Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the CPS in handling cases where the defendant has a mental health condition or disorder.

The CPS has made a number of recent improvements in its handling of cases involving defendants with a mental health condition or disorder, which has included new and refreshed training for prosecutors, and better information sharing with other criminal justice agencies.

Every CPS Area also has at least one single point of contact (SPOC) for mental health, who provide advice and support prosecutors in making decisions on complex cases involving mental health issues.

In addition, the CPS is also developing a mental health flag for its case management system, which will help to identify those with mental health needs and ensure that their cases get the specialist attention they require.

This good work was recognised in a Criminal Justice Joint Inspection report published in November 2021.