To ask the Solicitor-General what his most recent estimate is of the average preparation time by a Crown Prosecution Service lawyer for cases in magistrates’ courts; and if he will make a statement. (106976)

The estimations made by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) of the average preparation time by a prosecutor for a case in the magistrates’ courts vary depending upon the type and outcome of the case.

The following estimates are for the most common types of cases:

To ask the Solicitor-General what estimate he has made of the number of cases where the Crown Prosecution Service have not had the relevant file with them at court in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. (106977)

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains no central record of occasions on which a case file is not available at court. The information is held on individual files and could only be obtained by locating and examining relevant files in each CPS office, which would incur disproportionate costs (Code of Practice on Government Information, part 2, clause 9).

It is however the case that defendants often appear before the court after having been arrested late at night or in the morning and files will need to be put together at very short notice by CPS staff and the police, therefore the file may sometimes arrive after the day court proceedings begun.