§ Mr. Donald AndersonTo ask the Attorney-General how many wasted costs orders have been made against the Crown Prosecution Service over the past four periods of six months or such other periods as are convenient for statistical purposes. [34849]
§ The Attorney-GeneralI have taken the hon. Member's question to refer to orders made under section 19(1) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 and regulation 3 of the Costs in Criminal Cases (General) Regulations 1986. The numbers of such orders recorded against the Crown Prosecution Service are set out in the table.
1332W
Costs against CPS Crown court Magistrates courts April to June 1993 49 148 July to September 1993 86 200 October to December 1993 62 102 January to March 1994 62 89 Total for year 1993–94 259 539 April to June 1994 57 91 July to September 1994 40 80 October to December 1994 68 68 January to March 1995 54 102 Total for year 1994–95 219 341 1. Information is not available to establish the enactment under which the orders were made and may include awards of costs made otherwise than in accordance with the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985.
2. The information is limited to Crown court and magistrates court cases. It does not include costs awards made in the higher courts.
3. The figures relate to all cases dealt with by the CPS areas but do not include any orders made in the specialist casework handled by CPS headquarters.
§ Mr. KeenTo ask the Attorney-General what action the Crown Prosecution Service is taking to monitor its treatment of defendants from different ethnic backgrounds to ensure that it is fair; and what is the Crown Prosecution Service's timetable for(a) collecting, (b) analysing and (b) publishing data. [34750]
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe Crown Prosecution Service is participating fully in the interdepartmental group co-ordinating ethnic monitoring in the criminal justice system and is exploring with the Commission for Racial Equality ways in which ethnic monitoring by the Crown Prosecution Service might be best introduced.