Oral Answers to Questions

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 9th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Solicitor General]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. That is quite right and he makes an important point about social media and the risk of contempt of court. My office has prepared and promoted materials available online to inform the general public, including slides and web pages, and I entirely agree that an emphasis on education is important to ensure that members of the public do not inadvertently publish prejudicial material online, because doing so can have serious consequences.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the CPS during the covid-19 outbreak.

[Sara Britcliffe (Hyndburn) (Con)]

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the CPS during the covid-19 outbreak.

[The Attorney General (Suella Braverman)]

First, I thank the CPS for its hard work during this difficult time. It has had to adapt to significant changes to its normal working practices, and despite the challenges has maintained a high quality of service within our criminal justice system and for victims. The inspectorate report published on 30 June sets out an analysis of its response to the pandemic. It commends the organisation’s digital capability, strategic planning and foresight in upgrading its capabilities, which meant that prosecutors were able to continue their vital work with minimum disruption. I was very pleased to virtually visit the CPS in the south-west, where I was able to see at first hand the impressive way in which it has transitioned to this new way of working.

[Henry Smith [V]]

What progress has the Crown Prosecution Service made in its recruitment campaigns during the covid-19 pandemic?

[The Attorney General]

Last week, I chaired the CPS ministerial board, at which I was pleased to hear that the CPS’s recruitment programme has continued at pace throughout the pandemic, utilising digital tools, including video interviews. The CPS is recruiting 390 new staff as a result of the Government’s £85 million investment in it. Two hundred and twenty-five lawyers have started and a further 76 have been offered roles and will be starting in the near future. The most recent campaign closed on 17 June and resulted in a record number of applications—901.