Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what steps he is taking to improve the system of evidence disclosure in criminal justice cases.

Towards the end of last year I launched a review of disclosure procedures in the criminal justice system. This followed a comprehensive joint inspection of disclosure in volume Crown Court cases by Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary which concluded earlier in 2017, and the recommendations of the project to review our response to economic crime commissioned by the Prime Minister.

The scope of my review is wide, covering cases in the Magistrates’ Courts as well as more complex Crown Court cases and specialist types of cases, including economic crime and sexual offences. The review will examine existing Codes of Practice, Protocols, Guidelines and legislation as well as case management initiatives and capabilities across the criminal justice system, including how digital technology is used.

Alongside the review, on 26 January 2018 the Crown Prosecution Service and National Police Chiefs’ Council published their joint National Disclosure Improvement Plan, a package of measures to improve how the criminal justice system deals with disclosure. This joint plan sets out what they have already done to improve the disclosure process and the further steps they will take. The Government will continue to monitor progress, to ensure that the police and Crown Prosecution Service deliver on the actions they have committed to undertake.