§ Mr. StrawTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to his reply of 14 February,Official Report,column 354,what was the number of defendants (a) on bail and (b) in custody, who waited (i) less than eight weeks and (ii) less than 16 weeks before being dealt with. [17622]
§ Mr. StreeterThe question concerns a matter which has been assigned to the Court Service under the terms of its framework document. I have therefore asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from M. D. Huebner to Mr. Jack Straw, dated 3 March 1997:
The Parliamentary Secretary has asked me to reply to your Question about the waiting times for defendants on bail and in custody committed for trial to the Crown Court in 1996.
0–8 weeks 0–16 weeks Bail 16,409 21,120 Custody 29,728 45,019