Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, how many prosecutions for summary offences were discontinued as a consequence of delay in obtaining data from (a) social media companies and (b) the forensic examination of computers or mobile phones in the most recent year for which figures are available.

The Crown Prosecution Service does not maintain a central record of prosecutions dropped as a result of delays in receiving data from social media companies or from the forensic examination of computers or mobile phones. Obtaining this information would require a manual review of individual case files which would incur a disproportionate cost.