HC Deb 15 February 1999 vol 325 c424W
Mr. Chaytor

To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the total number of staff(a) in his Department and (b) in each of the agencies for which he is responsible and their location in (i) London, (ii) Wales, (iii) Scotland and (iv) each of the English regions. [70475]

The Attorney-General

For the details regarding my Departments (The Crown Prosecution Service, Treasury Solicitor's Department, including the Government Property Lawyers Agency, the Serious Fraud Office and the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers) my hon. Friend is referred to the "Civil Service Statistics 1998", a copy of which is placed in the Library.

Mr. Chaytor

To ask the Attorney-General what steps he has taken to relocate staff in(a) his Department and (b) the agencies for which he is responsible to the regions of the United Kingdom with the highest levels of unemployment; and what plans he has further to decentralise the location of his Department and its agencies. [70461]

The Attorney-General

The Crown Prosecution Service acts as the prosecuting authority for England and Wales. At present, its staff are based at CPS Headquarters, with premises in London and York, and at 13 Area Headquarters with 90 Branches throughout England and Wales. From 1 April 1999, following the recommendations in the Glidewell Report, the CPS is to be restructured into 42 Areas, aligned with police force areas. The 90 branches will remain in their present locations, subject to review in due course. There are no plans at present to relocate the Headquarters offices in London and York. Location of individual CPS offices is determined by reference to operational needs, including proximity to the courts and police served by that office.

The Treasury Solicitor's Department has no current plans to relocate or decentralise staff.

The Serious Fraud Office has no current plans to decentralise or relocate. It is considered that its strategic objectives are best served by working close by the other major organisations in the Criminal Justice System and the major financial institutions in the City of London.

The small Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers operates as my private office and as such is required to be based in London.