Do we understand enough about how memory works to properly assess evidence in sex abuse cases when allegations date back decades? Can juries make decisions based on their common sense in complex cases? 

The number of so called "historic abuse cases" making their way through the coruts has increased in recent years following changes in the law that make it easier to bring them to trial and a greater willingness on behalf of victims to come forward. 

These are among the most difficult cases the justice system handles given the highly sensitive nature of the allegations being made and the often lengthy gap between the events in question and the prosecution. Many cases now turn on one person's word against another and therefore rely heavily on the quality of memory evidence each side can bring. 

But even the memory experts are divided on how the court process should assess memory evidence. Whist many victims never forget their abuse, some psychologists say people can genuinely block out or forget abuse and then remember it in detail later in life. But others warn of "false memory syndrome" and claim that in some cases allegations are wrongly based on ideas that have arised during therapy or from third party experiences which complainants adopt as their own. 

In this week's File on 4, Jackie Long examines concerns from across the criminal justice system - from lawyers who claim the system is creating "a new genre of miscarriages of justice" because defendants cannot get a fair trial, from victims who say their long-held memories are being branded as false in court and from psychologists who question how well equipped our courts are to consider such evidence. 

So how much do we know about how memory works? And is the courtroom the right place to get to the truth? 

Producer Sally Chesworth. Published on March 29, 2011.

Memory on Trial

The Department of Health wants to slash £1.2 billion off the bill for hospital supplies -- everything from bandages and rubber gloves to operating tables and medical equipment.

The planned savings form part of the £20 billion in NHS efficiency savings the Government has pledged to make by 2014. 

There's plenty of scope for savings. A recent survey found one Hospital Trust bought 177 different types of surgical gloves. Across the NHS, hospitals buy more than 1,700 different kinds of canula. Rationalising this medical shopping list could free-up £500 million a year for investment in patient care, the National Audit Office estimates.

But can the increasingly complex NHS procurement system in England deliver the major savings the Government wants to see?

Critics say Foundation Hospital Trusts increasingly make their own buying decisions, with little or no national co-ordination. Inside hospitals, managers tasked with purchasing millions of pounds worth of equipment often lack the authority or the support of their superiors to drive through savings. Meanwhile new private sector companies are moving in to take over the purchase and supply of NHS equipment. 

Will the Government's plans for a more devolved health service help or hinder the drive to save taxpayers' money. Jenny Cuffe investigates.

Producer: Andy Denwood. Published on September 27, 2011.

NHS Procurement

The EU has allocated millions of pounds in grants to help our towns and cities regenerate. So why are some complaining they can't get their hands on the cash? European rules mean Britain has to put up an equal amount of money. But, as Allan Urry reveals, cuts at Westminster and in town halls around the country mean that some projects have either stalled or been abandoned because no "matched funding" is available. Critics of the Government say up to a billion pounds of regeneration money will end up in the Treasury's coffers or being returned to Brussels. Yet, it supposed to be supporting economic development in the English regions which the Government has argued will drive growth. That's what's happened in Germany and other EU countries. Have they made better use of funds from Brussels to help narrow the gap between their rich and poor regions? Now, as Europe struggles with austerity, does the European Commission need to re-think its system for allocating cash, and should the Coalition Government in Britain do more to deliver growth? 

Producer: Samantha Fenwick. Published on July 17, 2012.

European Funding

The ultra-conservative Salafist movement, which is said to be the fastest growing branch of Islam, has been blamed for being behind many of the recent violent protests over an anti-Muslim film which appeared on the internet. Jenny Cuffe investigates the spread of Salafism across the countries of the Arab Spring. She asks what threat it poses to democracy in the whole region and also examines concerns in Europe that Salafists now represent a significant security risk.
Presenter: Jenny Cuffe
Producer: Ian Muir-Cochrane. Published on October 16, 2012.

Recoiling the Arab Spring

File on 4

Radio 4's award winning, flagship investigative series File on 4.

Memory on Trial

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