Justice Minister Andrew Little has released statistics which show there were 46 cases in the first half of 2017 where a defendant had been remanded for 15 months or more at the time of outcome.

Mr Little's information has been provided in response to a written Parliamentary question from National MP Amy Adams.

Ms Adams asked how many people had been remanded in prison for longer than 15 months before their trial date.

"I am advised that current reporting at person level does not capture the period of remand in prison before a trial date," Mr Little's response says.

The information provided takes the remand period on the case from the defendant with the longest time spent in custody up to the end of the trial.

Trials "held" include cases where the judge or jury delivered a verdict, and cases determined by guilty plea and/or dismissal either during the trial or on the morning a trial was scheduled to begin. This includes cases with judge along and jury trials.

Finalised cases with a trial where length of remand period was over 15 months (year of case outcome)