asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what was the average period between remand and trial for prisoners refused bail and charged with scheduled offences in Northern Ireland in 1984;(2) for 1984, what was the average length of time that prisoners spent on custodial remand for scheduled and non-scheduled offences, respectively.

Complete figures for 1984 are not yet available. However, for the period January to October 1984, the average lengths of time from first remand to termination of trial, including periods spent on bail, were as follows:

	Number of weeks
All persons	37
Persons charged with scheduled offences	44
Persons charged with non-scheduled offences	27

Excluding periods spent on bail, the comparable figures were 39·7 weeks for those charged with scheduled offences, and 11·3 weeks for those charged with non-scheduled offences.For those persons charged with scheduled offences who were in custody at the time of trial and who had never been released on bail, the average period between first remand and termination of trial in 1984 was 36·6 weeks.