Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

756010

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2017
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Government Departments: Legal Costs
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many court cases the Government has defended since 2010; and what the cost to the public purse was of each such case.
	tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
	tabling member printed	Alan Brown
	uin	7101
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2017 answer text <p>Each Department is responsible for defending actions brought against them and makes their own arrangements for doing so. There is no central record of all court cases brought against the Government and therefore it is not possible to identify either the total number of cases or the cost of them.</p><p>However, most central government bodies instruct the Government Legal Department to conduct their litigation. Since the 2010-11 financial year the Government Legal Department has been instructed by government bodies in almost 200,000 cases costing about £570 million (including VAT).</p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 18/09/2017 11:35:43 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
	tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

756356

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2017
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Rape: Sentencing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many times (a) the CPS or (b) victims have requested that he reconsider court sentences for rape under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 on the grounds of undue leniency since 2009-10; on how many occasions he referred those cases to the Court of Appeal in each of those years; and on how many occasions the Court of Appeal decided (i) that the sentence was unduly lenient and (ii) to increase the sentence in each year in that period.
	tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull North
	tabling member printed	Diana Johnson
	uin	8450
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/09/2017 answer text <p>The records that the Attorney General’s Office holds reveal the following data in relation to rape offences.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Please note that these figures include referrals for sentences passed for rape offences charged under the 1956 Sexual Offences Act (for offences committed prior to the commencement of the 2003 Act but which were not sentenced until 2009 or afterwards) as well as for rape offences charged under the provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. It is of course likely that a high proportion of the referrals received by my office from the CPS will have been submitted with the full support of the victim.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Year</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Referrals to AGO made by Victim </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Referrals to AGO made by CPS</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Referred by AG or SG to CoA</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Considered ULS by the court</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Referrals where sentence increased</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2009</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>0</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>9</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>6</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>6</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2010</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>0</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>18</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>8</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>6</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>6</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2011</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>0</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>13</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>7</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>7</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>7</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2012</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>4</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>21</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>12</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>11</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>11</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2013</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>5</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>10</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>10</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>10</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2014</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>6</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>13</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>10</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>10</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2015</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>6</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>15</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>12 (1 of which was subsequently withdrawn)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>11</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>11</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2016</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>7</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>23</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>21 (1 of which was subsequently withdrawn</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>17</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>17</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2017</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>5</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>10</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>9 (of which 2 await determination)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>7</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>7</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 13/09/2017 14:57:25 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
	tabling member	1533 label Biography information for Dame Diana Johnson

756368

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2017
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Rape: Prosecutions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, (a) how many specialist rape prosecutors were employed by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in each of the 42 CPS areas and (b) how much was spent on those prosecutors in each year since 2009-10.
	tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull North
	tabling member printed	Diana Johnson
	uin	8431
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2017 answer text <p>The CPS currently operates across 14 geographical areas in England and Wales. Dedicated rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO) units were not introduced across the geographical areas until 2014. It is not possible for the CPS to provide reliable statistics with respect to prosecutor numbers working within these specialist units prior to 2015. Its records do show the number of prosecutors employed by the CPS in specialist RASSO units as at July 2015, June 2016 and May 2017.</p><p>Number of Prosecutors working in specialist RASSO units:</p><p>July 2015: 138</p><p>June 2016: 185</p><p>May 2017: 197</p><p>The CPS financial records have only recently split RASSO units into separate cost centres so it is not possible to provide the exact historical spend on RASSO prosecutors for each year. The headcount figures can be translated into an equivalent annual spend based on the average total payroll cost[1] of employing Senior Crown Prosecutors in each year. In 2015 the approximate cost of employing RASSO prosecutors was £9.3 million. In 2016 the approximate cost was £12.8 million and in 2017 it is estimated that the cost will be £13.8 million.</p><p>[1] Total payroll costs are inclusive of Employers National Insurance and Pension costs</p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 12/09/2017 08:00:20 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
	tabling member	1533 label Biography information for Dame Diana Johnson

756372

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2017
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Rape: Prosecutions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many times (a) victims have withdrawn support for a prosecution of an alleged rape under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 case and (b) the Crown Prosecution Service has decided not to continue with the prosecution of an alleged rape following the withdrawal of such support in each year since 2009-10.
	tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull North
	tabling member printed	Diana Johnson
	uin	8428
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2017 answer text <p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of victims who have withdrawn support for a prosecution or the number of cases the CPS has then subsequently decided not to proceed with. This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p>However, while the CPS does not collect data on the number of victims who withdraw support for the prosecution, or cases which do not proceed following the withdrawal of such support, information is available to show the overall number of pre-charge decisions where a decision not to prosecute was made and unsuccessful prosecution outcomes that were flagged as rape. These outcomes can be disaggregated to show the volume and proportion that were due to victim issues, including retraction, where it was inappropriate to compel the victim, non-attendance at trial or where the evidence given did not come up to proof.</p><p>The CPS monitoring of cases involving offences of rape involves the application of a rape ‘flag’ to applicable cases that are recorded on the CPS’ electronic Case Management System (CMS). The CPS definition of rape covers any case where the following offences were considered pre-charge or were subsequently charged:</p><ul><li>Rape: Section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956</li><li>Sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 13: Section 5 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956</li><li>Rape: Section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003</li><li>Rape of a child under 13: Section 5 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003</li><li>Sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder impeding choice: Section 30(3) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003</li><li>An attempt to commit any of the above offences under the Criminal Attempts Act 1981</li><li>Incitement or conspiracy to commit any of the above offences.</li></ul><p>The table below shows the volume and proportion of decisions not to prosecute due to victim issues in cases flagged as rape during each of the last seven available years.</p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Victim Issues</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>No Prosecution</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Charged</strong></p></td><td rowspan="2"><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Volume</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>%</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Volume</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>%</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Volume</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>%</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2009-2010</strong></p></td><td><p>291</p></td><td><p>3.8%</p></td><td><p>4,165</p></td><td><p>54.2%</p></td><td><p>3,232</p></td><td><p>42.1%</p></td><td><p><strong>7,683</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2010-2011</strong></p></td><td><p>299</p></td><td><p>3.7%</p></td><td><p>4,339</p></td><td><p>53.4%</p></td><td><p>3,387</p></td><td><p>41.7%</p></td><td><p><strong>8,130</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2011-2012</strong></p></td><td><p>190</p></td><td><p>2.8%</p></td><td><p>3,281</p></td><td><p>48.1%</p></td><td><p>3,213</p></td><td><p>47.1%</p></td><td><p><strong>6,822</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2012-2013</strong></p></td><td><p>113</p></td><td><p>2.1%</p></td><td><p>2,195</p></td><td><p>40.6%</p></td><td><p>2,889</p></td><td><p>53.5%</p></td><td><p><strong>5,404</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2013-2014</strong></p></td><td><p>158</p></td><td><p>2.7%</p></td><td><p>1,857</p></td><td><p>31.7%</p></td><td><p>3,621</p></td><td><p>61.9%</p></td><td><p><strong>5,850</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2014-2015</strong></p></td><td><p>189</p></td><td><p>3.1%</p></td><td><p>1,997</p></td><td><p>32.4%</p></td><td><p>3,648</p></td><td><p>59.2%</p></td><td><p><strong>6,159</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2015-2016</strong></p></td><td><p>181</p></td><td><p>2.6%</p></td><td><p>2,271</p></td><td><p>33.1%</p></td><td><p>3,910</p></td><td><p>57.0%</p></td><td><p><strong>6,855</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"><p>Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Victim issues include cases where the victim is called as a witness in a trial, but fails to attend court; where the evidence of the victim supports the prosecution case but the victim refuses to be called as a witness, or retracts, or withdraws a complaint; and where the evidence of the victim does not support the prosecution of the defendant, leading to an unsuccessful outcome, but the victim however, has not retracted.</p><p>The CPS will shortly be publishing its annual Violence Against Women and Girls Report for 2016-17 which will provide the most up to date assessment of rape flagged prosecutions including the key reasons for unsuccessful prosecutions.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 18/09/2017 11:58:25 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
	tabling member	1533 label Biography information for Dame Diana Johnson

756373

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2017
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Rape: Remand in Custody
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many applications were made to extend custody time limits (CTLs) in cases of alleged rape under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 where the defendant was remanded in custody in each year since 2009-10; and on how many occasions the Chief Crown Prosecutor was informed of a failure by the criminal justice system to adhere to CTLs in each of those years.
	tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull North
	tabling member printed	Diana Johnson
	uin	8451
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/09/2017 answer text <p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not collect data on the number of applications made to the courts to extend custody time limits in cases in which rape is alleged. This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p>To assist in the effective management of its prosecution functions the CPS maintains Custody Time Limit Failure Log. Data from that log showing the number of failures in rape cases in each year since 2011/12 for which the CPS was primarily responsible, and as a percentage of the total number of prosecutions in the year, is contained in the table below. In one of the CTLs listed, no application was made to extend. In the remainder, an application was made but refused by the court.</p><p>Earlier data are not available without incurring disproportionate cost. Data for the years 2009/10 and 2010/11 are not available.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>2011-2012</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2012-2013</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2013-2014</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2014-2015</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2015-2016</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2016-2017</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Prosecutions </strong></p></td><td><p>3,864</p></td><td><p>3,692</p></td><td><p>3,891</p></td><td><p>4,536</p></td><td><p>4,643</p></td><td><p>5,190</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>CTL failures</strong></p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>%</strong></p></td><td><p>0.05%</p></td><td><p>0.05%</p></td><td><p>0.00%</p></td><td><p>0.07%</p></td><td><p>0.02%</p></td><td><p>0.04%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>This data includes prosecution for rape under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and the Sexual Offences Act 1956 where the allegation occurred whilst that legislation was in force.</p><p>The Crown Prosecution Service does not collect data on the number of alleged rape cases in which the criminal justice system failed to adhere to custody time limits. There will be cases in which a custody time limit is not extended for reasons that do not involve any criticism of the CPS.</p><p>The Crown Prosecution Service monitors every case prosecuted by the CPS which is the subject of a custody time limit to ensure compliance with the regime.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 19/09/2017 12:22:44 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
	tabling member	1533 label Biography information for Dame Diana Johnson

756374

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2017
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Rape: Prosecutions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many complaints the Crown Prosecution Service received on the handling of allegations of rape under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in each year since 2004-05.
	tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull North
	tabling member printed	Diana Johnson
	uin	8429
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/09/2017 answer text <p><strong>ANSWER:</strong><strong> ATTORNEY GENERAL</strong>: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of complaints received about the handling of allegations of rape under the Sexual Offences Act 2003. This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p>It does however hold data about the Victim’s Right to Review (VRR) scheme. A VRR arises where the CPS finalises a case with a decision that qualifies under the scheme. Qualifying decisions are where the CPS:</p><p>(i) makes the decision not to bring proceedings (i.e. at the pre-charge stage); or</p><p>(ii) decides to discontinue (or withdraw in the Magistrates’ Court) all charges</p><p>involving the victim, thereby entirely ending all proceedings relating to them;</p><p>(iii) offers no evidence in all proceedings relating to the victim; or</p><p>(iv) decides to leave all charges in the proceedings to “lie on file”.</p><p> </p><p>The CPS launched the scheme in June 2013.</p><p> </p><p>The table below shows the number of VRR appeals received by the CPS, where the principal offence was identified as a sexual offence, since the Scheme began.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>June 2013 - March 2014</p></td><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>2016/17</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total VRR Appeals Received</p></td><td><p>143</p></td><td><p>239</p></td><td><p>373</p></td><td><p>453</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Number of Sexual Offence VRR Appeals Upheld</p></td><td><p>27</p></td><td><p>37</p></td><td><p>53</p></td><td><p>24</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>% of Sexual Offences Appeals Upheld</p></td><td><p>18.9%</p></td><td><p>15.5%</p></td><td><p>14.2%</p></td><td><p>5.3%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 19/09/2017 13:00:53 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
	tabling member	1533 label Biography information for Dame Diana Johnson

756377

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2017
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Rape: Prosecutions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many cases of alleged rape under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 were referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) by police in each year since 2009-10; on how many occasions the CPS pressed charges for those cases in each of those years; and what the (a) average, (b) shortest and (c) longest period of time between referral and charging was for cases which (i) did and (ii) did not lead to CPS charges in each of those years.
	tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull North
	tabling member printed	Diana Johnson
	uin	8464
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/09/2017 answer text <p>The table below shows the volume and proportion of charged suspects in cases flagged as rape during each of the last seven available years.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Volume</p></td><td><p>%</p></td><td><p><strong> Total no of cases referred </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2009 - 10</strong></p></td><td><p>3,232</p></td><td><p>42.1%</p></td><td><p><strong>7,683</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2010 - 11</strong></p></td><td><p>3,387</p></td><td><p>41.7%</p></td><td><p><strong>8,130</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2011 - 12</strong></p></td><td><p>3,213</p></td><td><p>47.1%</p></td><td><p><strong>6,822</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2012 - 13</strong></p></td><td><p>2,889</p></td><td><p>53.5%</p></td><td><p><strong>5,404</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2013 - 14</strong></p></td><td><p>3,621</p></td><td><p>61.9%</p></td><td><p><strong>5,850</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2014 - 15</strong></p></td><td><p>3,648</p></td><td><p>59.2%</p></td><td><p><strong>6,159</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2015 - 16</strong></p></td><td><p>3,910</p></td><td><p>57.0%</p></td><td><p><strong>6,855</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3"><p>(Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System)</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The CPS monitoring of cases involving offences of rape involves the application of a rape ‘flag’ to applicable cases that are recorded on the CPS’ electronic Case Management System (CMS). The CPS definition of rape covers any case where the following offences were considered pre-charge or were subsequently charged:</p><ul><li>Rape: Section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956</li><li>Sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 13: Section 5 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956</li><li>Rape: Section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003</li><li>Rape of a child under 13: Section 5 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003</li><li>Sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder impeding choice: Section 30(3) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003</li><li>An attempt to commit any of the above offences under the Criminal Attempts Act 1981</li><li>Incitement or conspiracy to commit any of the above offences.</li></ul><p>No separate record of the shortest or longest time from the initial request from the police to the decision to charge is maintained on the CMS, nor is any record collated showing the average number of days taken when the outcome of the charging decision is not to prosecute or any other outcome.</p><p>Rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO) investigations can be highly complex in nature and typically involve the review of a large quantity of evidence. In the vast majority of cases suspects are on police bail prior to a charging decision being made by the CPS and where the police seek a charging decision in such circumstances the CPS cannot authorise charges until the Full Code Test set out in the Code is met. The timeliness of a charging decision is determined by two key factors: how quickly the police can complete the necessary enquiries; and how quickly the CPS can then review the evidence provided by the police and finalise the charging decision.</p><p>The CPS recognises the distress caused to both complainants and defendants by delays in the charging process and we are committed to improving the timeliness of charging decisions. One of the most significant steps that the CPS has taken in this regard has been to substantially increase the resourcing allocated to the specialist RASSO units around the country which prosecute these cases. Between July 2015 and May 2017 the number of RASSO prosecutors available to make charging decisions rose from 138 to 197. This increased resourcing has contributed to an improvement in the timeliness of charging decisions. The number of RASSO cases awaiting CPS charging advice for between 28 days and 3 months fell by over 46% between March 2016 and March 2017 from 489 to 263 cases. Latest provisional data for July indicates the numbers have fallen still further to less than 130.</p><p>The CPS is committed to achieving further improvements in timeliness and in May 2017 the RASSO Service Standards were launched. These Standards set out best practice for the management of pre-charge RASSO bail cases between CPS areas and their local police partners. The Standards provide a commitment on the part of the CPS to provide a review of a case within 28 days of submission from the police and sets out an escalation procedure for police colleagues to follow when this target is not met. The Standards also require CPS staff to be actively involved in securing updates from investigating officers where there are significant delays in the police investigation of RASSO cases.</p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 19/09/2017 14:33:50 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
	tabling member	1533 label Biography information for Dame Diana Johnson

756421

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2017
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Attorney General: Consultants
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of consultancy assignments procured by the Law Officers' Departments are paid at a daily rate.
	tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
	tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
	uin	7924
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2017 answer text <p>The HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor Annual Report and Accounts 2016-17 which covers the expenditure of GLD, AGO and HMCPSI, discloses that expenditure on consultants has been kept to a minimum, with spend in 2016-17 of £7k. This figure relates to the cost of professional advice provided to HMCPSI, which was all on a daily rate.</p><p>The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has not employed any consultants within the past financial year or during the current year.</p><p>The CPS has not procured consultancy services during 2016/17 or during 2017/18 to date.</p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 12/09/2017 07:38:11 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
	tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

756422

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2017
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Attorney General: Temporary Employment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, whether requests for consultancy and temporary staff for the Law Officers' Departments must be accompanied by a formal business case.
	tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
	tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
	uin	7945
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/09/2017 answer text <p>Requests for temporary staff to be appointed within agreed budgetary provision in the CPS are not required to be accompanied by a formal business case within the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Requests for consultancy staff do require a formal business case within the CPS.</p><p>The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has not employed any consultants within the past financial year or during the current year. Spend on consultants would require a business case setting out the need for such expenditure to the SFO Finance and HR teams. Requests for temporary staff are agreed when the SFO budget is set at the beginning of the financial year. Any additional temporary recruitment during the year is dependent on discussions with the SFO Finance team and Human Resource team, and on occasion the Chief Operating Officer and would require a business case.</p><p>At GLD, HMCPSI and the AGO, agency workers are engaged through Civil Service contractual arrangements to cover short term vacancies and to secure specific specialist legal and support skills that are not available in-house. For that reason, a formal business case is not normally required, unless it is for new posts where agreement is required to increase the headcount in that business area to support a project to improve the department. The approval mechanism for consultancy spend is not via a resources board although a request for consultancy would need to be accompanied by a business justification.</p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 19/09/2017 12:11:45 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
	tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

756423

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2017
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Attorney General: Temporary Employment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of requests for consultancy and temporary staff for the Law Officers' Departments were approved via a resource board.
	tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
	tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
	uin	7966
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/09/2017 answer text <p>During 2016/17 no requests for consultancy or temporary staff for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have been considered by a ‘resource board’.</p><p>The SFO also does not approve any expenditure for consultants or temporary workers via a resource board.</p><p>The Government Legal Department (GLD) engages temporary staff through Civil Service contractual arrangements to cover short term vacancies and to secure specific specialist legal and support skills that are not available in-house. It does not use a resource board to approve this form of appointments. Rather, the department’s annual budget for staffing is agreed each year by the GLD Board and formal delegations are made to individual budget holders who then have responsibility for the recruitment and deployment of staff (including temporary staff, where appropriate) within central guidelines. The approval mechanism for consultancy spend at the GLD is not via a resources board although a request for consultancy would need to be accompanied by a business justification. However, there was no consultancy spend in GLD during the last financial year.</p><p>The AGO have not employed any consultancy or agency staff during 2016/17.</p><p>Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) discusses and authorises all requests for consultants or temporary staff at their strategic board.</p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 19/09/2017 11:40:54 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
	tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett