HL Deb 22 February 1993 vol 543 cc8-12WA
Lord Spens

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will provide a breakdown of the past, present and future costs of the various prosecuting authorities in the United Kingdom (analysed on a basis consistent with the dates and costs in the leaflet Legal Aid—The Facts of December 1992) and to divide these costs in relation to those incurred in the payment of barristers, solicitors, accountants and members of other professions.

The Lord Chancellor

Information is provided in the tables below about the costs of the three prosecuting authorities superintended by my right honourable and learned friend the Attorney-General. The different nature of the functions of those authorities when contrasted with the legal aid scheme make direct comparison impossible. Moreover, the information available in respect of each authority and the manner in which it is kept reflects the differences in the scope of responsibilities and structure. Table 1 refers to the Crown Prosecution Service, which independently reviews and, where appropriate, conducts all prosecutions initiated by the police in England and Wales. Table 2 relates to the Serious Fraud Office, which is responsible for both investigation and, where appropriate, prosecution of a small number of serious or complex fraud cases. Table 3 relates to the Director of Public Prosecutions (Northern Ireland), who is responsible for a range of prosecutions, generally the more serious cases, as detailed in the Prosecution of Offences (NI) Order 1972. Part A of each table sets out the costs and expenditure plans of each authority. Part B of each table provides details of expenditure on fees of independent practitioners. In the case of the CPS it also includes the costs of employed lawyers because of the high proportion of cases dealt with by them. Part C provides details of case load.

£ millions
1988–89 Outturn 1991–92 Outturn 1992–93 Outturn estimated 1993–94 Plans 1994–95 Plans 1995–96 Plans
Barristers in private practice 47.0 68.0 73.0 79.1 84.3 88.3
Solicitors in private practice 10.6 9.1 7.2 7.4 7.6 7.7
Accountants in private practice 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
Other experts in private practice 0.4 1.6 1.9 1.6 1.7 1.8
CPS employed lawyers1 31.9 56.3 66.1 73.0 75.7 78.8
1 Figures shown represent lawyers' salary costs which are not available broken down according to qualifcation as barrister or solicitor.

Part C

The number of defendants' cases received by the Crown Prosecution Service was

Number
1988–89 1,574,116
1989–90 1,622,347
1990–91 1,625,057
1991–92 1,571,175
1992–931 1,163,842
1 9 months to date.

£ thousands
1988–89 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96
Outturn
Actual Actual Estimated Plans Plans Plans
Counsel 0883 3,730 14,856 4,971 4,197 4,152
Accountants 0277 3,814 15,760 2,625 2,496 1,964
1 The increases in 1992–93 are due to the investigation of BCCI and the Maxwell Group of companies. These cases also affect the figures for 1991–92, 1993–94 and 1994–95.

TABLE 1

Part A

Total CPS costs increased by 83 per cent. over the last five years:

  • In 1988–89 net costs were £154 million
  • In 1991–92 net costs were £242 million
  • In 1992–93 net costs will about £283 million

Costs are estimated to grow by approximately 4 per cent. a year:

  • In 1993–94 to £294 million
  • In 1994–95 to £308 million
  • In 1995–96 to £321 million

Part B

The costs of payments to lawyers, accountants and other professionals in private practice and of all in house lawyers employed by the CPS were as follows:

TABLE 2

Part A

Total SFO expenditure has increased by:

  • In 1988–89 net expenditure was £7 million
  • In 1991–92 net expenditure was £18 million
  • In 1992–93 net expenditure will be about £22 million

Expenditure is estimated to decline by approximately 5 per cent. over the planning period:

  • In 1993–94 to £21 million
  • In 1994–95 to £20 million
  • In 1994–96 to £19 million

Part B

The costs of lawyers and accountants in private practice engaged by the SFO are as follows:

Part C

The number of cases undertaken by the SFO are:

Number
1990–91 82
1991–92 83
1992–931 77
1 From 1st April 1992 to 31st January 1993.

Cases undertaken consist of active cases on hand at the beginning of the year plus those taken on during the year.

TABEL 3

Part A

Total costs of DPP(NI) have increased by 41 per cent. over the last five years:

  • In 1988–89 net costs were £4.6 million
  • In 1991–92 net costs were £6.3 million
  • In 1992–93 net costs were £6.5 million

Costs are estimated to grow by approximately 11 per cent. over the next three years:

  • In 1993–94 to £6.4 million
  • In 1994–95 to £7.0 million
  • In 1995–96 to £7.2 million

Part B

The costs of counsel instructed by DPP(NI) are as follows:

£ millions
1988–89 Actual 1.402
1991–92 Actual 1.793
1992–93 Estimated 1.7
1993–94 Plans 1.8
1994–95 Plans 2.0
1995–96 Plans 2.0

Part C

The numbers of persons in respect of whom proceedings were conducted by counsel is (by calendar year):

Number
1988 12,400
1989 11,310
1990 10,443
1991 10,326

These figures include High Court bail applications, summary prosecutions, committals for trial, trials and appeals.

One individual may included in several categories.