Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his Department's policy is on prosecuting recordable criminal offences using the single justice procedure.

The use of the single justice procedure is limited to summary-only non-imprisonable offences, and the vast majority of offences prosecuted under this procedure are non-recordable.

Prosecutors are free (where the law permits) to prosecute by single justice notice, requisition, or arrest and charge. The decision on how to prosecute rests with prosecutors and is not a matter for the Secretary of the State or the courts.