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National Audit Office Press Notice

Crown Prosecution Service: Effective use of Magistrates’ Court Hearings

THIS STATEMENT IS NOT FOR PUBLICATION OR BROADCAST BEFORE 00.01 HOURS ON WEDNESDAY 15 FEBRUARY 2006

Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General
HC 798 2005-2006
15 February 2006
ISBN: 0102936978
Price: £10.75

£173 million was spent last year on trials and hearings in magistrates’ courts that did not go ahead as planned. Of this, nearly £24 million was due to the Crown Prosecution Service. The National Audit Office calculate that 28 per cent (784,000 annually) of all pre-trial hearings in magistrates’ courts do not proceed on the scheduled day, and are adjourned to a later date. The defence is responsible for more than half, while the CPS and the Police are responsible for just over a fifth. The NAO estimate that just under 71,000 ineffective pre-trial hearings are directly attributable to the CPS, together with about one in ten of all trials (19,500).

Individual prosecutors deal with a large volume of cases, often at very short notice. This makes it difficult for them to prepare cases in time, so trials and hearings do not go ahead as scheduled. The NAO found, however, that problems with the Crown Prosecution Service’s planning and preparation for magistrates’ court hearings are a contributory factor. There is insufficient oversight of cases; urgent cases may not be adequately prioritised; evidence is sometimes incomplete; and files are mislaid.

The police and the courts also cause problems resulting in prosecution delays. Often the police do not provide the evidence in time for the hearing; and Her Majesty’s Courts Service staff move cases around at the last minute, sometimes giving prosecutors only a few minutes’ notice.

The CPS is seeking to improve its performance through initiatives such as ‘No Witness, No Justice’, which aims to support prosecution witnesses through the courts process, and the Charging Initiative which passes responsibility for determining the correct charge from the police to the Crown Prosecution Service. It also plays a key part in Local Criminal Justice Boards to promote joint working with other criminal justice agencies such as the Police and Her Majesty’s Courts Service. We found good examples of local action by CPS offices to improve performance at magistrates’ court hearings, but generally the CPS needs to re-organise and modernise its management of magistrates’ court casework.

The NAO report makes a number of recommendations to improve joint working with other criminal justice areas; maintain proper oversight of cases; make more prosecutor time available for review and preparation; prioritise some cases to ensure that they are ready when they come to court; and remove duplication and release resources by updating case records electronically at court.

Head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn said today:

“The Crown Prosecution Service is making efforts to improve its performance in magistrates’ courts but needs to do more to modernise the way in which it prepares and brings cases to court. My recommendations will reduce the waste and delay caused by ineffective hearings and trials.”

Notes for Editors:

  1. The Crown Prosecution Service is the principal prosecuting authority in England and Wales. It has annual expenditure of £568m. In 2004-05 it prosecuted around 1.25m people. Ninety-two per cent of the CPS’ prosecutions were dealt with in magistrates’ courts in 2004-05.
  2. Press notices and reports are available from the date of publication on the NAO website at www.nao.org.uk. Hard copies can be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702 3474.
  3. The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, is the head of the National Audit Office which employs some 800 staff. He and the NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which departments and other bodies have used their resources.

Press Notice 12/06
All enquiries to Mark Strathdene, NAO Press Office:
Tel:  020 7798 7183
Mobile: 07748 181 693