Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department will set out clear guidance for prosecutors and magistrates on the use of Community Impact Statements and of expert witnesses in cases of illegal hare coursing prosecuted under the Game Act 1831.

Guidance for prosecutors on hare coursing and community impact statements is issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions under the superintendence of the Attorney General.

There is guidance for courts on community impact statements at paragraph VII H of the Criminal Practice Directions issued by the Lord Chief Justice.

The Criminal Procedure Rules about introducing expert evidence in criminal cases are in CrimPR Part 19 and there is guidance for courts at paragraph V 19A of the Lord Chief Justice’s Criminal Practice Directions.