§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many applications for review of alleged wrongful conviction upon indictment have been received during each of the last eight years by the Criminal Cases Review Commission; and how many cases in each year have been(a) ruled ineligible, (b) investigated with a decision of not to refer where the decision-maker was (i) a case review manager, (ii) a single commissioner and (iii) a panel of three Commissioners and (c) investigated with a decision to refer; [141816]
(2) how many applications for review of alleged wrongful conviction upon indictment have been received to date by the Criminal Cases Review Commission; how many (a) were ruled ineligible, (b) were completed with a decision not to refer and (c) were completed with a decision to refer; and how many applications in each case were from (i) unassisted applicants and (ii) legally assisted applicants. [141818]
§ Paul GogginsThe Commission"s data systems have been developed over time and so full data are not available for all years. The Commission first received applications in 1997. In no case is a Case Review Manager the decision-maker. The most recent information on Committee decisions is that 97 per cent. of decisions not to refer were made by a single Commissioner and 3 per cent. were taken by a committee of three Commission members. Data on all applications is as follows and the most recent information on conviction types is that 92 per cent. of applications are for convictions on indictment.
102W
Applications Ineligible Decision not to refer Decision to refer 1997–98 1,103 248 51 11 1998–99 1,037 222 239 31 1999–2000 777 298 681 36 2000–01 800 257 808 45 2001–02 834 272 892 38 2002–03 932 299 652 35 The Commission"s data do not cover legal assistance for all years. The most recent information (30 September 2003) is that 41 per cent. of applications under review at Stage 2 screen (where eligible cases are examined to see whether they can be reviewed with modest caseworker effort) have legal representation and 59 per cent. of those at Stage 2 (where eligible cases requiring considerable caseworker effort are reviewed).
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints have been received by the Complaints Manager at the Criminal Cases Review Commission in each of the last eight years; and of those complaints how many were(a) resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant and (b) upheld. [141819]
§ Paul GogginsThe complaints received by the Commission and the number upheld are as follows:
Complaints received Upheld 1997–98 11 7 1998–99 15 2 1999–2000 34 10 2000–01 63 14 2001–02 69 9 2002–03 76 11 2003 to 30 November 2003 39 4 Complainant satisfaction is difficult to measure but only 13 complaints in total have been taken to Stage 2 of the Commission"s complaints procedure following adjudication. The Commission is to introduce a feedback process for complainants.