Tom Brake (Shadow Minister (London and the Olympics), Culture, Media & Sport; Carshalton & Wallington, Liberal Democrat)

To ask the Solicitor-General how many prosecutions have been brought for offences related to the use of a mobile telephone whilst driving in each London borough in the latest year for which figures are available.

Vera Baird (Solicitor General, Law Officers' Department; Redcar, Labour)

These cases are investigated by the Metropolitan Police in London and the police apply for the issue of summonses in cases they decide to prosecute through the courts. These are offences that are specified under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 and as such they are reviewed and presented at court by the police court presentation officers. In the event of a plea of not guilty, or if the defendant fails to attend and evidence is to be called, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) takes over the conduct of proceedings.

The CPS is guided by the Code for Crown Prosecutors, which is issued under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985. The CPS applies the code so that it can make fair and consistent decisions about prosecutions. The reviewing crown prosecutor must be satisfied that there is enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of a conviction. If the case does not pass that test it will not go ahead. If the case does pass the evidential test the crown prosecutor goes on to consider the second stage test to decide if a prosecution is needed the public interest. The dominant public interest factor that applies in these cases is that of road safety. The crown prosecutor will continue a prosecution when the case has passed both the evidential and the public interest tests.

Public consultation shows how seriously society views the potential dangers of the use of mobile telephones and other hand-held devices, while driving. The CPS has issued a policy for prosecuting cases of bad driving. In cases where the driver was avoidably dangerously distracted by that use, a charge of dangerous driving is the starting point for charging decisions.

The CPS prosecuted a total of 502 offences of using a mobile telephone while driving in the year 2007-08. The data for 2008 show that in the year 2008-09 538 offences were prosecuted up until and including September 2008. The borough breakdown for 2007-08 is as follows:

These figures only represent the cases that the CPS took over from the police because the defendant either pleaded not guilty or failed to attend court and evidence was to be called. A greater number will have pleaded guilty either in person or by post. Those cases will have been prosecuted by the police. The CPS figures show that prosecutions for this type of offending is increasing.

CPS London has set up a unit specialising in traffic prosecutions. serves a number of courts across London and one court centre will take cases from a number of boroughs. The unit makes best use of its resources by serving a restricted number of court centres only. It has been a great success in many ways but not least because it manages to bring successful prosecutions in an overwhelming number of cases.