asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much is owed to the courts through unpaid fines taking the most recent available figures; and what are the comparative figures for the four previous years.

Outside the Inner London area—for which figures are not available—the amount of unpaid fines outstanding on 31st December 1974 was £11,883,276. This included fines not yet due for payment because the time allowed for payment had not expired. The corresponding figures for the four previous years were £6,001,454, £7,030,003, £8,207,065 and £10,200,710. Over the same period the annual receipts from fines—excluding Inner London—rose from £16,656,121 in 1970 to £31,090,093 in 1974.