Shadow Attorney General Trevor Moniz has hit out at late Government reports which give hopelessly outdated information.

He spoke out after the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board report 2003 was released to Parliament within the last few days while the Police have only just had their 2003 annual report back from the printers.

Mr. Moniz said the danger is that Government is making policy based on old statistics.

He said: ?There is no excuse why a report cannot be produced in a timely manner. It is just a bunch of statistics and some blurb.

?By this time we should be getting the 2005 reports, there?s no reason why we should get 2003.?

He said the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board report, which details pay-outs to crime victims was a particularly simple document to put together.

?If something isn?t settled by December 31 it doesn?t get in the report and it goes in the next one.?

He conceded the annual Police report was a bit more complicated but still should be done within six months of the year closing.

?The information becomes stale,? he said.

He said late statistics compound themselves with a seniors report released in 2005 being based on 2000 census statistics, which themselves had not been released until far too late.

?The purpose of these reports is formulating Government policy, so the older the report the less use they are. Someone needs to crack the whip. When you delay it you get a knock-on effect.?

The importance of the statistical documents is even more apparent under the PLP, said Mr. Moniz, as they are changing a lot of policy.

Efforts to obtain comment about the lateness of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board report were unsuccessful.

However, Police spokesman Dwayne Caines said processes are being changed to ensure reports come out on time and outstanding reports will be produced by the end of this year.

He said: ?We have over 40 reports that have to be vetted to make sure they are well written and synchronised in style. Also reports have to come from different agencies.

?We have to consolidate the facts and figures.?

He promised the 2006 report would be delivered by the last quarter of 2007.