Magistrates' Courts: Witnesses

(asked on 29th January 2019) - View Source
Questioner
Jo Stevens Portrait
Jo Stevens
(Labour - Cardiff Central)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of non-appearances by (a) defendants and (b) witnesses in magistrates’ courts over the last three years.

Answered by
Lucy Frazer Portrait
Lucy Frazer
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
This question was answered on 11th March 2019

There are two main sources of data on defendants failing to appear (FTA). Data on trials where the defendant fails to appear in the magistrates’ court shows that there has been an increase between 2015 and 2017.

FTA

2015

2016

2017

63141

65922

67411

In the same time period there has been little change in the total number of warrants issued for failure to attend in magistrates’ courts for all hearings.

Numbers of FTA warrants issued

2015

2016

2017

92983

92862

93317

Figures for warrants are broader, including warrants that relate not only to trials but also all other hearings and those issued for failure to comply with the requirements of an order or breach on summons in relation to an order. Analysts in HMCTS and MoJ have confirmed we cannot be sure of the causes of changes in FTA. Data on non-appearance of witnesses is not held by the Ministry of Justice or HMCTS.

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