§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of fines was collected by each local criminal justice board in the last year for which figures are available. [173777]
§ Paul GogginsLocal Criminal Justice Boards (LCJBs) do not directly collect fines. Fine enforcement is the responsibility of local Magistrates' Courts Committees (MCCs). But, given the importance of fine enforcement to public confidence in the Criminal Justice System, LCJBs are encouraged to monitor and to work jointly to improve payment rates within their local areas.
The table shows the payment rate for April 2003 to March 2004 for each of the 42 local MCCs. This represents the total value of fines (excluding confiscation orders) collected as a percentage of the total value of fines imposed over this period. The Department for Constitutional Affairs set MCCs a target of 75 per cent. for the year ending March 2004. Note that it is possible for an area's payment rate to exceed 100 per cent. if a sufficiently high value of fines imposed prior to April 2003 are collected.
Payment rate (Percentage) Magistrates' Court Committee Q4 (January to Mar 2004) Year 2003–04 Avon and Somerset 77 83 Bedfordshire 84 80 Cambridgeshire 110 100 Cheshire 78 82 Cleveland 114 91 Cumbria 91 93 Derbyshire 89 79 Devon and Cornwall 55 68 Dorset 69 72 Durham 93 90 Dyfed Powys 102 81 Essex 109 94 Gloucestershire 61 95 Greater London 82 66 Greater Manchester 72 64 Gwent 84 85 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 68 86 Hertfordshire 63 68 Humberside 87 96 Kent 78 78 Lancashire 90 86 Leicestershire 73 69 Lincolnshire 75 75 Merseyside 51 59 Norfolk 85 79 North Wales 75 89 North Yorkshire 138 98 Northamptonshire 81 96 Northumbria 81 82 Nottinghamshire 68 72 South Wales 76 76 South Yorkshire 101 81 Staffordshire 67 78 Suffolk 71 80 Surrey 77 74 Sussex 95 100 Thames Valley 63 65 Warwickshire 80 94 West Mercia 74 79 West Midlands 54 53 West Yorkshire 69 58 Wiltshire 92 94 England and Wales 76 74