Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, what steps she is taking to help ensure effective prosecution rates for (a) serious and (b) violent crime cases in Beckenham and Penge constituency.

We are taking strong action as part of our Plan for Change to tackle serious and violent crime.

Our new Crime and Policing Bill will back our police by giving them enhanced and tougher powers to keep our streets safe, to tackle anti-social behaviour, and to crack down on knife crime.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutes serious and violent crime robustly, providing early investigative advice on complex and serious offending to build strong cases and deliver justice for victims.

The CPS is working with cross-government partners to support the delivery of the Safer Streets Mission and all CPS guidance and training is kept under constant review to ensure front-line prosecutors are equipped to prosecute these serious offences.