It is unclear whether the hon. Member includes in his request the CPS. The information requested on the numbers of civil servants employed in the Law Officers’ Departments is given in the following table which includes the CPS:
Department Numbers employed before the Gershon Report Net reduction proposed in the Gershon Report Reductions already made Number expected to be employed in April 2008 Crown Prosecution Service 7,336 0 0 8,249 Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office Established 18 May 20051 Serious Fraud Office 264 0 0 2— Treasury Solicitor's Office (including Attorney-General’s Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate) 816 36 10 780
RCPO replaced the former Customs and Excise Prosecutions Office which was required to reduce 10 posts. It achieved this through natural wastage in 2004-051
SFO staff numbers have risen to 330 employees to date in accordance with staffing plans agreed in Spending Review 2004. There was no headcount target for April 20082.
The increase in CPS staff reflects agreed additional resources to improve performance by delivering the new statutory charging scheme, the No Witness, No Justice initiative, by recovering more criminal assets and extending the use of CPS advocates in the Crown and magistrates courts.
TSol continues to recruit staff as business demand continues to grow but the introduction of efficiencies ensures that the growth in headcount is lower than the growth in business.