Unlawful Imprisonment (Hansard, 27 July 2000)

§ Lord Morris of Manchester
asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many sentences of imprisonment by magistrates have been declared unlawful by the High Court since 1992 involving:

(a) council tax default;

(b) community charge default;

(c) fines default; and

(d) fathers in default of payments ordered by the Child Support Agency;

and how many cases have been reviewed by the High Court in each category. [HL3420]

§ The Lord Chancellor
The information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

§ Lord Morris of Manchester
asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many applications for compensation for unlawful imprisonment have been made to the European Court of Human Rights involving:

(a) council tax default;

(b) community charge default;

(c) fines default; and

(d) fathers in default of payments ordered by the Child Support Agency. [HL3421]

73WA

§ The Lord Chancellor
One hundred and thirty-eight applications in one or other of the categories specified at various times have been communicated to the Government of the United Kingdom for observations. The Government does not know how many other similar applications may have been made and rejected without communication, or may await consideration by the Court and may be communicated later. It is not possible to list the numbers for each category because not all applications contain the necessary information. But the majority, including the original case of this typeBenham v UK, fall into category (b): community charge default.