Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what steps he plans to take in response to the funding of HM Chief Inspectorate of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in his Annual Report 2013-14, page 4 that the background of continuing resource reductions is now having an impact on the ability of the CPS to deliver effectively across the whole range of its activity.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has a comprehensive cost reduction strategy to 2015-16 that is fully aligned to, and supports, CPS priorities and objectives. The strategy will ensure that the department meets the SR2013 savings targets.

In their annual report for 2013-14 the Inspectorate acknowledged that CPS had improved its performance on serious and complex cases and also highlighted CPS success in hate crime cases and those involving violence against women and girls. The report was largely based on cases completed more than a year ago and more recent data shows performance improvements across the board since then. For example, magistrates' courts are seeing more guilty pleas and fewer cases dropped while the Crown Courts are showing increasing conviction rates – now at 81% across England and Wales. The challenges mentioned in the report are being addressed but they should be seen in the context of an improving prosecution service across the country.