§ Mr. ConnartyTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what estimate he has made of the average time elapsed between persons being charged and coming to summary trial in each of the past five years. [67826]
705W
§ Mr. HoonThe exact information requested is not available. The Lord Chancellor's Department Time Intervals Survey provides the nearest available information. This survey collects information on the duration of criminal cases proceeded against in magistrates courts three times a year. The February, June and October surveys cover indictable cases (including triable either way); the June survey also collects data on summary cases.
The date of coming to summary trial is not recorded by the Time Intervals Survey. The nearest alternative collected by the survey is the date of verdict which the survey defines as including the date of a guilty or not guilty verdict (where there is a full trial), and the date of the acceptance of a guilty plea (where a guilty plea is entered).
For the June 1998 sample week, the survey found that the average time from charge to verdict for defendants in summary proceedings was 62 days. This figures excludes defendants where proceedings were initiated by summons and defendants in proceedings that were withdrawn or discontinued. The figure of 62 days for June 1998 compares with 67 days in each of June 1997, June 1996 and June 1995, and 65 days in June 1994.