HC Deb 15 June 1999 vol 333 cc96-7W
Sir Nicholas Lyell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will estimate the proportion of cases where trial by jury having been denied by the magistrates, refused by the Crown Court, and having given rise to a subsequent conviction in the magistrates court, are then likely to be appealed to the Crown Court; and if he will estimate the total cost involved in such cases; [86762]

  1. (2) what is his estimate of the cost of appeals to the Crown Court by defendants to whom the magistrates have refused to accede to their request for jury trial in respect of either way offences; and how such overall estimated cost has been calculated; [86760]
  2. (3) what he estimates to be the likely annual savings to the public purse of abolishing the rights of defendants to elect jury trial for either-way offences, setting out how his estimate is calculated. [86758]

Mr. Boateng

The information requested is not currently available. Detailed estimates of the costs and savings of the proposed procedure are still under consideration.

Sir Nicholas Lyell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of their eventual sentence defendants who elect jury trial and subsequently plead guilty serve while on remand. [86766]

Mr. Boateng

The available information relates to the average time spent on remand for those tried at the Crown Court. Information on a defendant's plea and the numbers electing jury trial are not available.

Provisional information for 1998 shows that the average time spent on remand for untried prisoners prior to conviction at the Crown Court was 4.1 months. This compares with an average sentence length imposed at the Crown Court of 22.1 months. This shows that, on average, around 20 per cent. of the eventual sentence was served on remand as an untried prisoner.

Sir Nicholas Lyell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he proposes that magistrates should be entitled to deny jury trial to a defendant charged with an either-way offence who, if convicted, they consider they would be likely to commit to Crown Court for sentence. [86756]

Mr. Boateng

Among the factors magistrates are currently required to have regard to under section 19 of the Magistrates Courts Act 1980 is whether the punishment which they would have the power to inflict if the defendant is convicted would be adequate. Magistrates will continue to be expected to consider each case individually and on its own particular facts in determining the appropriate mode of trial having regard to whether their sentencing powers are sufficient.