§ Mr. DavidsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what statistics the Government collect on the interval between a report being made to, or received by, the procurator fiscal and a court appearance for offences or groups of offences in Scotland. [6104]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonMy noble and learned Friend the Lord Advocate informs me that the Crown Office collects information in summary proceedings on the average time between (1) receipt of a report and service of a complaint and (2) service of the complaint and the pleading diet. Between April and September 1996 the average time taken to serve a complaint was 5.1 weeks in the sheriff court and five weeks in the district court. Between April and October 1996 the average time between service of the complaint and the pleading diet was four weeks in both the sheriff and district courts.
§ Mr. DavidsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the maximum permissible time between a charge being made by the police, or a report being made to the procurator fiscal on the procedure for a court appearance being otherwise inactivated and the case reaching court for(a) murder, (b) assault, (c) class A drug trafficking, (d) burglary, (e) lesser drug offences and (f) other. [6105]
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: There is no statutory time limit within which proceedings for common law offences such as murder, assault and theft by housebreaking must be taken. A plea in bar of trial may be sustained, however, where there has been undue delay which has caused grave prejudice to the accused. Section 136 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 makes provision for the commencement of proceedings for statutory offences triable only summarily. Proceedings must be commenced within six months after the contravention occurred, unless the enactment fixes a different time limit. Summary proceedings for contraventions of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 must be commenced within 12 months from the time when the offence was committed—section 25(5).