§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Solicitor-General how many(a) lawyers, (b) caseworkers and (c) administrative staff were recruited in (i) 1999–2000, (ii) 2000–01 and (iii) 2001–02; and how many (A) lawyers, (b) caseworkers and (C) administrative staff were employed in the same period in each CPS region. [59656]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralThe information requested is in tables, copies of which have been placed in the Library.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on the inappropriate attribution of agents' costs to the CPS non-cash limited vote. [60214]
The Solicitor-General: The CPS is responsible for the payment of fees to counsel agents engaged to prosecute in magistrates courts. Counsel agents attend magistrates courts to undertake routine prosecution work to supplement advocacy by CPS prosecutors. This work is paid for from the cash limited administrative costs budget. In some cases, where specialist advocacy is required, or exceptional preparation time is needed or a case is likely to be lengthy, a special fee is negotiated with counsel and paid from the non-cash limited prosecution costs provision.
In their quarterly report to the Law Officers for July to September 2001, HM CPS Inspectorate commented on the inappropriate attribution of costs to the non-cash limited prosecution costs provision by some areas. Following receipt of that report, further guidance was issued to area business managers in December 2001.
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§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Solicitor-General what action is being taken in each CPS region to develop qualitative and quantitative performance indicators. [60215]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service maintains qualitative performance indicators, both locally and nationally, consisting of records of case outcomes and a measure of attrition within the CPS case load. Procedures are under development to provide local area managers with a standard to measure the quality of case work against which will mirror, to an extent, those used by HM CPS Inspectorate. The CPS also maintains a range of quantitative performance indicators showing the timeliness of key functions such as the delivery of briefs to counsel, the service of committal papers, witness expense payments, the payment of invoices, replies to complaints, and replies to MPs' correspondence.
The implementation of the Compass Case Management system from December 2003 will enable an important expansion of the Department's range of information.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Solicitor-General what externally approved quality standards have been gained by each CPS region, with specific reference to BS5750 ISO 9000. [60206]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralISO 9000 is not one of the `Quality Schemes' used by the Crown Prosecution Service to measure the quality of its processes in meeting the needs and expectations of its customers. The Crown Prosecution Service is using the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model. This is a comprehensive framework used by a large number of organisations from across Europe both in the public and private sector to assess the strengths and areas of improvement across all its business activities.