What information his Department holds on the length of time between a charge being brought and the start of a trial in cases involving violent behaviour.

The Ministry collects and publishes a range of information on the timeliness of cases in the criminal courts, including the quarterly time interval survey for timeliness in the magistrates courts and information on the time from receipt to commencement of cases in the Crown court. The information on magistrates courts is broken down into several offence categories, including violence against the person, while the information on Crown courts does not break down timeliness for cases involving violent behaviour.

Does my hon. Friend agree that, even when things go well, the time between assault and trial can be one of great anxiety for the victim? It could also be one of great danger if there are threats of further violence. In that context, what can she do to impress on everyone-the prosecution services, the police, the courts and defence lawyers-that any delays are intolerable when violence is part of the case?

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise concerns about delays. In fact, we have been working very hard to reduce the amount of delay in cases. There has been a 20 per cent. improvement in the average number of days from charge to completion in magistrates courts, with the period decreasing from 8.8 weeks in 2006-07 to 6.9 weeks in 2008-09. A minority of lawyers might perhaps be abusing their position by stringing matters out and playing the legal aid system, but that is not something that we would support. If my hon. Friend has examples of unacceptable delays by lawyers, police or any authorities, he should make them clear to us and to others.