Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to reform the powers of the Crown Prosecution Service to authorise out-of-court disposals.

On 3 November 2014, the Ministry of Justice published its response to the public consultation on adult out-of-court disposals (OOCDs). This response proposes a new, two-tier OOCD framework, elements of which are currently being piloted in three police forces (Staffordshire, West Yorkshire, and Leicestershire). If this proposed framework were rolled out on a national level, it would require legislation to put Community Resolutions and the new Suspended Prosecution on a statutory footing. However, substantive reform of the legal powers of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is not envisaged.