Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Toby Perkins and Lord Garnier

Tuesday 15th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

9. What steps he has taken to ensure that reductions in funding for the Crown Prosecution Service do not adversely affect front-line services.

[The Solicitor-General (Mr Edward Garnier)]

The two key priorities of the Crown Prosecution Service over the spending review period are quality and efficiency. The CPS strategy is to protect front-line delivery. Savings were sought in the first instance from back-office functions. Savings made from the front line will be achieved through greater productivity and by maximising the gains from improved criminal justice system efficiency and better use of technology.

[Toby Perkins]

Under the POD system operating in the Crown courts, only the most serious cases are now allocated to an individual dedicated prosecutor. Can the Solicitor-General tell the House how many cases under that system have been dropped or delayed because evidence was not prepared in time?

[The Solicitor-General]

No, I cannot, because the CPS deals with hundreds of thousands of cases every year. The POD system is actually in the CPS’s offices, not the Crown courts, but I take the hon. Gentleman’s point. The point of the POD system is to enable more people to have ownership of cases so that they are dealt with more efficiently.