§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Solicitor-General what percentage of the CPS's area business managers were new appointments in 2002–03. [128837]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralDuring the financial year 2002–03, 71 per cent. of Area Business Managers were new appointments.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Solicitor-General how many cases were dealt with by the Crown Prosecution Service in(a) 2002–03 and (b) 2001–02. [128853]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralIn 2002–03 the Crown Prosecution Service dealt with cases in respect of 1,435,763 defendants in magistrates courts of which 125,709 proceeded to the Crown court. In 2001–02 the figures were 1,359,205 in magistrates courts, of which 115,014 proceeded to the Crown court.
The magistrates court figures include some non-criminal proceedings and advice cases that may not have resulted in prosecution. Crown court figures include appeals and committals for sentence.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Solicitor-General how many defendants were prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service in(a) magistrates courts and (b) the Crown Court in (i) 2002–03 and (ii) 2001–02. [128854]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralIn 2002–03 the Crown Prosecution Service prosecuted 1,362,312 defendants in magistrates courts, of which 94,546 proceeded to the Crown Court. The comparable figures for 2001–02 were 1,304,185 defendants prosecuted in magistrates courts, of which 84,335 proceeded to the Crown Court. These figures exclude non-criminal proceedings and advice cases, appeals and committals for sentence.
496WThe number of defendants prosecuted by the CPS rose over the two year period. In magistrates courts there was an increase of 58,127, or 4.5 per cent. In the Crown Court there was an increase of 10,211 defendants, or 12.1 per cent.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Solicitor-General how many(a) summary cases and (b) indictable or either way cases were received by the Crown Prosecution Service in 2002–03. [128859]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralThe Crown Prosecution Service holds no central records showing the type of charge in cases received: rather the information is recorded when the case is eventually completed.
In 2002–03 the Service dealt with 796,742 defendants in summary proceedings in magistrates courts, and 565,570 in either way and indictable only proceedings in the magistrates courts and the Crown court.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Solicitor-General what change there has been in the volume of pre-charge advices provided to the police by the Crown Prosection Service since 2001–02. [128860]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralPending the implementation of the charging scheme in the Criminal Justice Bill, the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are establishing non-statutory arrangements (based on those which were piloted in 2002) which involve their working together more closely pre-charge. One element is the provision of early CPS advice through a duty prosecutor routinely stationed at busy police stations or charging centres. These arrangements, which in some Areas are still at the planning stage, should be in operation in all Areas by the end of the year. Prior to the charging pilot, advices sought by the police from most forces were usually limited to a few cases involving substantial legal difficulty. Frequently, advice was sought after charge when many of the issues were already decided and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) intervention would often involve a reversal of previous police decisions. In the charging pilot last year over 6,100 advices were sought by the police during the period of CPS attendance.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Solicitor-General what the Crown Prosecution Service budget was for(a) 2002–03 and (b) 2001–02. [128862]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralThe Crown Prosecution Service resource budget was(a) £464 million for 2002–03 and (b) £402 million for 2001–02.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Solicitor-General how many additional lawyers the CPS employed in 2002–03 [128873]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralThe number of lawyers in post has increased by 237 during the period from 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003, when the total stood at 2,267.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Solicitor-General what percentage of CPS staff work in areas prosecuting or supporting the prosecution of offenders. [128874]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralAll staff in the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are employed to ensure that the CPS can fulfil its statutory functions, namely prosecuting offenders. A table showing the percentage of staff working in different functional areas follows.
497W
Functional area Percentage Areas 88.1 HQ casework 2.6 HQ policy 1.2 Headquarters 4.3 Service centres 3.8 Total 100