§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the average delay in waiting for court cases in London(a) in Crown courts and (b) in magistrates courts calculated from the charging by police of an alleged offender. [21896]
Mr. John M. TaylorIn the magistrates courts the average time taken in London in 1994, for indictable-triable either-way offences from charge or summons to first listing was 25 days and the average time taken from first listing to completion was 54 days.
In relation to the Crown courts, the question concerns a specific operational matter on which the chief executive of the Court Service is best placed to provide an answer and I have accordingly asked the chief executive to reply direct.
208WLetter front M. D. Huebner to Mrs. Barbara Roche, dated 1 May 1995:
The Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, has asked me to reply to your Question about the waiting time for criminal court cases in London.I should explain that I cannot provide information on Magistrates' Courts, which are not part of the Court Service; I understand that the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department will respond separately with the information you requested.So far as the Crown Court is concerned, waiting times are measured from the date the defendant is first committed from the Magistrates Court to the date the defendant enters a guilty plea to all charges or the jury is sworn in at the trial. For the 3 months ending 31 March 1995, the average waiting time in the London Crown Courts was 15.37 weeks.