HC Deb 04 May 2004 vol 420 c1452W
Mr. Ben Chapman

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what initial assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Operation Payback on the Wirral. [167965]

Mr. Leslie

Operation Payback was conducted in the Wirral on 23 March and was considered a success. Enforcement Officers, working closely with the Police, executed 194 outstanding warrants and collected £13,600 during the day. In the Merseyside area as a whole approximately £36,000 was collected during the three days that the Magistrates Courts Committee (MCC) ran the operation. The MCC also reported an increase in compliance in the payment of fines following the operation, although separate figures for cases directly involved in Operation Payback are not available.