§ Mrs. GoldingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what equipment his Department is using to prepare video evidence for use in courts; and what assessment he has made of the quality.
§ Mr. MacleanThe procurement of equipment for the preparation of video evidence is a matter for chief officers of police but the Home Office has issued technical guidelines to assist them. Video playback equipment for viewing video evidence is now available in 71 Crown court centres. The Home Office has commissioned research into the new provisions for child witnesses in the Criminal Justice Act 1991, which will include an assessment of the quality and acceptability of video taped statements. Also, an interdepartmental working group was reconvened in February 1994 to consider the effectiveness of current arrangements for the presentation of video-recorded evidence at court.