The number of tourists visiting the House of Assembly fell by more than 27 percent last year.

Junior Minister Michael Scott, delivering the Budget brief for the Ministry of Justice in the House, said 527 tourists visited in 2008, compared to 729 in 2007.

There were just 61 tours of the House given, compared to 104 the previous year. But 20 more students visited: 155 last year, compared to 135 the year before.

Other facts and figures concerning Parliament and the courts shared with MPs on Monday by Mr. Scott included:

• There were nine fewer public bills passed in Parliament last year than the previous year: 31 compared to 40;

• Nine private bills were passed in the same period, seven more than the previous year;

l The House of Assembly held 23 meetings, compared to 26 the year before; Senators met 19 times, compared to 25 times the previous year;

l The average attendance of Government senators was 100 percent last year, compared to a 97 percent average for Opposition Senators;

l Government MPs had an average attendance in the House of 90 percent, with Opposition MPs at 92 percent;

l The Criminal Injuries Compensation Board processed 70 claims last year, compared to 48 the year before. The average time to complete a claim was 17 months, with the average value of claims at $61,385.

l Forty-nine criminal cases were filed in the Supreme Court and there were 70 trials. The total number of civil court cases was 364 and 254 divorces were filed;

l There were 624 criminal convictions, compared to 541 the year before. The total number of acquittals was 186 and the year before it was 167.

l There were 6,216 traffic convictions, a big increase on the previous year's 5,142. Last year saw 586 traffic acquittals, compared to 821 the year before.

l The Attorney General's Chambers advisory section had 76 civil litigation cases commence in the courts here during 2008/9 — an increase of 25 cases or 52 percent. Seventeen were determined or settled, 23 are ongoing, one is pending in the Court of Appeal, one is pending in the Privy Council and 14 were judged in favour of the Crown;

l The advisory section provided 300 written opinions in respect of legal questions raised by Government;

l During 2008, 42 acts drafted by the AG's drafting section were passed and 80 statutory instruments were published;

l To date in the 2008/9 fiscal year, 31 acts have been passed and 65 regulations published;

l The debt collection section of the AG's Chambers obtained 22 judgements against debtors in favour of the Crown in 2008, for a total amount of more than $2.2 million.