Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what data his Department holds on the average length of time taken by the Crown Prosecution Service to deliver early investigative advice in (a) 2017 and (b) 2018.

During 2017/18 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) took an average of 28 calendar days from the receipt of a request for early investigative advice to complete the consultation and provide a response to the police. Responses to the police may take longer depending on the complexity of the case in question.

The facility to capture and report this information through the CPS Case Management Information System was introduced on the 1^st April 2017.