Committals abolished in 29 more areas

Committal proceedings for either way offences were abolished today in a further 29 areas of England and Wales.

They disappeared from a dozen areas, including Berkshire, Bristol and Liverpool, in June.

Among the areas they will be now be absent from are Birmingham, Pembrokeshire, Gloucestershire, Manchester and Warwickshire.

A spokeswoman for the MoJ said yesterday that committal proceedings in the remaining areas would be phased out completely next year and that, nationally, 60,000 fewer hearings would be needed each year.

This will be replaced by a new 'sending' procedure, where magistrates make a decision on where the case will be heard without the need for a hearing.

The MoJ scrapped legal aid fees for committals in October last year. The Law Society launched a judicial review challenging the move, but this was rejected by the High Court in April.

'Abolishing committal hearings is another one of the steps we are taking to make justice swift and sure, and to ensure our courts run efficiently and effectively for victims, witnesses and the taxpayers whose money funds them,' Damian Green, criminal justice minister, said.

'The justice system needs continued improvement, and this announcement is an important step forward.'

The spokeswoman for the MoJ said committals were abolished for indictable only offences in 2001.

She added that cutting either way committals was one of a series of moves to make the justice system swifter, such as introducing flexible court opening hours during evenings and weekends and increasing the use of video links between courts, prisons and police stations.