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| New fine measures outlined by SoS | |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Secretary of State Shaun Woodward has outlined plans for a range of new measures to deal with people who fail to pay fines. | |
| Hundreds of people are imprisoned in Northern Ireland every year for failing to pay fines. | Hundreds of people are imprisoned in Northern Ireland every year for failing to pay fines. |
| They account for more than 30% of all of those sent to prison and it costs more than £1m to house them. | They account for more than 30% of all of those sent to prison and it costs more than £1m to house them. |
| Mr Woodward's measures are intended to free up prison cells for more serious criminals. | Mr Woodward's measures are intended to free up prison cells for more serious criminals. |
| In the vast majority of cases where someone is sent to prison for failing to pay a fine, the fine is for less than £600. | In the vast majority of cases where someone is sent to prison for failing to pay a fine, the fine is for less than £600. |
| The measures announced by Shaun Woodward include taking money directly from fine defaulters' bank accounts and seizing their valuables. | |
| The secretary of state also announced plans for tackling fuel smuggling, which costs the Northern Ireland economy hundreds of millions of pounds annually. |
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