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834491

registered interest
date	31/01/2018
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Trials: Disclosure of Information
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they received the Joint Inspectorate report into disclosure of evidence; and when the Attorney General launched his review of the rules and guidance relating to the disclosure of evidence.
tabling member printed	Lord Morris of Aberavon
uin	HL5297
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2018 answer text <p>The Attorney General’s Office received a copy of the Report of the Joint Inspection of the Disclosure of Unused Material in Volume Crown Court Cases from HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate on 4<sup>th</sup> July 2017.</p><p>The findings, and updates on progress against the report’s recommendations, were discussed at regular superintendence meetings with the Director of Public Prosecutions.</p><p>The Attorney General’s review was scoped and planned over subsequent months and the review team commenced work on the review itself on 4<sup>th</sup> December 2017.</p><p>On 11<sup>th</sup> December 2017 in a written ministerial statement on economic crime and anti-corruption [HLWS325], the Home Secretary formally announced that there would be a review of disclosure procedures led by the Attorney General.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 12/02/2018 15:20:27 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	565 label Biography information for Lord Morris of Aberavon

834492

registered interest
date	31/01/2018
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Trials: Disclosure of Information
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, for the last available year, how many cases were not proceeded with in magistrates' courts on the date fixed for trial because of a failure by the prosecution to disclose evidence.
tabling member printed	Lord Morris of Aberavon
uin	HL5298
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2018 answer text <p>CPS data for 2016-17 records that there were prosecutions of 499,816 defendants completed in the magistrates’ court, resulting in the conviction of 423,715 defendants, a conviction rate of 84.8%.</p><p>There are a number of reasons why a case may not be proceeded with after charge. Review of cases is a continuing process and prosecutors must take account of any change in circumstances that occurs as the case develops, particularly as details of the defence case become known.</p><p>Internal CPS case outcome recording data does not record cases by reference to the date on which the decision not to proceed was made. It is therefore not possible to provide data for cases that were not proceeded with on the date fixed for trial. Issues relating to the failure to disclosure unused material accounted for 1% of the cases that did not result in a conviction in the magistrates’ court in that year.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 12/02/2018 15:25:26 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	565 label Biography information for Lord Morris of Aberavon

834493

registered interest
date	31/01/2018
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Trials: Disclosure of Information
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Attorney General's review of disclosure procedures included a review of prosecutions in magistrates' courts; and if so, when they were included.
tabling member printed	Lord Morris of Aberavon
uin	HL5299
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2018 answer text <p>The Attorney General’s review of disclosure is a review of the efficiency and effectiveness of disclosure in the criminal justice system, including specifically how processes and policies are implemented by prosecution and defence practitioners, police officers and investigators.</p><p>The review will consider evidence under the following cross-cutting themes:</p><p>a) Processes within ‘volume’ cases (within the Crown Courts and Magistrates’ Courts) and ‘complex cases’ including economic crime;</p><p>b) Guidance, including any Codes of Practices, Protocols or Guidelines and legislation;</p><p>c) Case management, including initiatives such as ‘Transforming Summary Justice’, ‘Better Case Management’ and ‘Digital Casework’; and</p><p>d) Capabilities across criminal justice system including staffing, training, existing tools and digital technology.</p><p>The scope of the review is wide and has always included disclosure in magistrates’ courts. The Terms of Reference will be published on the Attorney General’s Office website.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 12/02/2018 15:26:06 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	565 label Biography information for Lord Morris of Aberavon

834494

registered interest
date	31/01/2018
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Trials: Disclosure of Information
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Attorney General received a letter from the Chairman of the Criminal Cases Review Commission on the issue of disclosure of evidence; and whether that correspondence can, and will, be published.
tabling member printed	Lord Morris of Aberavon
uin	HL5300
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2018 answer text <p>The Attorney General’s Office received a letter regarding disclosure in criminal proceedings from the Chairman of the Criminal Cases Review Commission on 7 July 2016. The text of the letter is published on their website ccrc.gov.uk. It highlighted that particular attention would be drawn to the issue in their annual report published later that month.</p><p>In April 2016 the Attorney General wrote to the Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorates supporting a proposal for a joint thematic inspection of disclosure as one of the most important issues in the trial process and a vital component of a fair trial.</p><p>The CCRC letter was drawn to the attention of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service to assist preparation for the joint inspection of disclosure which was carried out between January and July 2017.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 12/02/2018 15:49:11 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	565 label Biography information for Lord Morris of Aberavon

834495

registered interest
date	31/01/2018
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Trials: Disclosure of Information
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prosecution cases have collapsed because of a failure to disclose evidence in the last two years.
tabling member printed	Lord Morris of Aberavon
uin	HL5301
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2018 answer text <p>Prosecutors should identify and, where appropriate, seek to rectify evidential weaknesses in a case. However, they should stop cases which do not meet the evidential stage of the Full Code Test in the Code for Crown Prosecutors and which cannot be strengthened by further investigation, or where the public interest clearly does not require a prosecution. There is a continuing duty of review throughout the case.</p><p>Internal CPS case outcome recording data for 2015-17 shows that issues connected to the disclosure of unused material were recorded as the primary reason in 0.81% of all prosecutions that did not result in a conviction.</p><p>Other reasons prosecutions may be stopped include that new material reviewed during the case reveals evidence which undermines the prosecution case, key witnesses do not attend, key evidence is ruled inadmissible, or other circumstances change to the extent that a charge no longer meets the evidential stage of the Full Code Test.</p><p>The most frequent reason that a prosecution did not result in a conviction was that the defendant was acquitted after trial. This was the reason in 25% of such cases.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 12/02/2018 15:50:35 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	565 label Biography information for Lord Morris of Aberavon

832862

registered interest
date	29/01/2018
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Crown Prosecution Service
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to review the performance of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
uin	HL5197
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/02/2018 answer text <p>The performance of the DPP is reviewed on a regular basis and the Attorney General has regular meetings with the DPP about the work of the Crown Prosecution Service. The Crown Prosecution Service is also regularly inspected by HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate which includes looking at performance within each area and on a national level for thematic reports.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 15/02/2018 14:02:05 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra

832922

registered interest
date	29/01/2018
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Forensic Science
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, if he will make an estimate of the number of cases that have collapsed before going to trial due to private forensic firms having been found not to have followed correct procedures as referred to in the 2017 Annual Report of the Forensic Science Regulator, published in January 2018.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	125238
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2018 answer text <p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of cases that have collapsed before going to trial due to the failure of private forensic firms to follow the correct procedures.</p><p>The CPS continues to work with the Home Office, police and the office of the Forensic Science Regulator to assess the impact of issues relating to Randox Testing Services, on completed and ongoing cases, to ensure that appropriate action is taken.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 08/02/2018 09:10:55 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

830472

registered interest
date	25/01/2018
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Slavery: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many prosecutions under the Modern Slavery Act in 2017 were for cases involving victims under 18.
tabling member constituency	Stockport
tabling member printed	Ann Coffey
uin	125038
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2018 answer text <p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the number of offences in which a prosecution commenced, including offences charged by way of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 on its Case Management Information System. These data may be further disaggregated by the child abuse case monitoring flag. The CPS definition of child abuse covers any case where the victim was under 18 years of age at the time of the offence and allegations or crimes perpetrated by both adults and under 18s.</p><p> </p><p>During the most recently available year, the number of Modern Slavery Act offences flagged as child abuse, is as follows:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>-</p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong> 2016-2017</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>-</p></td><td><p>Child Abuse Flagged Offences</p></td><td><p>Total Offences</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Modern Slavery Act 2015 { 1(1)(a) and 5(1) }</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>13</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Modern Slavery Act 2015 { 1(1)(b) and 5(1) }</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>10</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Modern Slavery Act 2015 { 2(1) and 5(1) }</p></td><td><p>21</p></td><td><p>73</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Modern Slavery Act 2015 { 4 and 5(2) }</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Modern Slavery Act 2015 { 4 and 5(3) }</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><em>Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System</em></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>There is no indication of the number of individual defendants prosecuted for these offences or the final outcome of the prosecution proceeding or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at the time of finalisation. It is often the case that defendants will be prosecuted for more than one offence in the same set of proceedings.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 08/02/2018 13:16:29 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	458 label Biography information for Ann Coffey

830489

registered interest
date	25/01/2018
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Offences against the Administration of Justice: Prosecutions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions have taken place between the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney General on the potential prosecution of the person referred to as “Nick”, who made allegations about historical sexual abuse; and when a decision on whether a prosecution will take place will be made.
tabling member printed	Lord Campbell-Savours
uin	HL5101
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2018 answer text <p>The DPP has regular meetings with the Attorney General about the work of the Crown Prosecution Service, but the CPS makes its prosecuting decisions independently. The CPS has been passed a file by police in respect of potential offences of perverting the course of justice and fraud against ‘Nick’ and will make a decision on whether to bring a prosecution in due course.</p><p>In the meantime, ‘Nick’ has been charged separately with four offences of making indecent images of children and voyeurism.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 08/02/2018 15:23:10 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	499 label Biography information for Lord Campbell-Savours

830006

registered interest
date	24/01/2018
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Crown Prosecution Service: Public Appointments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, whether experience is a criterion for appointment to the role of Director of Public Prosecutions; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	New Forest West
tabling member printed	Sir Desmond Swayne
uin	124728
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2018 answer text <p>The role of the Director of Public Prosecutions is appointed by the Attorney General. When making the appointment a range of qualifications may be deemed suitable. A minimum of 10 years call or post qualified experience as either a barrister or solicitor is a statutory minimum requirement and the post holder is likely to have had significant criminal litigation practice.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 01/02/2018 08:38:02 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	55 label Biography information for Sir Desmond Swayne