Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Dines Excerpts

Thursday 18th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We now come to questions to the Attorney General, and I congratulate Michael Ellis on his appointment.

[Miss Sarah Dines (Derbyshire Dales) (Con)]

What recent assessment he has made of the performance of the CPS complex casework units. [R]

[The Attorney General (Michael Ellis)]

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. The Crown Prosecution Service complex casework units undertake some of the most complex and serious casework handled by the CPS. A recent report published by the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate has found that CPS complex casework units are staffed by highly dedicated, skilled and professional teams who deliver high-quality casework, often in demanding circumstances and at short notice.

[Miss Dines [V]]

I thank the Attorney General for his answer. What is the Crown Prosecution Service doing to tackle serious crimes such as drug dealing in my Derbyshire constituency?

[The Attorney General]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. The CPS East Midlands complex casework unit recently worked on an operation called Operation Trent, which concerned prosecutions against a criminal gang for drug-related activities during 2017 and 2018. A total of 26 people were convicted, and the two main defendants were sentenced in February this year. They got sentences of 20 years and 19 years, and the majority of the other defendants in that big case received custodial sentences of between 13 years and five years.