HC Deb 06 November 2000 vol 356 cc104-5W
Mr. Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a formal response to the report, "Casework Information Needs within the Criminal Justice System", undertaken jointly by the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, HM Magistrates' Courts Service Inspectorate, HM Inspectorate of Prisons, HM Inspectorate of Probation and the Social Services Inspectorate; and if he will make a statement. [135580]

Mr. Charles Clarke

The Government welcome the joint inspectorates' report, and the way the six separate inspectorates collaborated together in reporting jointly on casework information flows right across the criminal justice system (CJS). This joint approach fits in well with the Government's development of joint planning for the CJS as a whole and in particular with the CJS Integrating Business and Information Systems (IBIS) initiative. There are no plans to publish a formal response to the report but it will be a useful aid to CJS departments, services and agencies in improving the way they currently handle casework information and its findings are being taken forward in ongoing work by CJS departments, including the points raised about the IBIS model of information flow in the criminal justice system. The inspectorates have indicated that, in their future inspections, they will be seeking confirmation that the recommendations of this report are being addressed and will commission a review of the implementation of the recommendations in two years' time.