HC Deb 06 February 2001 vol 362 cc443-4W
Miss Widdecombe

To ask the Solicitor-General what(a) statutory and (b) non-statutory duties there are on

Total funding for marriage and relationship support since 1996
£
Financial year
Organisation 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01
Core
Relate 1,683,020.00 1,898,620.00 1,953,680.00 2,067,477.00 2,396,585.00
One Plus One 63,401.65 167,000.00 171,843.00 217,139.08 270,000.00
Marriage Care 163,770.00 263,770.00 271,419.00 292,876.41 333,516.00
Tavistock Marital Studies Institute 375,435.00 385,759.46 396,946.00 422,757.65 486,161.00
Jewish Marriage Council 16,912.00 16,912.60 41,912.00 49,009.80 48,313.00
Family Welfare Association 23,458.25 23,458.25 24,138.00 30,741.45 99,925.00
Inter-Agency Co-operation — 21,200.00 — — —
London Marriage Guidance Council — — — 50,000.00 100,000.00
Parentline Plus — — — 20,000.00 60,000.00
(i) the CPS and (ii) the police to consult victims before dropping or downgrading charges. [148978]

The Solicitor-General

In relation to the duties of the Crown Prosecution Service I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) on 30 January 2001,Official Report, column 112W, and that given to the hon. Member for Southwark, North and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes) on 5 February 2001, Official Report, column 357W.

The police no longer have any power to drop or downgrade charges as the prosecution is in the hands of the Crown Prosecution Service. The 1996 Victim's Charter commits the police to keep victim's informed of significant developments in a case—ie when a person has been charged, any decision to drop or substantially alter those charges, the date of trial and the final outcome of the case.

The CPS seeks the views of the police prior to making a decision to discontinue or substantially to alter charges. This procedure provides the opportunity for the police to consult the victim, in appropriate cases, before the final decision is made.

On 7 December 2000, the Attorney-General published new guidelines outlining the approach that should be adopted by a prosecution advocate when considering the acceptability of a defendant's plea. The guidelines emphasise that the prosecution should keep victims or victims' families attending court informed of developments in a case and, wherever practicable, speak with them so that their views and interests can be taken into account as part of the decision-making process.