Viscount St. Davidsasked Her Majesty's Government:
What work is in hand to reduce delay in the criminal justice process.
§ Baroness BlatchFollowing the report of the Royal Commission on criminal justice and the efficiency scrutiny of administrative burdens on the police, efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the criminal justice process have been taken forward by officials from my department, the Lord Chancellor's Department and the Crown Prosecution Service through the Trial Issues Group. Nevertheless, my right honourable friend the Lord Chancellor, my right honourable friend the Attorney-General and I believe that it is now appropriate to explore additional means of reducing the time that it takes to deal with cases. We have therefore set up a review urgently to identify means of expediting the progress of criminal cases from initation to resolution, consistently with the interests of justice. The review will examine the scope for improvements within current structures as well as those which might require new legislation. We expect a report next January.