Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse has been of (a) Operation Pallial's investigations into Peter Steen, Dafydd Vevar, Alan Challenor, Keith Evans, Kelvin Horrobin, Denis Jones and Aideen Jones, formerly residential care staff of Bryn Alyn Community, and subsequent (b) police, (c) CPS and (d) court costs.

Operation Pallial is an independent investigation by theNational Crime Agency. The policing costs of the investigation were £3.7 million covering the financial years 2012/13 until 2015/16. The estimated costs for 2016/17 are £730,000. The Home Office does not hold information on the costs in respect of individual strands of this operation or the costs relating to the Crown Prosecution Service or the courts.

Under Operation Pallial one woman has been arrested, charged and prosecuted. A total of 47 former care staff have been interviewed under caution, either post arrest, or as a consequence of Voluntary Attendance in relation to child abuse or child cruelty.

On average the length of time between arrest and charge has been 11 months, with a further 11 months between charge and trial at Crown Court.