§ Dr. CableTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what progress has been made in the last three years in reducing the waiting time of police officers in(a) magistrates' and (b) higher courts. [127345]
§ Jane KennedyPolice witnesses in magistrates' courts in November 1997 waited an average 1 hour 21 minutes before they were either called to give evidence or released. This fell to 1 hour 18 minutes in November 1998 and 1 hour 15 minutes in November 1999 (the latest survey for which results are available). In the Crown court, police witnesses waited an average of 3 hours 12 minutes in November 1997, 3 hours 6 minutes in November 1998 and 2 hours 54 minutes in November 1999.