§ Lord Harris of Greenwichasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether following the statement of the Attorney-General as reported in The Times, 19th May 1988, that a "lack of enthusiasm" by the police of the Crown Prosecution Service was one of the reasons for its current problems, they will indicate when the association was informed in writing of his concern.
§ The Lord Chancellor (Lord Mackay of Clashfern)On Wednesday 18th May my right honourable and learned friend the Attorney-General gave a long interview to the Legal Affairs Correspondent ofThe Times. He discussed the results of an internal communications study conducted by the CPS and widely reported in the press, and explained some of the factors which had contributed to the workload pressures on the staff, to which a survey questionnaire had referred. Among those had been a lack of enthusiasm for the introduction of the CPS on the part of some police officers, leading, on occasion, to a lack of full concern to see that witness statements were served on time or even legibly. The Attorney-General made it clear, as press reports had not, that the survey was completed over six months ago, and that the present position in this regard was very different. Since the inception of the CPS, the Senior Liaison Committee had met regularly. This committee consists, among others, of the Director of Public Prosecutions and senior 1097WA members of his staff, a representative from the Attorney-General's office and representatives of ACPO.
At these meetings, the point referred to in the noble Lord's Question has been raised among other matters. It was also referred to in a speech made by the Attorney-General to the magistrates of East Sussex on 13th November 1987, which received substantial publicity.
The relationship between the Crown Prosecution Service and the police is now very good.