Non-Executive Director's Report
- I have been on the Management Board of the CPS for three years now, during which time the Service has undergone significant change. I am particularly pleased to report that the CPS has successfully met the challenges of the first year of SR10, and shows every sign of meeting the challenges of the remainder. The focus this year has been on meeting its four strategic objectives – People, Quality, Digitalisation, and Efficiency – which has provided clarity to staff, stakeholders, and the public about what matters to the Service.
- The new People Strategy has been developed to address issues highlighted in recent People Surveys. The primary goals of the strategy are that all managers will have completed the Management Development Programme by March 2013 and that any remaining issues around leadership and management are being dealt with appropriately. I am confident that this will provide the CPS with the foundations of a strong leadership cadre that can be built on, and that staff both expect and deserve.
- The drive to improve Quality has been unrelenting – personally led and owned by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The regular, high-quality management information available to the Board has shown performance improvement across nine of the ten measures that we place the most weight on. The Board is also focused on ensuring that best practice is identified and rolled out across all areas to ensure the Service is both excellent and consistent.
- Digital working across the CJS has been driven by the vision and ambition of the CPS to deliver a paperless system fit for the 21st Century. By 1 April 2012 nearly all police caseload was being served digitally to the CPS and onwards to the magistrates' courts. Although there is more to do, full digital working is now within the grasp of the CJS. There should not be any let up of momentum if the full benefits of digitalisation are to be realised.
- Underpinning People, Quality, and Digitalisation, there has been a robust and determined approach to improving Efficiency. The Board has made it clear that the need to improve efficiency, and thinking creatively about how we do this, is a challenge for all those in the CPS, and the wider CJS. I am pleased to see active engagement to take this forward across all levels of the Service.
- Finally, together with my colleague Derek Manuel, a Capability Review of the CPS was undertaken towards the end of the year. It is clear there is a widespread appetite to engage and improve, an openness to new ideas for the future, and a desire to become the Service articulated in its Vision. All of which will be key to the success of the CPS for the remainder of SR10, and beyond.
Doreen Langston
June 2012
