§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Solicitor-General how many(a) performance reviews and (b) case specific reviews were undertaken in (i) 1999–2000, (ii) 2000–01 and (iii) 2001–02, broken down by prosecuting authority. [59347]
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§ The Solicitor-GeneralThe CPS prosecutes around 1,350,000 cases a year in the magistrates courts and 115,000 in the Crown Court. Cases are subject to continuous review by prosecutors and mechanisms are in place to monitor CPS area performance quarterly. HMCPSI also undertakes inspections of CPS areas. Since the current cycle of inspections began in 1999, HMCPSI has published 39 area inspections reports.
All cases with an adverse outcome are subject to specific review by a senior prosecutor in the area concerned to ascertain reasons and accountability for the outcome. They number around 1,700 a year in the magistrates courts and 15,000 a year in the Crown Court.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Solicitor-General if each CPS region has recently received a modern IT infrastructure; what the cost of the infrastructure was per CPS region as a percentage of the total revenue budget; what the total revenue budget is in each case; and if these systems are compatible with other systems in the criminal justice system. [59345]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralThe Connect 42 project provided over 5,300 staff across all of the 42 CPS areas with a common IT infrastructure with modern office automation. The project ran from 1999 and concluded in March 2002, on time and within budget.
The costs of the Connect 42 infrastructure were met from a centrally held HQ budget that was partly funded from the Capital Modernisation Fund. The cost of the infrastructure per CPS area as a percentage of the total 1999–2002 revenue budget and the total gross revenue budget was:
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Connect 42: Total revenue budget £ million (1999–2002) Expenditure (£ million) As percentage of total area budget 42 areas 869.5 19.87 2.3 Avon and Somerset 20.0 0.3 1.5 Bedfordshire 8.2 0.2 2.1 Cambridgeshire 10.1 0.2 2.0 Cheshire 14.4 0.4 2.6 Cleveland 10.4 0.3 3.0 Cumbria 8.4 0.3 3.3 Derbyshire 12.1 0.3 2.6 Devon and Cornwall 17.4 0.4 2.2 Dorset 8.0 0.2 2.0 Durham 8.6 0.2 2.6 Dyfed Powys 8.0 0.2 2.5 Essex 21.3 0.3 1.3 Area Gloucestershire 7.1 0.2 2.1 Greater Manchester 56.0 1.2 2.2 Gwent 10.7 0.3 2.4 Hampshire 28.5 0.5 1.7 Hertfordshire 13.0 0.3 1.9 Humberside 11.9 0.3 2.3 Kent 23.1 0.4 1.8 Lancashire 26.8 0.7 2.5 Leicestershire 13.3 0.4 2.7 Lincolnshire 7.9 0.2 2.3 Merseyside 13.1 0.8 2.5 London 165.1 3.1 1.8 Norfolk 9.3 0.3 2.9 Northamptonshire 8.3 0.2 2.7 Northumbria 27.2 0.9 3.3 North Wales 10.0 0.3 2.9 North Yorkshire 10.3 0.3 2.5 Nottinghamshire 19.5 0.5 2.6 South Wales 28.0 0.6 2.3 South Yorkshire 18.7 0.5 2.4 Staffordshire 14.5 0.4 3.0 Suffolk 8.8 0.3 2.7
Connect 42: Total revenue budget £ million (1999–2002) Expenditure (£ million) As percentage of total area budget Surrey 11.3 0.4 3.3 Sussex 18.9 0.4 2.0 Thames Valley 21.8 0.6 2.7 Warwickshire 4.9 0.1 2.5 West Mercia 14.2 0.4 2.9 West Midlands 52.9 1.2 2.2 West Yorkshire 42.4 1.1 2.6 Wiltshire 7.2 0.2 2.4 The Connect 42 infrastructure provides a secure e-mail facility that is compatible with other government departments through the Government Secure Intranet (GSI) and with the police through the police network, the Criminal Justice eXtranet (CJX).
The CPS is therefore making its full contribution to the target set out in the "The Way Ahead" for all criminal justice professionals to be able to e-mail each other securely.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Solicitor-General which CPS regions are piloting the recommendations of Sir Robin Auld that the CPS should take over responsibility from the police for determining the charge from the outset of the case. [59343]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralA six-month pilot to identify the practical implications of implementing the recommendation that the CPS should take over the decision to charge from the police was established in mid-February in Kent (Medway division), Essex (the whole county), Wrexham (North Wales), Halifax (West Yorkshire) and Bath (Avon and Somerset). Two busy charging centres in Bristol were added to the pilot in April. A paper explaining the pilot in more detail is available from the Library.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Solicitor-General if Her Majesty's CPS Inspectorate has assessed the consistency of approach between each CPS area in respect of the(a) scrutiny and (b) credibility checks undertaken by the staff of the CPS in relation to (i) all cases and (ii) historical sex abuse cases. [59336]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralHM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) assesses the quality of decision making in each area on the basis of a sample of randomly selected files. Inspectors assess the extent to which prosecutors take all decisions in accordance with the principles set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors (the Code) promulgated by the Director of Public Prosecutions under section 10, Prosecution of Offices Act 1985. First, there must be sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction. Secondly, once the case has passed the evidential test, the circumstances must be such that a prosecution would be in the public interest. Area inspections reveal that a very high level of compliance is attained, that is 98.3 per cent. and 99.81 per cent. respectively up to the end of March 2002. Assessments of decisions made in child abuse cases are broadly similar.
In the joint inspection conducted by HMCPSI and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary into the investigation and prosecution of cases involving allegations of rape (the Rape Report), published in April 2002, there were insufficient numbers of historic sex 1288W abuse cases to render comparisons meaningful. Inspectors found that most decisions were in accordance with the Code, but were not satisfied that all rape cases were being reviewed consistently. Inspectors recommended that in future all rape cases be allocated to specialist lawyers and I informed the House on 25 April 2002 about the action to be taken by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in response to this. Furthermore, the inspectors recommended that the CPS updates, revises and widens its guidance to prosecutors on the review and handling of cases involving allegations of rape and that legal training on sexual offences be updated in the near future and undertaken by all appropriate lawyers and caseworkers. These recommendations, when addressed, will help ensure a consistent approach to the review and assessment of credibility in all rape cases, including historic sex abuse cases.