Justice written question – answered at on 22 July 2010.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what percentage of court fines in each (a) region, (b) county and (c) magistrates court area levied in each of the last three years were unpaid and outstanding at the end of each such year.
HMCS systems do not currently identify how many fines imposed within a year are paid within the same period, this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost as it would require a manual search of all fine accounts.
However HMCS's systems can identify the amounts imposed within the last three years for all HMCS regions and Local Criminal Justice Board areas. These data together with the total amount outstanding at the end of each year are set out in the following table. The outstanding balance has risen through the application of a strict policy that only allows fines to be written off in certain circumstances. The outstanding balance includes fines imposed a number of years ago during the period when fines could not be cancelled (2004-06) and fines which are being paid by instalments.
Total a mount imposed( 1) | |||
£ | |||
Area/Region | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 |
London | 63,881,319 | 72,107,785 | 81,628,882 |
Total London Region | 63,881319 | 72,107,785 | 81,628,882 |
Derbyshire | 6,128,288 | 5,840,197 | 4,844,153 |
Leicestershire | 5,691,250 | 5,877,021 | 6,030,574 |
Lincolnshire | 4,191,695 | 5,096,991 | 4,823,958 |
Northamptonshire | 4,430,561 | 4,330,940 | 4,721,076 |
Nottinghamshire | 6,838,997 | 6,654,544 | 6,382,228 |
Staffordshire | 8,766,857 | 8,698,559 | 8,136,476 |
Warwickshire | 2,875,248 | 2,786,476 | 3,330,822 |
West Mercia | 8,099,918 | 9,447,891 | 8,422,160 |
West Midlands | 24,097,581 | 21,768,797 | 21,852,536 |
Total Midlands Region | 71,120336 | 70,501,416 | 68,553,559 |
Cleveland | 3,780,148 | 3,615,467 | 3,868,689 |
Durham | 3,217,879 | 3,542,418 | 3,192,452 |
Humberside | 6,201,707 | 6,910,237 | 6,756,725 |
North Yorkshire | 4,323,495 | 4,371,260 | 4,219,649 |
Northumbria | 9,720,095 | 10,463,694 | 10,568,454 |
South Yorkshire | 7,406,408 | 9,048,523 | 9,039,246 |
West Yorkshire | 15,428,776 | 14,881,498 | 16,635,550 |
Total North East Region | 50,078,508 | 52,833,097 | 54,280,765 |
Cheshire | 7,933,967 | 7,334,673 | 7,502,097 |
Cumbria | 3,877,892 | 4,100,879 | 3,817,499 |
Greater Manchester | 18,632,285 | 19,635,012 | 19,267,431 |
Lancashire | 10,906,582 | 12,392,009 | 11,104,491 |
Merseyside | 9,769,352 | 12,106,880 | 12,026,583 |
Total North West Region | 51,120,079 | 55,569,453 | 53,718,100 |
Bedfordshire | 3,716,219 | 4,041,563 | 4,512,392 |
Cambridgeshire | 5,257,762 | 4,563,054 | 4,968,180 |
Essex | 11,017,192 | 11,525,831 | 12,156,939 |
Hertfordshire | 8,364,744 | 8,285,229 | 9,382,421 |
Kent | 11,484,589 | 12,546,283 | 11,461,258 |
Norfolk | 4,791,859 | 5,708,267 | 4,568,442 |
Suffolk | 4,227,603 | 6,053,635 | 5,555,237 |
Surrey | 6,366,071 | 6,139,960 | 6,189,029 |
Sussex | 8,562,023 | 8,091,108 | 10,433,954 |
Thames Valley | 12,856,332 | 13,820,088 | 14,882,513 |
Total South East Region | 76,644,394 | 80,775,018 | 83,224,865 |
Avon and Somerset | 10,746,004 | 10,046,264 | 9,586,385 |
Devon and Cornwall | 9,956,166 | 7,759,109 | 7,770,868 |
Dorset | 3,759,611 | 4,627,389 | 4,888,527 |
Gloucestershire | 2,772,484 | 2,517,262 | 2,904,006 |
Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 8,564,753 | 9,951,872 | 11,191,949 |
Wiltshire | 4,358,317 | 5,356,348 | 4,982,425 |
Total South West Region | 40,157,335 | 40,258,244 | 41,324,159 |
Dyfed Powys | 3,055,546 | 3,538,439 | 3,270,439 |
Gwent | 4,523,699 | 3,985,405 | 4,528,698 |
North Wales | 4,483,844 | 4,813,034 | 5,900,141 |
South Wales | 11,504,822 | 9,364,748 | 9,355,058 |
Total Wales | 23,562,911 | 21,701,626 | 23,054,337 |
Total amount outstanding: | |||
London | 117,318,452 | 126,959,900 | 142,475,774 |
Total London Region | 117,318,452 | 126,959,900 | 142,475,774 |
Derbyshire | 7,487,182 | 7,910,599 | 7,728,859 |
Leicestershire | 5,475,952 | 4,807,071 | 5,881,157 |
Lincolnshire | 5,757,706 | 6,309,425 | 5,957,325 |
Northamptonshire | 5,113,088 | 5,544,837 | 5,576,232 |
Nottinghamshire | 4,501,937 | 4,855,449 | 5,539,840 |
Staffordshire | 11,728,465 | 11,509,685 | 4,728,312 |
Warwickshire | 3,221,730 | 3,006,384 | 3,279,018 |
West Mercia | 9,313,961 | 10,709,950 | 12,060,610 |
West Midlands | 39,926,402 | 41,341,778 | 44,621,598 |
Total Midlands Region | 92,523,423 | 95,995,178 | 101,524,907 |
Cleveland | 5,886,347 | 5,606,269 | 5,174,134 |
Durham | 3,748,457 | 3,379,032 | 3,595,330 |
Humberside | 9,561,189 | 10,257,748 | 10,076,884 |
North Yorkshire | 3,214,673 | 3,797,705 | 4,117,398 |
Northumbria | 11,460,962 | 13,835,201 | 14,761,027 |
South Yorkshire | 7,207,038 | 8,173,418 | 9,270,998 |
West Yorkshire | 12,890,971 | 8,085,565 | 3,279,018 |
Total North East Region | 52,969,638 | 59,901,794 | 64,063,145 |
Cheshire | 11,207,571 | 11,809,900 | 11,485,719 |
Cumbria | 3,225,093 | 3,368,566 | 3,384,180 |
Greater Manchester | 27,384,881 | 30,659,063 | 33,159,738 |
Lancashire | 12,236,463 | 13,870,361 | 13,111,327 |
Merseyside | 24,576,991 | 27,054,637 | 28,957,510 |
Total North West Region | 78,630,999 | 86,762,529 | 90,098,475 |
Bedfordshire | 2,929,160 | 3,488,383 | 3,818,893 |
Cambridgeshire | 5,471,185 | 4,582,639 | 4,807,179 |
Essex | 10,068,331 | 12,635,361 | 12,852,199 |
Hertfordshire | 10,624,124 | 11,976,897 | 13,565,118 |
Kent | 17,645,077 | 19,402,260 | 20,522,744 |
Norfolk | 4,911,783 | 5,258,805 | 5,165,121 |
Suffolk | 2,648,849 | 4,224,885 | 4,728,312 |
Surrey | 5,273,909 | 5,696,496 | 6,125,559 |
Sussex | 12,726,870 | 13,939,448 | 15,390,751 |
Thames Valley | 22,465,362 | 22,946,204 | 24,507,506 |
Total South East Region | 94,764,649 | 104,151,377 | 111,483,442 |
Avon and Somerset | 9,379,982 | 11,184,221 | 11,885,521 |
Devon and Cornwall | 2,929,160 | 6,407,447 | 7,118,202 |
Dorset | 4,878,557 | 5,679,185 | 6,306,732 |
Gloucestershire | 3,609,646 | 3,595,701 | 3,651,902 |
Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 10,933,502 | 12,127,133 | 15,118,051 |
Wiltshire | 3,711,278 | 5,085,565 | 5,741,376 |
Total South West Region | 38,869,240 | 44,079,253 | 49,821,783 |
Dyfed Powys | 3,324,554 | 3,955,288 | 4,325,342 |
Gwent | 5,857,625 | 5,903,094 | 5,617,483 |
North Wales | 6,367,896 | 7,303,005 | 8,598,513 |
South Wales | 10,004,092 | 9,879,206 | 10,466,440 |
Total Wales | 25,554,167 | 29,007,777 | 29,007,777 |
(1) Total amount imposed includes financial impositions made in the magistrates courts which include fines, compensation, costs and victims surcharge along with fines ordered in the crown court and unpaid fixed penalty notices and public notices for disorder which are transferred to HMCS for collection as a fine. |
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