§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many Crown court centres have(a) separate waiting areas and (b) separate eating facilities for victims and their families; and what plans he has to increase the number of Crown court centres with these facilities. [34880]
§ Mr. StreeterThe 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.
Letter from Michael Huebner to Mr. Jim Cunningham, dated 4 July 1996:
The Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, has asked me to reply to your Question about the provision of separate waiting and eating facilities in Crown Courts for victims and their families.Of the 92 Crown Court centres, 79 provide separate witness and/or special witness waiting rooms. These are specifically for the use of victims appearing as prosecution witnesses. No Crown Court has designated eating facilities for victims or their families and there are currently no plans to provide them.It would be difficult to increase the number of existing Crown Courts with permanent separate waiting facilities because of the physical constraints of the buildings themselves. However, all new Crown and Combined Courts include an area to give privacy to victims/prosecution witnesses while waiting to give evidence. One waiting area is provided for each criminal courtroom. Where there are no permanent separate waiting areas, special arrangements can be made for victims and their families should the need arise.