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15 Mar 2004 : Column 4W—continued

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff were employed in (a) her Department and (b) each of the non-departmental public bodies for which her Department is responsible in each of the last 10 years. [160589]

Alun Michael: Defra was created on 8 June 2001 so I can only respond in respect of the period since that date. The figures given refer to that period.

(a) The number of permanent staff in the core department and each Agency is set out in the following table:

	October 2001	April 2002	April 2003
Defra	7,970	6,980	6,690
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science	480	500	530
Central Science Laboratory	580	610	650
Pesticides Safety Directorate	190	180	170
Rural Payments Agency(1)	—	2,940	2,870
Veterinary Laboratories Agency	1,160	1,230	1,290
Veterinary Medicines Directorate	110	120	120
Intervention Board Executive Agency	1,080	—	—
Total	11,570	12,560	12,320

⁽¹⁾ The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) was created on 16 October 2001, and took over the functions and staff of the IBEA on 15 November 2001.

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(b) Defra currently has responsibility for 18 executive non-departmental public bodies, 32 advisory bodies, 4 tribunals and 2 public corporations. The following

15 Mar 2004 : Column 6W

table shows the number of staff employed in the public corporations and executive NDPBs; the advisory and tribunal NDPBs do not employ their own staff.

	2001	2002	2003
Public corporations
British Waterways Board	1,929	1,929	2,063
Covent Garden Market Authority	39	39	40
Executive NDPBs
Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales	0	0	0
Agricultural Wages Committees for England and Wales	0	0	0
Apple and Pear Research Council(2)	0.5	1	—
British Potato Council	62	63	63
Countryside Agency	509.15	631.5	625.4
English Nature	783.5	825	1,030
Environment Agency	10,476	10,595	10,595
Food from Britain	26	26	26
Home-Grown Cereals Authority	43.5	47.3	50
Horticultural Development Council	15	13.5	12
Horticulture Research International	567	502.5	484
Joint Nature Conservation Committee	82	100	101
Meat and Livestock Commission	678	666	666
Milk Development Council	9	14	14
National Forest Company	15.5	17	17
Regional Flood Defence Committees	0	0	0
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew	551	601	601
Sea Fish Industry Authority	147	145	145
United Kingdom Register of Organic Food Standards(3)	7	7	7
Wine Standards Board	10.5	10.5	10.5
Total	15,951	16,233	16,550

⁽²⁾ Wound up 31 March 2003.

⁽³⁾ Wound up 18 July 2003.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Anti-Social Behaviour Orders

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Solicitor-General how many prosecutions have been brought by the Crown Prosecution Service for breach of an anti-social behaviour order in each of the last five years. [159689]

The Solicitor-General: Information on anti-social behaviour orders is collated by the Home Office, and is available for the period from June 2000 to December 2002. During this period, 329 persons were prosecuted for breach of an anti-social behaviour order, 305 of whom were found guilty.

Law Officers' Advice

Llew Smith: To ask the Solicitor-General for what reasons it is Government policy never to make public legal advice prepared by the Attorney-General for Ministers. [158111]

The Solicitor-General: There is a long-standing convention, adhered to by successive governments, and reflected in paragraph 24 of the Ministerial Code, that neither the fact that the Law Officers have advised on a particular matter, nor the substance of any advice they may have given is publicly disclosed. As I explained to the hon. Member in my reply to him of 26 March 2003, Official Report, column 236W, the purpose of the convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence. This is in the public interest so that governments take full and frank legal advice and act in accordance with the rule of law.

Discontinued Prosecutions

Mr. Battle: To ask the Solicitor-General how many cases brought before the Crown Prosecution Service by the police were dropped and not proceeded with, and for what reasons, in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [159506]

The Solicitor-General: The relevant figures are summarised in the following two tables.

Table 1 shows the number of cases not proceeded with in the magistrates' courts. These comprise both cases discontinued by the Crown Prosecution Service and those written off because the defendant could not be traced by the police, had died or been found unfit to plead. Table 1 also shows the number of cases in which a prosecution proceeded and was completed in the magistrates' courts. These comprise cases in which the defendant: was convicted after trial; convicted after a guilty plea; or convicted in their absence. It also consists of cases dismissed by the magistrates after a full trial or a submission of no case to answer; or cases discharged during the course of a committal hearing.

The table also shows the number and proportion of cases resulting in a conviction and the number and proportion resulting in an unsuccessful outcome. Unsuccessful outcomes comprise cases which did not proceed, and those cases which did proceed but which resulted in a dismissal or discharge.

Table 2 shows the number of cases not proceeded with in the crown court. These comprise cases dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service before a jury was sworn and written off because the defendant could not be traced by the police, had died, or been found unfit to plead.

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Table 2 also shows the number of cases in which a prosecution proceeded. These comprise cases in which the defendant was convicted after trial or guilty plea; and cases which resulted in an acquittal by the jury, or on the judge's direction.

Table 2 also shows the number and proportion of cases resulting in a conviction at the crown court and those cases which resulted in an unsuccessful outcome, including cases that did not proceed and those which resulted in an acquittal.

The Crown Prosecution Service holds no historical records showing why cases did not proceed: the information is held on individual case files, and could be retrieved only by examining every relevant file in each Crown Prosecution Service office.

The decision whether to proceed with a case is taken in accordance with the criteria set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors. The code states that a case should only start or continue if there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and, if there is sufficient evidence, where it is in the public interest to proceed. Where there is sufficient evidence, a prosecution will usually take place unless public interest considerations against prosecution clearly outweigh those in favour. The code is applied in every case. Where

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the criteria are not met, then the decision to discontinue is in the interests of justice.

Together with its criminal justice partners, the Crown Prosecution Service is subject to a Public Service Agreement target of increasing the number of offences for which an offender is brought to justice. The service, therefore, seeks to reduce both cases which do not proceed and those which result in an unsuccessful outcome.

A number of initiatives contribute towards this aim. The Crown Prosecution Service has re-structured its front line operations by establishing co-located units in which prosecutors and caseworkers work in partnership with the police to prepare and strengthen cases, focusing resources on more serious cases and providing better support to victims and witnesses. In addition, the service is implementing the recommendations of Sir Robin Auld that they should assume responsibility for determining charges from the outset of the case. The implementation of the Compass Case Management system will provide the Crown Prosecution Service with better information on the progress and outcome of proceedings, allowing managers to identify areas of excellence and areas in which performance requires remedial action. Over time this will include information about the reasons underlying case failures.

Table 1: Cases dropped and cases proceeded with: magistrates' courts

	1997		1998		1999		2000
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Not proceeded with
Discontinued	184,208	15.0	187,575	14.8	191,341	15.0	191,579	15.7
Written off	92,930	7.6	88,506	7.0	86,056	6.7	78,001	6.4
Total not proceeded with	277,138	22.6	276,081	21.8	277,397	21.7	269,580	22.0
Proceeded with
Guilty pleas	766,836	62.5	810,952	63.9	820,741	64.3	781,254	63.8
Proved in the absence of the defendant	108,831	8.9	114,133	9.0	114,880	9.0	116,032	9.5
Convictions after trial	53,235	4.3	49,466	3.9	45,108	3.5	39,331	3.2
Discharged at committal	1,711	0.1	922	0.1	799	0.1	852	0.1
Dismissed no case to answer	2,775	0.2	2,248	0.2	1,884	0.1	1,752	0.1
Dismissed after trial	15,548	1.3	15,442	1.2	14,909	1.2	14,876	1.2
Total proceeded with	948,936	77.4	993,163	78.2	998,321	78.3	954,097	78.0
Total convictions	928,902	75.8	974,551	76.8	980,729	76.9	936,677	76.5
Total unsuccessful outcomes	297,172	24.2	294,693	23.2	294,989	23.1	287,060	23.5

		2001			2002			2003
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Not proceeded with
Discontinued	198,908	16.2	197,940	15.7	181,161	14.4
Written off	73,790	6.0	78,758	6.3	73,421	5.8
Total not proceeded with	272,698	22.1	276,698	22.0	254,582	20.2
Proceeded with
Guilty pleas	786,380	63.9	803,859	63.9	796,973	63.1
Proved in the absence of the defendant	117,882	9.6	119,659	9.5	143,838	11.4
Convictions after trial	37,167	3.0	39,516	3.1	46,813	3.7
Discharged at committal	766	0.1	931	0.1	1,689	0.1
Dismissed no case to answer	1,632	0.1	1,722	0.1	2,565	0.2
Dismissed after trial	14,645	1.2	15,458	1.2	15,844	1.3
Total proceeded with	958,472	77.9	981,145	78.0	1,007,722	79.8
Total convictions	947,429	76.5	963,034	76.6	987,624	78.2
Total unsuccessful outcomes	289,747	23.5	294,809	23.4	274,680	21.8

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Table 2: Cases dropped and cases proceeded with: crown court

	1997		1998		1999		2000
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Not proceeded with
Judge ordered acquittals	8,886	8.3	10,247	10.9	10,828	12.2	11,529	13.4
Written off	1,254	1.2	1,404	1.5	1,431	1.6	1,328	1.5
Total not proceeded with	10,140	9.5	11,651	12.4	12,259	13.9	12,857	15.0
Proceeded with
Guilty pleas	74,398	69.8	61,863	65.8	55,705	63.0	53,449	62.3
Convictions after trial	13,266	12.5	11,754	12.5	11,647	13.2	10,959	12.8
Judge directed acquittals	1,740	1.6	1,851	2.0	1,849	2.1	1,789	2.1
Acquittals after trial	6,977	6.5	6,910	7.3	6,958	7.9	6,729	7.8
Total proceeded with	96,381	90.5	82,378	87.6	76,159	86.1	72,926	85.0
Total convictions	87,664	82.3	73,677	78.3	67,352	76.2	64,408	75.1
Total unsuccessful outcomes	18,857	17.7	20,472	21.7	21,066	23.8	21,375	24.9

		2001			2002			2003
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Not proceeded with
Judge ordered acquittals	12,744	15.2	14,340	15.3	14,869	15.1
Written off	1,445	1.7	1,739	1.9	1,921	1.9
Total not proceeded with	14,189	16.9	16,078	17.2	16,790	17.0
Proceeded with
Guilty pleas	50,597	60.4	57,024	60.9	60,132	61.0
Convictions after trial	10,803	12.9	12,677	13.5	13,168	13.4
Judge directed acquittals	1,495	1.8	1,442	1.5	1,574	1.6
Acquittals after trial	6,630	7.9	6,402	6.8	6,880	7.0
Total proceeded with	69,525	83.1	77,544	82.8	81,754	83.0
Total convictions	61,400	73.3	69,701	74.4%	73,300	74.4
Total unsuccessful outcomes	22,314	26.7	23,922	25.6	25,244	25.6

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