To ask the Solicitor-General how many prosecutions were concluded in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years by (a) police central process offices, (b) the Director of Public Prosecutions and (c) the Public Prosecution Service. (140622)

The figures for cases concluded in the magistrates and Crown courts are as follows:

The figures relate to cases dealt with at court only. They do not include cases in which decisions not to prosecute were taken, cases dealt with by diversion, cases withdrawn before trial or cases where cautions were given. The DPP/PPS figures include cases prosecuted on behalf of various agencies, such as the Driver and Vehicle Agency, as well as those submitted by the police. The figures for 2006 are provisional.

Only composite figures for the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Public Prosecution Service are available. Although the PPS came into existence as a statutory body on 13 June 2005, the process of taking on police prosecutions commenced before that date through a number of pilot schemes. Further, the process of rolling out the PPS across Northern Ireland means that the transfer of responsibility for prosecuting cases is staged. By 1 September 2007 the PPS will have responsibility for all cases investigated by the police, save a decreasing number of cases already before the courts at that date.