Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on failures relating to the disclosure of evidence in criminal cases and police culture.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The Attorney General and I engage frequently with the Home Office, and issues relating to disclosure remain of paramount importance to us. Extensive action is underway to bring about the necessary cultural change within the CPS and policing, and we are clear that this is a collaborative effort. In June the Minister for Policing and I will be co-chairing a Tech Summit, in order to address the increasing amount of digital material involved in the disclosure process.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what steps he is taking to tackles failures in the disclosure of evidence through encouraging early engagement between prosecution and defence teams in criminal cases.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The Attorney General’s ‘Review of the efficiency and effectiveness of disclosure in the criminal justice system’, published in November 2018, highlighted the need for early engagement. The Review includes recommendations on pre-charge engagement and proportionate frontloading to ensure there is a better balance between streamlining work and performing disclosure obligations early. This National Disclosure Improvement Plan, which contains commitments made by the CPS, NPCC and College of Policing, also highlights the importance of engagement between the prosecution and the defence.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, whether the Government has plans to close the Crown Prosecution Service office on (a) Greyfriars Road, Cardiff; (b) Wrexham Road, Mold and (c) Grove Place, Swansea.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The Crown Prosecution Service has no plans to close its offices on (a) Greyfriars Road, Cardiff; (b) Wrexham Road, Mold and (c) Grove Place, Swansea.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what his Department's implementation plan is for banning the box on job applications.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The application process for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Government Legal Department (GLD), Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and HMCPSI does not include a declaration box for candidates to declare a criminal record.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of job roles advertised within his Department in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017 excluded the box under the Ban the Box initiative.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
No Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Attorney General’s Office (AGO), or Government Legal Department (GLD) advertised job roles in 2016 and 2017 included a declaration box for candidates to declare a criminal record.
HMCPSI had one new recruitment in each of these years. The tick box was included in the campaign in 2016, but was removed in 2017.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, if he will make an estimate of the number of cases that have collapsed before going to trial due to private forensic firms having been found not to have followed correct procedures as referred to in the 2017 Annual Report of the Forensic Science Regulator, published in January 2018.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of cases that have collapsed before going to trial due to the failure of private forensic firms to follow the correct procedures.
The CPS continues to work with the Home Office, police and the office of the Forensic Science Regulator to assess the impact of issues relating to Randox Testing Services, on completed and ongoing cases, to ensure that appropriate action is taken.