Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what the full operational budget for the Crown Prosecution Service was in each of the last five years.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson
Information on the budgets and expenditure for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is publicly available and can be found in the Parliamentary accountability and audit report sections of the annual reports. This includes CPS operational budgets which can be publicly accessed and does cover each of the last five years. The annual reports can be accessed here: www.cps.gov.uk/publication/annual-reports-and-business-plans |
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the CPS in ensuring access to justice for the victims of crime in Newport West constituency.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson
The CPS is committed to ensuring that victims of crime are able to access justice in England and Wales. Last year, the CPS commissioned independent research to better understand what victims want and need, and to identify areas for improvement.
On the 27 June 2022, the CPS published its response to the research findings, setting out key areas of action.
A long-term Victim Transformation Programme has been launched. Under phase one, the CPS is working on the development of a new operating model to improve the way it communicates and engages with all victims.
It is a 2–3-year programme of work, with a phased approach to implementation starting in the next calendar year.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many staff were employed by the Crown Prosecution Service in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The number of staff employed by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) during the periods specified is available in the table below. During this period the CPS has undertaken continuous improvement and modernisation programmes to improve efficiency and effectiveness. These included digitalisation, development of a national resourcing model, standard operating practices, resource efficiency measures, smarter/remote working practices, and establishment of remote teams. As a national service for England and Wales, the consequence of these measures is that we now have the ability to shift work to where capacity resides which is both much more efficient, and also fairer on the workforce.
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Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many of the cases referred to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision in each of the past five years were still awaiting a charging decision after six months.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Data is collated by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) showing the number of individual pre-charge consultations that are recorded as taking longer than 180 days (six months). The table below shows the number and proportion of these in each of the last four years – this data was introduced from April 2018.
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Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many data incidents her Department (a) recorded and (b) reported to the Information Commissioner's Office in (i) 2018-19, (ii) 2019-20 and (iii) 2020-21.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Attorney General’s Office have had no data incidents recorded or reported to the Information Commissioner's Office in (i) 2018-19, (ii) 2019-20 and (iii) 2020-21. |
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, when she first knew that the Prime Minister was present at the gathering in the Downing Street garden on 20 May 2020.
Answered by Suella Braverman
The Law Officers have regular discussions with Ministerial colleagues across government on a range of topics.
By convention, whether the Law Officers have been asked for formal advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, whether she was involved in drafting the contents of the Prime Minister's oral answer of 12 January to the hon. Member for Vale of Clwyd.
Answered by Suella Braverman
The Law Officers have regular discussions with Ministerial colleagues across government on a range of topics.
By convention, whether the Law Officers have been asked for formal advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, whether she had discussions with the Prime Minister before his oral answer of 12 January to the hon. Member for Vale of Clwyd on the content of that answer.
Answered by Suella Braverman
The Law Officers have regular discussions with Ministerial colleagues across government on a range of topics.
By convention, whether the Law Officers have been asked for formal advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of his Department's energy usage in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The following table sets out the total expenditure on energy (£) by the Government Legal Department (GLD) including HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI), the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). These figures are published as part of each Department’s respective annual reports.
| Total Expenditure on Energy (£) |
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Financial year | GLD + HMCPSI | CPS | SFO |
2018-19 | 568,725 | 757,000 | 135,000 |
2019-20 | 672,193 | 657,000 | 174,000 |
2020-21 | 333,033 | 357,000 | Awaiting National Audit Office approval |
The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) is unable to provide this information. As published in the HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor Annual Report and Accounts 2019/20, ‘The AGO occupies shared accommodation in 5-8 The Sanctuary, London and it is not possible to separately identify their energy or water consumption or recycling of waste’.
The AGO has recently moved, all accommodation interests are now managed through the Government Property Agency (GPA) and that body will publish any sustainability data in relation to the AGOs occupation within 102 Petty France, London.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what steps the CPS is taking to improve the prosecution rate of people responsible for forced marriages.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The CPS takes the prosecution of forced marriage seriously. Each CPS Area has a lead prosecutor on forced marriage who works closely with the police and other prosecutors. The CPS’s legal guidance on forced marriage assists prosecutors and is reviewed regularly. For example, it was revised last year to address cases where the victim lacks capacity to consent to marriage. Since April 2019, the joint police and CPS forced marriage working group has developed training for prosecutors and agreed a protocol for the investigation and prosecution of forced marriage. The CPS is also working with stakeholders to identify and address the obstacles to the prosecution of forced marriage.