Debates around the nature and application of bail remained, and are still, contentious. In 1963, over half the prisoners remanded to custody instead of being bailed before trial were ultimately not given a custodial sentence after conviction. This led to significant questions being asked about the quality of the English bail process at that time. Nonetheless, it appears that by the 1960s the Bail Act 1898 had achieved its goal, as Home Office research found that the number of prisoners in custody due to a lack of funds for bail was very low.