§ Mrs. Curtis-Thomas:To ask the Solicitor-General how the CPS has revised its National Standards of Advocacy; and which areas employ full-time advocacy assessors and trainers to ensure that CPS advocates meet those standards. [128722]
§ The Solicitor-General:The Crown Prosecution Service regularly revises and publishes National Standards of Advocacy, usually every three years. The standards outline behaviours and practices that are expected of advocates who represent the Crown.
This year the standards have been revised to take account of the increased commitment of the Crown Prosecution Service to the care of victims and witnesses; the increased role of Crown advocates in the higher courts and the need to increase public confidence in the criminal justice system as a whole in line with the Public Service Agreement target.
All Crown Prosecution Service in-house advocates are annually appraised through the performance appraisal system by their line managers. This is most often done by way of observation in court by managers. However, some areas, currently London, Thames Valley and West Yorkshire, employ full-time advocacy inspectors and trainers who observe all the Area's 28W advocates regularly throughout the year and give feedback on performance to the individual as well as their managers.