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Home Office

Answer

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many and what percentage of witnesses on Merseyside applied for special measures in giving evidence in the last year for which figures are available; and how many and what percentage had their request granted; [146240] (2) what assessment has been made of witnesses' reactions to the special measures available in Merseyside to allow them to give their best evidence in court; [146241] (3) what research has been undertaken on witnesses' views of their treatment by Merseyside Crown Prosecution Service. [146242] Paul Goggins: In 2003 the Crown court at Liverpool received 497 applications for Special Measures. Information on the number of applications received by magistrates courts and youth courts is not held centrally. The number and percentage of successful requests in the Crown court is also not held centrally. These figures could be produced only at disproportionate cost. Surveys of witnesses' views towards special measures were conducted before and after the first phase of implementation of the special measures. The findings of the pre-implementation survey were published in 2001 (Home Office Research Findings 147, http:// www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/r147.pdf). The post- implementation survey was conducted in 2003 and is currently being written-up. The Witness Satisfaction Surveys of 2000 and 2002 measured general witness satisfaction with various agencies, including the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/hors230.pdf, http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/r133.pdf, http:// www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/f189.pdf Witnesses interviewed for these surveys were drawn from courts throughout England and Wales and analysis was done on that basis. Apart from the disproportionate cost of gathering the information requested, the number of interviews carried out in Merseyside would probably be too small to allow statistically meaningful analysis.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

417 c217-8W; 146240;146241;146242

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Attitudes to Intimidation Protection Merseyside Witnesses Trials Research

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk