§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the reasons for non-collection of fines. [150355]
§ Mr. LeslieI have been asked to reply.
There are a number of reasons why, in the past, the collection of fines has not been as effective as it should have been. They include: imposing fines that do not reflect the ability to pay due to lack of information on offenders' income/expenditure; lack of information on offenders' current whereabouts; and a lack of an alternative for those who genuinely cannot pay.
This is being addressed through the seven point action plan I announced in June last year, the Courts Act 2003 measures, and the overall enforcement programme being taken forward by the Department for Constitutional Affairs. These are specifically designed to tackle the root causes of non-collection and secure sustained improvement in fine enforcement performance.