Crown Prosecution Service Annual Report and Accounts 2013–14 (for the period April 2013–March 2014) HC 6 Crown Prosecution Service Annual Report and Accounts 2013–14 (for the period April 2013–March 2014) Report presented to Parliament pursuant to Section 9 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 Accounts presented to the House of Commons pursuant to Section 6(4) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 Accounts presented to the House of Lords by Command of Her Majesty Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 10 July 2014 HC 6 © Crown copyright 2014 You may re-use this information (excluding logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence v.2. To view this licence visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ version/2/ or email [email protected] Where third party material has been identified, permission from the respective copyright holder must be sought. This publication is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us at The Crown Prosecution Service, Rose Court, 2 Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HS. Print ISBN 9781474106931 Web ISBN 9781474106948 Printed in the UK by the Williams Lea Group on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office ID 12061435 06/14 41097 Printed on paper containing 75% recycled fibre content minimum Crown Prosecution Service 2013-2014 Contents Page Director’s letter to the Attorney General 3 About the CPS 4 Who we are 4 What we do 4 How we do it 5 Strategic Report 6 Performance 6 Our People 10 Efficiency and Innovation 12 Other Information 15 Financial Review 17 Sustainability Report 20 Statement of Accounting Officer’s Responsibilities 26 Governance Statement 27 Non-Executive Director’s Report 34 The Certificate and Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General to the House of Commons 37 Accounts 39 Statement of Parliamentary Supply 39 Notes to the Departmental Accounts (Statement of Parliamentary Supply (SoPS)) 40 Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure 43 Statement of Financial Position 44 Statement of Cash Flows 45 Statement of Changes in Taxpayers’ Equity 46 Notes to Departmental Accounts 47 Departmental Remuneration Report 69 Annex A – Board membership and attendance 74 Annex B – Code for Crown Prosecutors 77 Annex C – Casework Statistics 84 Annex D – Instructions Issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions to Associate Prosecutors of the Crown Prosecution Service Pursuant to Section 7A of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 as Amended 88 Annex E – Associate Prosecutors Training and Selection 92 Annex F – Director’s Guidance 93 Annex G – Common Core Tables 94 Annex H – Complaints to the Parliamentary Ombudsman 102 Annex I – CPS Area/Police Force Boundary Map 103 Annex J – Glossary 104 1 Crown Prosecution Service 2013-2014 2 Crown Prosecution Service 2013-2014 Director’s letter to the Attorney General I am pleased to set out my first report to you on the performance of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), for 2013- 14. As an organisation our mission is to deliver justice through the independent and effective prosecution of crime, fostering a culture of excellence by supporting and inspiring each other to be the best we can. In pursuing this mission we are guided by our values - these are that we will: be independent and fair; be open and honest; treat everyone with respect; and behave professionally and strive for excellence. For the CPS 2013-14 has been a year of considerable change but within that, considerable achievement too. Over the course of the year we have delivered a more efficient and effective service – improving our performance while achieving significant spending reductions. At year-end we had improved performance against 11 of our 12 key performance measures with particularly strong progress being made against compliance with orders made by the courts. These achievements, in the context of a reduction in our funding of 28 per cent over the four-year period to 2014/15, were made possible by a move towards standardised ways of working, predicated on digital processing, a focus on quality and a more resilient and streamlined structure. Building on these reforms, one of the first actions I undertook on becoming Director of Public Prosecutions was to review and revise the CPS’s strategic objectives. Up to that point these were concerned with our People, Quality, Efficiency and Digital Working programmes. In order to sustain and enhance our performance improvement I have amended these in four important respects. Firstly, to place priority on providing CPS staff with the tools and skills they need to do their jobs on a day to day basis. Secondly, to redouble our efforts in terms of the quality of service we provide through the introduction of new Casework Quality Standards. Thirdly, to combine our now advanced and mutually dependent efficiency and digital working agendas into one objective. Finally, and critically, to introduce a stand-alone objective concerning the quality of service we provide to victims and witnesses. To deliver quality casework and the service victims deserve my staff need to be well equipped – they need the tools and the skills for the job. Making sure they have them is a real priority. We are updating our equipment to support full digital working and introducing a range of training and development programmes to ensure we all have the right skills. This includes a new legal development programme with a range of modules to support best practice, from charging decisions to trial presentation. We have looked again at the standards we set ourselves and how we assess the quality of what we do. We have introduced new Casework Quality Standards, placing more emphasis on the quality that should be at the heart of the work that everyone in the CPS performs. The four standards, which have been the subject of a public consultation, cover: victims, witnesses and communities; legal decision-making; casework preparation; and presentation in court. High quality casework allows us to provide the service victims and witnesses deserve. We have introduced the Victims’ Right to Review scheme and are currently introducing a new approach to communicating with victims through dedicated Victim Liaison Units with trained staff. Further work in the months and years ahead will ensure victims are at the heart of what we do. We have made significant progress on digital working and, as mentioned above, have introduced standardised ways of working based on digital processes. Most police forces are now transferring over 90% of all magistrates’ court case files electronically to the CPS and across the country around 75% of magistrates’ court cases are being presented from a tablet device. Over the last twelve months we have introduced and embedded a national 24/7 digital/telephony charging service with the police and are making good progress with them on the development of streamlined digital files. The significant achievements of 2013/14 prompt me to end by recognising the outstanding professionalism and commitment of employees across the CPS. They have shown again this year how focused they are on delivering justice for the public we serve, and they have driven our performance improvements. Based on the progress achieved to date, I am confident that as we enter the 2014/15 reporting period CPS staff will continue to provide a high-performing prosecution service in which the public, victims and witnesses and our criminal justice partners can have continued confidence. Alison Saunders CB Director of Public Prosecutions 08 July 2014 3 Crown Prosecution Service 2013-2014 About the CPS Who we are The CPS is the principal prosecuting authority for England and Wales, acting independently in criminal cases investigated by the police and other investigators including HMRC and DWP. The CPS was established in 1986 and the way in which it undertakes its role is governed by two key documents: ■■ the Code for Crown Prosecutors; ■■ Core Quality Standards (CQS). The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the head of the CPS and operates independently, under the superintendence of the Attorney General. As a government minister, the Attorney is accountable to Parliament for the work of the CPS. The CPS comprises 13 geographical Areas in England and Wales, and CPS Direct which provides advice on prosecution charges to the police and other investigators. A Chief Crown Prosecutor (CCP) leads each Area and is responsible for working with the courts and the police to provide a high quality prosecution service in their Area. CPS Areas deal with a wide range of cases, the majority of the less serious which are heard in the magistrates’ courts through to the most serious including homicide which are heard in the Crown Court. There are also three central Casework Divisions that handle the most complex prosecutions, covering Specialist Fraud, Special Crime & Counter Terrorism, and Organised Crime, as well as corporate Headquarters. At the start of 2014, the CPS had a total employed workforce of 6,204 (full time equivalent), including 2,209 Crown Prosecutors and 3,614 paralegals/administrators. Of our people, 93% work at delivering our frontline prosecution service. What we do Our mission is to deliver justice through the independent and effective prosecution of crime, fostering a culture of excellence by supporting and inspiring each other to be the best we can. In 2013-14, the CPS Board set out three overarching priorities: ■■ To make our service to victims and witnesses central to everything we do – by ensuring that the way we explain our decisions and interact with victims and witnesses is less formal and defensive, and more open, transparent and direct; ■■ To ensure the highest standards of casework quality – by revising the Core Quality Standards so that they place more emphasis on “core quality”, the quality that should be at the heart of the work everyone in the CPS performs; ■■ To provide our people with the right tools and skills for the job to deliver the highest quality service – by having the right technology, systems and skills, with decision making in teams at appropriate levels.