Prisoner Escorts: Magistrates' Courts
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2024 to Question 12397 on Prisoners Escort, how many penalties for late delivery of a prisoner to the Magistrates Court were issued in (a) 2024 and (b) 2023.
Answered by Sir Nicholas Dakin
Delays attributable to prisoner escort supplier failure are calculated from the point at which court proceedings are ready to commence, provided this is within the agreed court start times and the delay is greater than 15 minutes. Penalties (known as service credits) are applicable for every subsequent 15 minutes of delay, or part thereof, whereupon the supplier is penalised for a full 15 minutes.
The following information relates to application of service credits for late delivery of a prisoner to either the Crown Court or a magistrates’ court.
In 2023, out of 299,470 journeys to court undertaken by the Prisoner Escort and Custody Service, 484 instances of supplier failure resulted in service credits being paid by suppliers.
In 2024, up to 31 October, out of 274,606 journeys to court, there were 228 instances of supplier failure that resulted in service credits being paid by suppliers. 99.92% of all journeys arrive on time.
As delays are recorded in periods of 15 minutes, it is not possible to calculate a precise average length of delay.
The breakdown requested between the Crown Court and magistrates’ courts is not available, and the work needed to provide it could not be undertaken without incurring disproportionate cost.
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