§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Solicitor-General what the size is of the annual caseload of the Department of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland in each tier of court in the last year for which figures are available; and what her estimate is of the annual caseload based on the full implementation of proposals relating to the office set out in the Justice (Northern Ireland) Bill. [44451]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralIn 2001 the numbers of persons appearing per tier of court in Northern Ireland in proceedings prosecuted by the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland were as follows:
Court Number of cases Magistrates court 4,664 Crown court 753 County court appeals 776 Court of appeal 59 Case stated 4 Judicial review 6 Information currently available from the Police Service of Northern Ireland estimates that a caseload of some 80,000 files per year will require to be considered by the Public Prosecution Service which is to be established under the terms of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Bill.