Mr Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2012, Official Report, columns 18-9W, on the Crown Prosecution Service, how many prosecutions were launched by the Crown Prosecution Service's (a) Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, (b) Organised Crime Division, (c) Welfare, Rural and Health Division and (d) Central Fraud Group in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12 (A) in total and (B) in each region of England; and if he will make a statement.
The Solicitor-General: The information requested is as follows. Due to the specialised nature of the cases dealt with by these divisions, expertise is centred in specific locations and so a breakdown by geographic region is not available. Figures for offices located outside of London are provided where available.
(a) The Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division was set up on 4 April 2011 and merges the formerly separate Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Divisions. The Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division commenced the following number of prosecutions in England in 2010-11 and 2011-12:
2010-112011-12(b) The CPS Organised Crime Division (OCD) was set up in 2005 in order to provide a one-stop shop for investigators from the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and its affiliate, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP). OCD has offices in London, Birmingham, Manchester and York. OCD commenced the following number of prosecutions in England in 2010-11 and 2011-12:
2010-112011-12(c) The Welfare, Rural and Health Division (WRHD) was set up in its present form on 1 April 2012 following the merger of the prosecution function of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) with the already established Welfare, Rural and Health Division dealing with prosecutions from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). WRHD has been responsible from April 2012 for prosecuting certain types of crime on behalf of the DWP, the Department of Health and some local authorities.
Cases prosecuted on behalf of the Department of Health (DH) are brought forward by NHS Protect or the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
As WRHD was created in its present form on 1 April 2012 it did not commence any prosecutions in 2010-11 or 2011-12, but instead inherited cases that had been commenced by other authorities and units. On 1 April 2012, it took on responsibility for 3,706 prosecutions as detailed in the following table.
2011-12Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
(d) The Central Fraud Group (CFG) was set up within the CPS in April 2010 to provide a specialist prosecution and advisory service for complex, sensitive and high value fraud cases throughout England and Wales, and for all fiscal fraud and export control cases investigated by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. CFG commenced the following number of prosecutions in England and Wales in 2010-11 and 2011-12:
2010-112011-12