Criminals in West Yorkshire owe almost £16 million in outstanding court fines, according to new figures.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that the amount of uncollected court fines in the county has risen from £15.74 million in March 2006 to £15.75 million in March 2007 - despite a high-profile Government campaign to improve performance.

The Ministry of Justice data shows that nationally £486 million in fines was outstanding at the end of March in England and Wales - up £12 million on the previous year. However, the figure did not necessarily indicate the whole sum was in arrears because it included all sums owed to the courts.

Shipley MP Philip Davies spent a day observing at Bingley Magistrates' Court and said he was not surprised about the staggering amount. He said: "If someone doesn't pay their fine, the next time they are in court they won't have costs awarded against them if they owe more than £250 which means you are rewarded for not paying and penalised for paying which is madness.

"People know they will not have to pay because of the way the system is set up. Clearly fines are no deterrent and serve no purpose. We need tougher sentences and people sent to prison or community service doing something useful, where appropriate."

London had the highest outstanding court fines in the country at £111 million. The lowest amount was in Suffolk with £2.2 million.

Ministers have mounted a series of initiatives to increase the amount of money which is taken from criminals who have been fined, but it has been claimed they have not gone far enough.

In January an influential committee of MPs said existing arrangements were "ridiculous" and urged ministers to bring in a range of reforms. The Public Accounts Committee report called for "strenuous steps" to improve the collection rate, and raised the prospect of charging interest on unpaid fines or offering discounts to quick payers.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "In April 2007 the HMCS-led National Enforcement Service began its national roll-out. The NES will improve data sharing and co-operation between agencies to tackle hardcore defaulters and will focus on more effective enforcement and therefore compliance.

"Enforcement officers will have strengthened powers introduced by the Courts Act 2003, better tools and specialist equipment and a recognisable and professional profile to raise confidence in the criminal justice system."

Since 2003 a range of enforcement initiatives including blitzes has improved collection rates with 92 per cent being collected for 2006/7 ahead of the 83 per cent target.

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