HC Deb 30 January 2001 vol 362 cc111-2W
Mr. Bercow

To ask the Solicitor-General what action the Government have taken since 2 May 1997 to ensure that victims of crime are kept informed of the progress of cases by the Crown Prosecution Service; and what(a) statutory and (b) non-statutory requirements there are on the service to keep victims so informed. [147445]

The Solicitor-General

The 1996 Victim's Charter commits the police to keeping victims informed of significant developments in the case, including any decision to drop or alter charges substantially.

There is currently no statutory or non-statutory requirement on the Crown Prosecution Service either to inform victims directly of its casework decisions or to inform them of the progress of the case.

The CPS has accepted responsibility to pass on information promptly to the police to enable them to fulfil their Charter obligations.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Solicitor-General on how many occasions in 2000 the Crown Prosecution Service(a) downgraded and (b) dropped charges; on how many occasions victims were informed of the decision; and what (i) statutory and (ii) non-statutory requirements there are on the service to inform victims in such cases. [147443]

The Solicitor-General

During the period January to September 2000 the Crown Prosecution Service discontinued proceedings in respect of 127,078 defendants, amounting to 12.6 per cent. of all cases completed in magistrates' courts. Proceedings were dropped in respect of a further 7,619 defendants in the Crown court, amounting to 11.9 per cent. of cases completed in the Crown court.

The Crown Prosecution Service does not routinely keep figures for charges downgraded, nor for charges increased in seriousness.

There is currently no statutory or non-statutory requirement on the Crown Prosecution Service either to inform victims directly of its casework decisions or to inform them of the progress of the case.

In 1998, Sir Iain Glidewell's independent review of the CPS recommended that the Service should take responsibility for communicating its casework decisions direct to victims rather than via the police. Similar recommendations followed in Sir William Macpherson's report into the death of Stephen Lawrence.

The CPS has welcomed these recommendations and is currently conducting a study to identify best practice with a view to national roll-out of direct communication with victims, which is due on a phased basis from April 2001.

The CPS will give as much detail as possible of the reasons for its decisions, bearing in mind that in some cases there may be sensitive and important matters which cannot properly be disclosed.

Subject to this initiative, the question of keeping victims and witnesses informed of the progress of the case will remain a matter for the police.