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Witnesses

Volume 487: debated on Thursday 29 January 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2009, Official Report, columns 1345-6W, what means are used to assess the effectiveness of witness intermediaries. (251847)

The Intermediary Special Measure was piloted in six pathfinder areas and extended nationally after an independent evaluation. The evaluation report indicated that feedback from witnesses and carers was uniformly enthusiastic. Support for intermediaries was almost unanimous across the judiciary and among other criminal justice personnel involved in the pathfinder cases. A summary of the evaluation report is available at:

http://www.iustice.gov.uk/publications/research120607a.htm

The full report is available at:

http://lexiconlimited.co.uk/PDF%20files/Intermediaries _study_report.pdf

Our intention is that from April 2009 those who commission intermediaries—the police, the CPS and defence—will have the opportunity to provide feedback. This information will be reported to the intermediary governance board on a regular basis and be used to evaluate the service provided by individual intermediaries.