§ Mr. Tony LloydTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the length of time taken to bring young offenders before the courts in each Metropolitan police authority area; and what were the corresponding figures for 1997. [123802]
§ Jane KennedyInformation on the time taken in magistrates courts proceedings is collected by the Lord Chancellor's Department's Time Intervals Survey. The accompanying table shows the average number of days from charge or laying of information to first listing for Youth Court defendants in June 1997, June 1999 and February 2000. The only survey to cover all Youth Court defendants in 1997 was the June survey, and the most recent results available are from the February 2000 survey.
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Average number of days from charge or laying of information to first court listing for all criminal defendants dealt with at Youth Courts in Metropolitan police authority areas1 June 19972 June 1999 February 2000 Greater Manchester 30 23 12 Merseyside 30 23 8 Metropolitan3 38 20 18 Northumbria 31 20 13 South Yorkshire 29 14 9 West Midlands 29 16 13 West Yorkshire 29 24 18 1From the start of 1999 analysis of the Time Intervals Survey has included certain longer cases than were previously excluded. In this table however the results presented are calculated on the pre-1999 basis for comparability. On the new basis of calculation the only figure in the table that would be different is the February 2000 figure for Merseyside which would be 9 days. 2 In the June 1997 survey the sample sizes for Youth Court cases were less than 100 in Merseyside, South Yorkshire, the West Midlands and West Yorkshire and due to these small sample sizes these figures should be treated with added caution. 3 Includes youths apprehended by City of London Police and proceeded against in London Youth Courts. Youth Courts are not held at the magistrates court in the City of London. Source: Lord Chancellor's Department Magistrates Courts Time Intervals Survey