To ask Her Majesty's Government for how long they intend magistrates' courts to collect £15 surcharges for victims of crime; and [HL1090]

To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of the proceeds from the £15 surcharge for victims of crime collected by magistrates' courts has been distributed to victims of crime; and [HL1091]

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much has been collected from magistrates' courts under the £15 surcharge for victims of crime since the scheme began in April 2007. [HL1092]

There are no plans to cease applying the victims surcharge to court fines.

Since its introduction all of the proceeds from the surcharge have been ring-fenced and used to directly fund a range of organisations providing non-financial support to victims and witnesses of crime.

The victims surcharge has been levied on fines at a rate of £15 since April 2007. The following table assigns victims surcharge receipts for April 2007 to March 2008, the first year of operation of the surcharge, as closely as possible to Government office regions.