§ Q130. Mr. Forthasked the Attorney-General if he will give the estimated costs over a full year of the 300W proposed Crown prosecution service; if he has received any estimate of the cost of the alternative salary structure proposed by the representatives of the legal staff involved; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Solicitor-GeneralThe estimated costs over a full year of the proposed Crown prosecution service are £115 million. This includes the additional costs of about £1.7 million arising from the revised salary and grading structure, and the package of other terms and conditions of service, which I detailed in my answer to the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington (Sir D. Smith) on 13 November 1985 at column 172. The most comprehensive proposals for a salary structure for lawyers have in fact been put forward by the Council of the Prosecuting solicitors' Society of England and Wales pursuant to a resolution passed at its annual conference. Although the society does not have formal negotiating rights, its proposals were of course carefully considered. They would have increased salary costs by a further £1.7 million. I am confident that the salary structure which will now be used in the Crown prosecution service will recruit and retain sufficient staff of the appropriate quality.