§ 35. Lynne JonesTo ask the Solicitor-General what measures she has taken to improve access to information in her Department by those outside her Department. [23871]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralIn the interest of accountability, the Attorney-General is determined that the Departments for which he is responsible should take steps to extend access to official information, the assumption being that such information should be released except where disclosure would not be in the public interest.
The Law Officers' Departments—the Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office and the Treasury Solicitor's Department—all continue to increase access to information through various avenues.
CPS publicity materials now include more extensive information about CPS policies and the prosecution process. A key recent example is the publication of a booklet providing the background to prosecution policy on domestic violence cases.
The potential for releasing information via the internet will be explored to the full. The website maintained on behalf of the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers is currently being reviewed and 2002 will see a new, improved, CPS website. The SFO website has recently been substantially expanded and the Treasury Solicitor has also improved access to information through two dedicated websites.