety-six per cent. of non-scheduled defendants in custody also met the target, the average time being 29 weeks.
Important improvements have also been recorded in the period between arraignment and start of trial. Between 1993 and the second quarter of 1995, the average wait for scheduled defendants fell from 28 weeks to 17 weeks and for non-scheduled defendants from 11 weeks to 6 weeks.
Despite these gains, the Government recognise that there is room for improvement. My right honourable and learned friend the Secretary of State has accordingly decided that the administrative time limits scheme should continue and that, with effect from 1 November 1995, the overall target should be tightened from 11 months to 10 months through a corresponding reduction from 267 days to 237 days in the time limit between first remand and committal. The Northern Ireland Office in conjunction with other agencies in the criminal justice field, also continues to examine further ways in which procedures may be streamlined.