§ Mr. David EvansTo ask the Attorney-General what steps he is taking to speed up the process of prosecution in fraud cases.
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§ The Attorney-GeneralProsecution of the most serious fraud cases, handled by the Serious Fraud Office, is already very much faster than before that office came into being. Currently the average period between the SFO taking on a case for investigation and the transfer of the case to the Crown court, is 15 months.
Long criminal trials are the subject of an inter-departmental working group, which issued a consultation paper at the end of the last year, and of examination by the Royal Commission on criminal justice, whose report is expected very shortly.
In assessing what steps should now be taken to expedite the trial process in serious fraud cases I, together with the Lord Chancellor and the Home Secretary, will consider the responses to the consultation paper and the views of the working group together with the report of the royal commission.