Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, how many and what proportion of all (a) Crown Prosecution Service and (b) Serious Fraud Office cases were prosecuted by external counsel in 2013-14 and each of the five preceding years; and what the cost to each agency was of such counsel in each such year.

Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) cases are not prosecuted exclusively by self-employed advocates or in-house advocates. Many cases are transferred between self-employed and in-house advocates and therefore it is not possible to report on the number or proportion of cases prosecuted solely by one type of advocate or the other.

However, the CPS does record the proportion of work undertaken across the 13 CPS Areas in the Crown Court by self-employed advocates by value, in accordance with the graduated fee scheme (GFS). CPS records show:

The cost to the CPS of fees paid to self-employed advocates in relation to Crown Court and Higher Court advice, preparation and advocacy for each of the last six years is:

2013-14: £114,606,541

2012-13: £110,608,524

2011-12; £111,041,044

2010-11: £134,194,869

2009-10: £135,296,368

2008-09: £127,132,677

Note: Figures include VAT and are all fees paid to self-employed advocates not just those paid under the graduated fee scheme.

All of the cases prosecuted by the Serious Fraud Office in the Crown Court are prosecuted by external counsel. Costs associated with this are detailed in the following table.