The Director of Public Prosecutions has today issued the first set of Core Quality Standards for the Crown Prosecution Service, which now incorporates the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office.

The Core Quality Standards set out in plain language the key requirements for a successful prosecution and I welcome their publication. They inform members of the public of the level of service they can expect from those who prosecute on their behalf. Likewise, they inform CPS staff of what is expected of them and how they will be held to account for the quality of the service provided.

The standards outline, broadly in chronological order, the level of service that the public, and other criminal justice stakeholders can expect at each stage of the process: from early advice to investigators at the outset of a case; through to the appeals process; and how the service will respond to complaints or feedback which might follow at the conclusion of a case.

The Core Quality Standards will be an important tool for improving the quality of service delivered to the public. Performance against the standards will be monitored and reported to the public at the end of each financial year.

To ensure that the standards are widely accessible, they will be published in the most commonly spoken languages in our communities as well as in English, Welsh, audio and Braille.

Copies of the Core Quality Standards have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses, and are also available on the Crown Prosecution Service website at www.cps.gov.uk.