§ Earl Russellasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the average rate of absconding among remand prisoners who are granted bail. [HL4941]
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Falconer of Thoroton)Our best estimate based on information held on the Home Office court proceedings database is that, of those who were remanded in custody at some point in time, 14 per cent failed to appear in court in 2000 while on bail. This is slightly higher than the figure of 12 per cent that refers to all those granted bail who failed to appear in court that appears inCriminal Statistics, England and Wales, 2000, Table 8.9.
§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will advise magistrates to grant bail where, although they are satisfied that there are substantial grounds for believing that the defendant, if released, would commit a further offence while on bail, that offence is non-violent and attracts a maximum sentence of not more than three months' imprisonment. [HL5081]
§ Lord Falconer of ThorotonNo. Each bail decision is of course at the discretion of the courts and each case is considered on its own merits. The Bail Act 1976 establishes a presumption in favour of bail and then sets out exceptions to this presumption, so that the defendant need not be granted bail where he or she presents a bail risk. One of these exceptions is if the court believes the defendant would commit an offence. The Act even provides that defendants accused or convicted of non-imprisonable offences need not be granted bail if the court believes that the defendant would fail to return to custody and has a history of failing to surrender to custody in a previous grant of bail.