§ Mr. DavidsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what statistics his Department collates on the interval between a report on an accused person being received by the procurator fiscal and the accused person's first appearance in court; and if he will provide the statistics for the year 1993–94, 1994–95 and 1995–96. [6554]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonI am informed by my noble and learned Friend the Lord Advocate that the Crown Office records the average time between (1) receipt of a report and service of a complaint and (2) service of a complaint and the pleading diet. These records do not relate to solemn proceedings, custody cases or cases where the accused was released on an undertaking. The figures for 1993 to 1996 are as follows:
Average number of weeks between receipt of report and service of complaint Average number of weeks between service of complaint and pleading diet Offices Number Offices Number 1993–94 Regional 8 All 4 Other 4 1994–95 Regional 6.5 All 4 Other 5 1995–96 All 5 All 4
§ Mr. DavidsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what statistics his Department collates on the interval between the pleading diet and the trial diet in the sheriff court; and if he will provide the statistics for the years 1993–94, 1994–95 and 1995–96.[6553]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe subject of the question relates to matters undertaken by the Scottish Court Service. I have asked its chief executive, Mr. M. Ewart, to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Michael Ewart to Mr. Ian Davidson, dated 2 December 1996:
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the interval between the pleading diet and the trial diet in the Sheriff Court.Average figures for the waiting period between pleading and trial diet for summary criminal cases in each of the Sheriff Courts for each of the years 1993–94, 1994–95 and 1995–96 are shown in the attached table below.556WThe figures for 1995–96 were published in the Scottish Court Service Annual Report and Accounts which was placed in the House of Commons Library earlier this year. I am also enclosing a copy with this letter. We will be including similar statistics in our Annual Report and Accounts in the future.I hope that this is helpful.557W
Period between pleading diet and trial diet Summary Criminal (weeks)—Average 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 Aberdeen 14 14 12 Airdrie 15 15 12 Alloa 9 10 11 Arbroath 11 13 13 Ayr 12 11 13 Banff 13 8 9 Campbeltown 9 10 11 Cupar 12 11 11 Dingwall 12 11 10 Dornoch 9 11 10 Dumbarton 10 11 10 Dumfries 11 12 11 Dundee 15 16 12 Dunfermline 13 12 12 Dunoon 9 13 11 Duns 10 9 11 Edinburgh 10 11 13 Elgin 9 10 11 Falkirk 15 12 12 Forfar 10 9 8 Fort William 15 13 16 Glasgow 23 26 28 Greenock 10 14 12 Haddington 14 13 10 Hamilton 14 16 19 Inverness 11 12 12 Jedburgh 11 10 12 Kilmarnock 11 11 11 Kirkcaldy 12 11 10 Kirkcudbright 11 11 10 Kirkwall 8 9 9 Lanark 11 12 13 Lerwick 7 8 8 Linlithgow 18 22 30 Lochmaddy 12 7 10 Oban 12 12 10 Paisley 14 15 13 Peebles 11 11 12 Perth 9 13 14 Peterhead 16 14 14
Period between pleading diet and trial diet summary Criminal (weeks)—Average 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 Portree 8 9 8 Rothesay 9 10 9 Selkirk 9 11 11 Stirling 12 12 13 Stonehaven 10 11 11 Stornoway 12 11 10 Stranraer 10 11 10 Tain 11 10 11 Wick 11 12 11