§ 18. Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to reduce delays in bringing criminal cases to trial. [47079]
§ Mr. Keith BradleyThe Government have introduced a number of procedural reforms to ensure that criminal cases are brought before the courts with the minimum of delay. These include bringing charged cases before magistrates courts at the first available hearing; sending indictable only cases straight to the Crown court following first appearance in the magistrates court; and reducing by more than half the time taken to deal with persistent young offenders from arrest to sentence (from 142 days to 67 by December 2001).
Looking ahead, the Government are also formulating a set of exacting targets to further reduce delay; running pilot schemes involving extended court sitting hours and closer Crown Prosecution Service/police liaison prior to charge.
Her Majesty's chief inspectors of the Court Service and the Crown Prosecution Service are also conducting a national inspection of listing, to seek to identify how courts can manage their case loads most efficiently, and we look forward to making use of their findings and recommendations in order to make continued progress in reducing delay.