Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people in the Borough of Halton were prosecuted for illicit drugs offences in each year since 2010.

The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts for drugs offences, in the Cheshire Police Force area, from 2010 to 2016, can be viewed in the table. All prosecutions, including those for indictable drugs offences, commence in a magistrates’ court.

Court proceedings data for 2017 are planned for publication in May 2018.

Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for drugs offences, Cheshire Police Force Area, 2010 to 2016 ⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾

'-' Nil

(1) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.

(2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

(3) Halton Local Justice Area merged into North Cheshire Local Justice Area from 1 January 2013