§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Solicitor-General how many people were working in a research capacity in the office of the(a) CPS, (b) Attorney-General and (c) Solicitor-General in each year since the inception of the CPS, as a percentage of (i) staff turnover and (ii) the number of people employed. [37777]
§ The Solicitor-General[holding answer 27 February 2002]: The Policy Directorate in CPS Headquarters, based in London and York, presently employs around 60 staff, of which 30 are qualified lawyers. This constitutes 0.05 per cent. of the number of people presently employed by the CPS. Unfortunately, figures to show the number of Policy Directorate staff in each year since the inception of the CPS cannot be disaggregated from recorded data either as a percentage of staff turnover or the number of staff employed.
The Directorate has responsibility for development of prosecution policy, setting standards and giving guidance to CPS staff on the criminal law generally. It also contributes to the development of criminal law by liaising with other agencies on new legislative proposals and initiatives. This often involves research based work for both the legally qualified staff and for a smaller number of administrative staff.
660WThe office of the Attorney-General and Solicitor-General also does not employ persons in a specific research capacity, but is staffed predominantly by lawyers whose role is to brief the Law Officers on a wide range of issues.