HC Deb 17 September 2003 vol 410 cc780-1W
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas

To ask the Solicitor-General in what ways the CPS is contributing to the CJS Case Preparation Project to reform case management in(a) magistrates' courts and (b) the Crown Court. [128725]

The Solicitor-General

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is actively supporting this Project, and has been closely involved in its development. At a local level, CPS practitioners are playing a key role in local implementation teams at each of the five pilot sites, and on the Local Criminal Justice Boards responsible for overseeing the delivery of the pilots. At a national level, the CPS has two senior representatives on the project board, and others on the national stakeholder machinery. The CPS has also seconded a senior prosecutor to the project team who is leading the 'production' strand of the project.

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas

To ask the Solicitor-General what targets were set by the CPS in 2002–03 on(a) the presentation in court of prosecution cases, (b) the testing of defence cases and (c) complying with the duties of disclosure; and what the performance results are of these targets. [128718]

The Solicitor-General

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) set a target in 2002–03 for Higher Court Advocates (HCAs) to undertake a minimum amount of advocacy in the Crown Court. The total national requirement was for HCAs to undertake 8,620 sessions; the outturn was 7,217 sessions or 83.7 per cent. No other targets were set in relation to the presentation of prosecution cases in court.

The CPS did not set any target in relation to testing the defence case.

The CPS does not set a target for compliance with disclosure requirements, but performance is monitored by Her Majesty's CPS Inspectorate (HMCPSI) as part of their regular cycle of inspections. The latest published annual data from HMCPSI, for 2001–02, shows that the percentage of cases where primary disclosure was handled properly was 80.4 per cent. and for secondary disclosure it was 75.3 per cent. From 1 April 2003, the CPS has been undertaking formal monitoring of performance on disclosure as part its internal Casework Quality Assurance programme.