Asked by: Alan Strickland (Labour - Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Crown Prosecution Service's performance in the North East.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
CPS North East is making measurable progress. In the twelve months to June 2025, CPS North East prosecuted 26,187 defendants with a conviction rate of 86.2%, which is comfortably above the national average of 82.9%.
The below table provides details of the volume suspects charged by CPS North East and the charge rate as a proportion of all legal decisions:
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 (Jan - Jun) |
Charges | 7,810 | 6,578 | 6,243 | 7,230 | 8,036 | 3,943 |
Legal Decisions | 10,833 | 8,951 | 8,023 | 8,798 | 9,940 | 4,958 |
Charge Rate (% of Legal Decisions) | 72.1% | 73.5% | 77.8% | 82.2% | 80.8% | 79.5% |
Data source: CPS Case Management Information System | ||||||
The following table provides the number of defendants convicted in the North East, the total number of defendants prosecuted and the conviction rate:
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 (Jan - Jun) |
Completed Prosecutions | 21,089 | 23,640 | 21,920 | 21,889 | 24,635 | 13,450 |
Convictions | 17,766 | 19,410 | 18,238 | 18,694 | 21,199 | 11,567 |
Conviction Rate (%) | 84.2% | 82.1% | 83.2% | 85.4% | 86.1% | 86.0% |
Data source: CPS Case Management Information System | ||||||