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Chelmsford Crown Court: Witnesses

Answer

The latest and historical figures, since records are available, from Her Majesty's Courts Service witness survey are shown as follows:

Estimated waiting time
Survey date	Chelmsford	England and Wales
November 1998	2 hours 56 minutes	2 hours 53 minutes
June 2001	2 hours 33 minutes	2 hours 34 minutes
June 2005	3 hours 33 minutes	2 hours 22 minutes
June 2006	2 hours 37 minutes	2 hours 25 minutes
June 2007	2 hours 49 minutes	2 hours 18 minutes

Data for the average waiting time for persons giving evidence is obtained from the biannual witness survey which is carried out over two weeks in June and November every year. It covers all witnesses who attended the Crown court, whether or not they were actually called to give evidence. We do not currently hold figures for the time taken to give evidence centrally.Witness waiting times are affected by several factors, for example the times that witnesses are asked to attend, how many witnesses there are in a trial and what happens in the courtroom. For example, there could be unexpected lengthy legal argument or other delays on the day, like the defendant not attending. These estimates should all be used with caution as the number of witnesses surveyed was less than 100 for each survey at Chelmsford Crown court, meaning that margins of error will be wide.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

469 c1087-8W; 174071

Session

2007-08

Subjects

Crown Court Witnesses Chelmsford

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk