§ Lord Windleshamasked Her Majesty's Government:
What subjects are covered in tile trilateral discussions between the Home Office, the Lord Chancellor's Department and the Crown 1894WA Prosecution Service; when the meetings commenced and how often they take place; and whether there is scope for closer co-operation between the agencies of criminal justice at regional or local level.
§ The Lord Chancellor (Lord Mackay of Clashfern)There have always been informal trilateral contacts on issues of common concern in the criminal justice field between the Lord Chancellor's Department, the Home Office and the Crown Prosecution Service. But in late 1987 Ministers decided to establish more regular trilateral contacts between those departments. As a result, although Ministers from those three departments continue to meet informally as necessary, the arrangements are now underpinned more systematically by regular Ministerial trilateral meetings and meetings between officials from these three departments at all levels between Permanent Secretary and Grade 7.
Two-day conferences at Permanent Secretary level are held annually and meetings between Grade 2 officers at intervals of two or three months, supplemented by frequent day to day contacts. These meetings are convened to consider broad questions of strategy, policy and resources in relation to the criminal justice system from the premise that co-operation between the various agencies which comprise the criminal justice system is crucial to the successful operation of the system as a whole. In addition, regular trilateral discussions take place as frequently as necessary on more specific concerns, such as finance, the gathering of statistics about the operation of the system and the use of information technology in the courts and in the preparation of cases.
The Senior Liaison Committee, which includes representatives from the three departments and the police and justices clerks, meets twice a year under the chairmanship of the Director of Public Prosecutions. This committee focuses on the operational implications of policy and on the specific delivery of services within the system.
Regular regional liaison takes place two or three times annually on each of the six court circuits. These meetings are chaired by the circuit administrator, with additional representatives from the probation service and the police.
At present liaison arrangements at local or court level are less structured, as contact between all court users arises as a matter of course on a daily basis thus reducing the need for formal trilateral discussions. However a significant and growing number of court user committees have been established as local forums, representing the interests of all court users. These committees meet regularly.