asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many people did not return to a court while on bail in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years. [HL1506]

Where a defendant in a criminal case does not surrender to his bail the court will issue an arrest warrant or a bench warrant requiring the police to bring him to court.

Information on the number of arrest and bench warrants issued and executed in Northern Ireland was not centrally collated prior to the introduction of a new IT system in October 2006. Consequently, it is not possible to provide the requested information for the years prior to 2007 without incurring disproportionate cost.

The following table details the number of defendants who had an arrest or bench warrant issued against them in 2007.