§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Attorney-General (1) what is the number and percentage of cases that have been(a) discontinued and (b) written off in magistrates courts in England and Wales in each year since 1986; and if he will make a statement; [10920]
(2) what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of cases written off in table 6.2 of "Criminal Statistics England and Wales for 1995"; and if he will make a statement. [10921]
The Attorney GeneralThe information requested is available in a consistent format only from 1991 when the present method of recording was adopted. Figures since that date were as follows:
In most cases the reason for discontinuance is that it becomes impossible to proceed further because, for example, key witnesses fail to appear at court, refuse to give evidence or change their story; because defendants produce driving documents at court and so establish their 535W innocence; or because of evidential gaps in the prosecution case which cannot be filled by the police. Whenever possible, in practice in around 75 per cent. of such cases, the Crown Prosecution Service will consult the police before discontinuance and a survey in 1994 showed that the police objected initially to discontinuance in only 4 per cent. of cases when consulted.