Crown Prosecution Service Annual Report 2004 - 2005

Building Capacity to Deliver

Improving Governance

During 2004-05, the CPS conducted a review of its governance structures and introduced new arrangements for the CPS Board to provide a far more strategic role in driving CPS delivery and reform and far less about day-to-day management issues. The review also established a new Committee structure in support of the Board covering:

• Policy, Strategy and Diversity;
• Delivery and Change;
• Finance;
• People and Equality;
• Information and Communications Technology;
• Professional Standards; and
• Audit.

The new Committees have significant CCP and ABM membership and draw on the experience of the three CPS non-executive Directors, who also sit on the CPS Board. Under these arrangements no decisions on prosecution policies, new initiatives, HR, ICT or investment are made without going through the appropriate Committee or Board arrangements.

Restructuring HQ

A programme of work to re-structure Human Resources (HR) Directorate was completed at the end of April 2005. This work has transformed the Directorate to provide strong, professional, and IT-enabled support and advice to frontline managers and develop effective HR policies to support the Service's reform programme.

In January 2005 an implementation plan was put in place for Policy Directorate. This has resulted in the introduction of Account Managers, who are responsible for influencing criminal justice legislation and reform in the Home Office and the DCA, which will lead to a more proactive and outward looking policy function.

The Business and Information Systems Directorate has streamlined its management team and introduced an improved structure that has increased; the capability of the Directorate to provide information and communications technology support to the prosecution process; and work with CJIT, the police and courts to join up CJS IT systems.

The Service is also responding to an independent review of CPS communications to develop a stronger approach to both internal and external communications. The aim of this is to build corporate identity by raising public awareness and confidence in CPS as a prosecutor; and build pride and trust in the CPS among our people.

Rationalising Service Centres

The CPS has reviewed the way it provides support services to Areas and HQ. As a result, the Service has rationalised the existing ten Service Centres into four specialist centres for the provision of HR, Finance and Facilities Management services. These and related changes to HR Directorate will provide improved local advice and support for Areas. The Service Centre rationalisation has allowed the CPS to relocate approximately 30 posts out of the South East to meet Lyons Review commitments.

Risk Management

The CPS has continued to develop its risk management approach to help manage the delivery of its targets and reform programme. The potential risks identified for 2004-05 were:

• major damage to CPS reputation from failure to deliver the full change programme on time due to insufficient funding;
• major damage to CPS reputation from the failure of the Charging Programme;
• CMS systems failure leads to a significant and sustained interruption to CPS ability to operate efficiently;
• efficiency & effectiveness benefits from CMS, necessary to deliver the PSA targets and change programme are not realised or sustained;
• damage to CPS public standing from adverse publicity in high profile cases;
• insufficient human resource capacity and capability to deliver the PSA targets and change programme as planned;
• inability to integrate Victims & Witness commitments with existing change priorities undermines success of the PSA public confidence target;
• over commitment in the change programme undermines delivery of day-to-day prosecution services, the contribution to PSA delivery; CJS reform; partnership credibility and the reputation of the CPS.

Centre of Excellence (COE)

The aim of the CPS's Centre of Excellence for Project and Programme management is to ensure that the CPS does the right projects, the right way the first time by:

• using best practice project and programme management methods;
• providing timely Executive Information to decision-making boards;
• developing the skills of our people;
• providing consultative support to projects and programmes.

Sustainable Development

The CPS continues to incorporate sustainable development initiatives within the work of the department.The key objectives are; integrating sustainable development into decision making; raising awareness of sustainable development; and improving the performance of the estate.

Over the year the CPS has continued to respond to the government wide Sustainable Development Action Plan produced by the Sustainable Development Advisory Group (SDAG). This response includes:

• reviewing its waste collections;
• improved data collection leading to the extension of our renewable energy contract; and
• establishing local Sustainable Development Committees in family group areas.

Staff in both Procurement and Commercial Services and the Facilities Management Business Centre (FMBC) have received Sustainable Procurement and Sustainable Development awareness training respectively. Staff in the FMBC also have Sustainable Development incorporated into their job descriptions.

Improved Procurement

The CPS has continued to implement eProcurement for a range of goods and services resulting in significant value for money savings and process improvements. On-line ordering for the main commodities used by the Service has been successfully rolled out and so far three electronic tenders have been conducted, reducing process costs for both bidders and the CPS.

A Law Officers' Departments Procurement Facilities Working Group has been established with a view to pursuing collaborative opportunities where these would lead to improved value for money. To date there has been collaboration on procurement projects for pension fund administrations and security guards.

The CPS has conducted a survey of the diversity of its supplier base using the procurement guidance issued by the Commission for Racial Equality. Information obtained from this will assist in the development of strategies aimed at opening up procurement opportunities to the wider supplier community.

Improving the management of prosecution costs The CPS has been working closely with the DCA on a shared strategy for the management of defence and prosecution costs. As part of that strategy, the CPS has developed a number of initiatives to deal with long running cases in various ways.

The CPS currently pays fees to barristers in Crown Court cases expected to last up to 25 days in length in accordance with the Graduated Fee Scheme (GFS). GFS provides greater certainty of fee payments than individual case negotiation. CPS intends to extend GFS to cases expected to last up to 40 days at trial and has:

• launched in three vanguard Areas a Very High Costs Case (VHCC) contract scheme for the management of counsel fees in cases expected to last 40 days or more;
• established a new role of Case Auditor to oversee the proper application of the VHCC process;
• introduced a Case Management Panel for cases expected to last 6 months or more at trial, chaired by the Director of Public Prosecutions, to ensure that these cases attracting substantial media and public interest, whilst consuming considerable resources are being managed effectively.

We will also ensure CCPs and Heads of Casework Divisions take an active role in managing cases where trials are estimated to last for more than 8 weeks but less than 6 months. These measures will help Areas deal with high cost cases and are part of the approach for more effective trial management.