Attorney General

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not have a formal definition for ‘violent crime’, but it does hold management information on its Case Management System showing the number of defendants allocated the Principal Offence Categories of either Homicide or Offences Against the Person at completion of prosecution. The Principal Offence Category indicates the most serious offence with which a defendant is charged.

The tables below show the number of completed prosecutions and convictions for Homicide and Offences Against the Person from the start of January 2005 to the end of September 2015. The data provided in the tables is in financial quarters.

‘Total completed prosecutions’ refer to the conclusion of a prosecution case against a defendant such as conviction after trial, guilty plea, acquittal, or the prosecution against the defendant being dropped. ‘Convictions’ refer to convictions after trial and guilty pleas.

Homicide

Offences against the person

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a Case Management System (CMS) which shows the number of defendants where a flag for rape has been added. This flag is applied at the onset of any case referred by the police to the CPS for a charge of rape and remains in place even if the charge is not proceeded with, is amended, or dropped. If a case is referred by the police for a charge other than rape, but subsequently a charge of rape is preferred, the flag is applied at that point.

The tables below show the number of completed prosecutions and convictions in cases where a flag for rape has been added, from 1 April 2006 to the end of September 2015 by quarter. The data provided in the table is in financial quarters.

The CPS’ CMS was introduced during 2004-2005. A national monitoring flag to manage cases where rape offences were referred or later charged was introduced from 1 April 2006. As with any new monitoring system, some variance is expected in the periods immediately following the introduction of a new flagging process.

‘Total completed prosecutions’ refer to the conclusion of a prosecution case against a defendant such as conviction after trial, guilty plea, acquittal, or the prosecution against the defendant being dropped. ‘Convictions’ refer to convictions after trial and guilty pleas.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) holds management information on its Case Management System showing the number of defendants allocated the Principal Offence Category of Sexual Offences at completion of prosecution. The Principal Offence Category indicates the most serious offence with which a defendant is charged.

The table below shows the number of completed prosecutions and convictions for sexual offences from the start of January 2005 to the end of September 2015. The data provided in the table is in financial quarters.

‘Total completed prosecutions’ refer to the conclusion of a prosecution case against a defendant such as conviction after trial, guilty plea, acquittal, or the prosecution against the defendant being dropped. ‘Convictions’ refer to convictions after trial and guilty pleas.

I wrote to you on this important subject on Friday 17 May 2024. For completeness, I set out my full written response below.

Tackling violence that disproportionately impacts women and girls remains one of this government’s top priorities. Women and girls should be able to go about their lives without being subjected to unwanted sexual images. Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutors are committed to tackling this unacceptable behaviour.

As you know, this government has recently enacted new offences designed to tackle online offending through the Online Safety Act 2023. This includes the offence of cyberflashing and other intimate image offences.

The CPS has welcomed the enactment of these new offences designed to target predatory behaviour and non-contact sexual offences. It has introduced comprehensive updates to prosecution guidance to support prosecutors to better recognise behaviour-driven and escalating offending. Additionally, it has published ‘Communications Offences’ legal guidance which includes online offences relating to violence against women and girls.

Whilst this legislation is still new, the police are referring more cases to the CPS for charging decisions and I can confirm the CPS secured their first conviction for cyberflashing in February 2024, resulting in the offender being jailed for 66 weeks at Southend Crown Court. I am unable to provide detail on any other cases where there may be live criminal proceedings.

Regrettably, I am unable to provide you with data on prosecutions under the Online Safety Act yet. However, in July the CPS will publish its next data summary covering the period January to March 2024 and after this summary release, more granular data may be shared publicly. This pause ahead of publishing data allows for quality assurance checks and internal scrutiny before publication.

I wrote to you on this important subject on Friday 17 May 2024. For completeness, I set out my full written response below.

Tackling violence that disproportionately impacts women and girls remains one of this government’s top priorities. Women and girls should be able to go about their lives without being subjected to unwanted sexual images. Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutors are committed to tackling this unacceptable behaviour.

As you know, this government has recently enacted new offences designed to tackle online offending through the Online Safety Act 2023. This includes the offence of cyberflashing and other intimate image offences.

The CPS has welcomed the enactment of these new offences designed to target predatory behaviour and non-contact sexual offences. It has introduced comprehensive updates to prosecution guidance to support prosecutors to better recognise behaviour-driven and escalating offending. Additionally, it has published ‘Communications Offences’ legal guidance which includes online offences relating to violence against women and girls.

Whilst this legislation is still new, the police are referring more cases to the CPS for charging decisions and I can confirm the CPS secured their first conviction for cyberflashing in February 2024, resulting in the offender being jailed for 66 weeks at Southend Crown Court. I am unable to provide detail on any other cases where there may be live criminal proceedings.

Regrettably, I am unable to provide you with data on prosecutions under the Online Safety Act yet. However, in July the CPS will publish its next data summary covering the period January to March 2024 and after this summary release, more granular data may be shared publicly. This pause ahead of publishing data allows for quality assurance checks and internal scrutiny before publication.

I have not had any discussions with the Government of South Africa on this legal case.

With respect to discussions with Cabinet colleagues, the Law Officers’ Convention requires that it is not generally disclosed outside Government whether I have been asked to provide advice or the contents of any such advice. This is a long-standing principle of Cabinet collective agreement which enables the government of the day to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.

I cannot answer your question as to do so would be in breach of the Law Officers’ Convention.

Paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code clearly states that the fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority.

It would not be possible to determine the number of cases involving the illegal importation of Russian oil referred by HM Revenue & Customs to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) without an examination of CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.

The Attorney General was last briefed on this matter by the Crown Prosecution Service on 30 April 2024.

Expenditure on consultancy by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is routinely published in their annual accounts, which are also laid before the House of Commons annually. These can be accessed on the SFO’s website at Annual reports and accounts - Serious Fraud Office (sfo.gov.uk) and the CPS’ website at Annual reports, business plans and strategies | The Crown Prosecution Service (cps.gov.uk).

The accounts of the SFO and CPS for 2023/24 are expected to be published in July 2024.

Expenditure on consultancy by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is routinely published in their annual accounts, which are also laid before the House of Commons annually. These can be accessed on the SFO’s website at Annual reports and accounts - Serious Fraud Office (sfo.gov.uk) and the CPS’ website at Annual reports, business plans and strategies | The Crown Prosecution Service (cps.gov.uk).

The accounts of the SFO and CPS for 2023/24 are expected to be published in July 2024.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold data on whether defendants are based in or members of Confucius Institutes or indeed any other similar organisations.

It would not be possible to determine whether a defendant in any specific case was based in or associated with a Confucius Institute without an examination of CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.

Data on leavers in the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and the Law Officers’ Departments (the Crown Prosecution Service, Government Legal Department, Serious Fraud Office, and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate) for the financial year 2023/24 is expected to be published at the end of July 2024.

Data on leavers in the AGO and the Law Officers’ Departments for previous years is published by the Cabinet Office in data tables which accompany the annual Civil Service statistics bulletin. These can be accessed at: Civil Service statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Data on leavers in the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and the Law Officers’ Departments (the Crown Prosecution Service, Government Legal Department, Serious Fraud Office, and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate) for the financial year 2023/24 is expected to be published at the end of July 2024.

Data on leavers in the AGO and the Law Officers’ Departments for previous years is published by the Cabinet Office in data tables which accompany the annual Civil Service statistics bulletin. These can be accessed at: Civil Service statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Data on leavers in the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and the Law Officers’ Departments (the Crown Prosecution Service, Government Legal Department, Serious Fraud Office, and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate) for the financial year 2023/24 is expected to be published at the end of July 2024.

Data on leavers in the AGO and the Law Officers’ Departments for previous years is published by the Cabinet Office in data tables which accompany the annual Civil Service statistics bulletin. These can be accessed at: Civil Service statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Data on leavers in the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and the Law Officers’ Departments (the Crown Prosecution Service, Government Legal Department, Serious Fraud Office, and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate) for the financial year 2023/24 is expected to be published at the end of July 2024.

Data on leavers in the AGO and the Law Officers’ Departments for previous years is published by the Cabinet Office in data tables which accompany the annual Civil Service statistics bulletin. These can be accessed at: Civil Service statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Data on leavers in the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and the Law Officers’ Departments (the Crown Prosecution Service, Government Legal Department, Serious Fraud Office, and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate) for the financial year 2023/24 is expected to be published at the end of July 2024.

Data on leavers in the AGO and the Law Officers’ Departments for previous years is published by the Cabinet Office in data tables which accompany the annual Civil Service statistics bulletin. These can be accessed at: Civil Service statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

I refer the Rt Hon Member to my substantive response to UIN 6773 and 6774 tabled on 24 January 2024.

The Surrey Senior Coroner has already carried out a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding Zane Gbangbola’s death, taking into account a considerable amount of evidence. The Coroner, as an independent judicial office holder, drew his own conclusions based on this evidence.

If there is a belief that the evidence was not considered properly during the original inquest, or that there is new evidence available, the correct process is for an application to be made to the Attorney General asking her to apply to the High Court to quash the inquest and order a fresh investigation. The High Court would take this course of action if it believed that it would be in the interests of justice.

If the Hon Member or the victim’s family would like to make such an application to the Attorney General, they are welcome to contact the Attorney General’s Office at correspondence@attorneygeneral.gov.uk for information and guidance on how to apply.

The Law Officers’ Convention requires that it is not generally disclosed outside Government whether I have been asked to provide advice or the contents of any such advice. This is a longstanding principle of Cabinet collective agreement which enables the Government of the day to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.

I refer the Hon Member to my response to UIN 17533 tabled on Wednesday 13 March 2024.

The Government publishes on GOV.UK details of the cost of overseas Ministerial travel, including costs of travel, and on other costs (visas, accommodation, meals).

But as has been the case under successive administrations, the Government does not publish granular detail on Ministers’ travel at home or abroad.

In line with normal Government Legal Department charging arrangements, any costs in relation to this matter have been or will be borne by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

All departments in central government, including arms lengths bodies apply the published guidance: Using non-corporate communication channels (e.g. WhatsApp, private email, SMS) for government business published by Cabinet Office in March 2023. It applies to all individuals in central government (ministers, special advisers, officials, contractors, non-executive board members and independent experts advising ministers). The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) uses the central guidance and has applied it since March 2023.

Please note that I am responding on behalf of the AGO only, and not the departments superintended by myself and the Attorney General (the Crown Prosecution Service, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, Government Legal Department, and Serious Fraud Office).

Departments are responsible for procuring their own legal advice and may decide when and how to disclose that advice outside Government. However, advice provided by the Law Officers is subject to the Law Officers’ Convention and may not be disclosed outside Government without the Law Officers’ consent. This is a longstanding principle of Cabinet collective agreement.

There have been no incidents of money lost to fraud and error by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) in each of the last three financial years.

Information relating to detected fraud and error for the AGO is published in the HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor Annual Reports and Accounts (HMPGTS Accounts). The HMPGTS Accounts for the financial years 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23 are available on GOV.UK at the following links: 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23. The HMPGTS Accounts contain information relating to the AGO, Government Legal Department, and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate.

The Government is proud of its record in proactively seeking to find and prevent more fraud in the system. We have established the dedicated Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA). In its first year, it delivered £311 million in audited counter fraud benefits.

The PSFA produces a Fraud Landscape Report which is available on GOV.UK: Cross-Government Fraud Landscape Annual Report 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). This provides data on fraud and error detection, loss and recoveries in central government, outside of the tax and welfare system. The 2020-21 Report was published in March 2023.

I cannot answer your question as to do so would be in breach of the Law Officers’ Convention.

Paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code clearly states that the fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority.

Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) remains one of this government’s top priorities. We continue to expand the number of VAWG offences to reflect the evolving criminal justice landscape.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is improving the way existing offences are prosecuted. It has produced a new operating model for the prosecution of rape and is now working in partnership with the police on a joint action plan to improve their collective handling of domestic abuse cases, applying the same principles from the work on rape which has driven marked improvement.

To address the increasing complexity of VAWG offending, and the holistic needs of victims, the CPS is also producing a new VAWG strategy which will be published by Autumn 2024.

Ministers and officials have regular discussions with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities over a range of issues. More broadly, I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 1 March 2024, Official Report, PQ 16019 on tackling anti-Muslim hatred.

The requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO). Reports and guidance that the AGO has published can be found on GOV.UK at Search - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Please note that I am responding on behalf of the AGO only, and not the departments superintended by the Attorney General and I (the Crown Prosecution Service, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, Government Legal Department, and Serious Fraud Office).

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is responsible for prosecuting cases which have been referred to them following an investigation by the police. The CPS will consider a prosecution for any case involving incitement to cause criminal damage or criminal damage to Ultra Low Emission Zone cameras under the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has not issued specific guidance on prosecuting those who incite others to cover up cameras in the Ultra Low Emission Zone.

These offences would be covered by existing guidance on inchoate offences, Theft Act offences, and offences during protests, demonstrations or campaigns. The existing guidance is available on the CPS website: Inchoate Offences; Theft Act Offences; and Offences during Protests, Demonstrations or Campaigns.

I visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories between 14 and 16 February 2024. In Israel, I met with the Israeli Attorney General, lawyers for the Israeli Defence Force, and the President of the Supreme Court. In the West Bank, I met with the Palestinian Attorney
General and the Prime Minister.

I held frank discussions in which I emphasised the importance of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) being respected, civilians protected, and detainees being held in compliance with the Geneva Conventions.

The UK Government continues to call for IHL to be respected and for civilians to be protected.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) uses advertising to promote vacancies in the Department.

The table below sets out what, in the last three years, the AGO budgeted for all communication and marketing and what it spent on advertising.

Please note that I am responding on behalf of the AGO only, and not the departments superintended by the Attorney General and I (the Crown Prosecution Service, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, Government Legal Department, and Serious Fraud Office).

The Attorney General’s Office’s (AGO) paid subscriptions to magazines provide AGO officials with a valuable resource of public discourse on topics relevant to the Department.

The AGO’s allocated budget and spend on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years is set out in the table below.

Please note that figures for the allocated budget include magazine and other subscriptions (e.g., newspapers and online journals), whereas spend is for magazine subscriptions only.

Please note that I am responding on behalf of the AGO only, and not the departments superintended by the Attorney General and I (the Crown Prosecution Service, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, Government Legal Department, and Serious Fraud Office).

The Attorney General’s Office’s (AGO) paid subscriptions to newspapers, magazines, and online journals provide AGO officials with a valuable resource of public discourse on topics relevant to the Department.

The AGO’s paid subscriptions for the last three financial years are set out in the table below.

Please note that I am responding on behalf of the AGO only, and not the departments superintended by the Attorney General and I (the Crown Prosecution Service, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, Government Legal Department, and Serious Fraud Office).

The apprenticeship levy for the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) is managed by the Government Legal Department (GLD). The GLD also manages the apprenticeship levy for HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI). These apprenticeship levies are combined into one pot and it is not possible to isolate them by department. However, it is possible to isolate the levy fees spent by the AGO to support its apprentices.

Between 01 September 2021 and 31 August 2023, the apprenticeship levy fees paid for the AGO, GLD, and HMCPSI were £1,380,581. This includes the 10% government top up.

During the same period, the AGO spent £30,173 to support AGO apprentices.

Please note that, except for the references to the GLD and HMCPSI above, I am responding on behalf of the AGO only, and not the departments superintended by the Attorney General and I (the Crown Prosecution Service, HMCPSI, GLD, and Serious Fraud Office).

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) does not have any Digital and Data (DDaT) posts.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the AGO’s shared IT service provider. The total number of vacant DDaT posts in the CPS is 32, 10.5% of DDaT posts in the CPS.

As part of the 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data, all government departments made a commitment to reduce their digital and data vacancies to under 10% of total Government Digital and Data headcount by 2025. Overall good progress has been made, with total vacancies now at 15%.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is responsible for the provision and management of up-to-date IT infrastructure and applications for the Attorney General’s Office (AGO).

The CPS does not currently maintain any legacy IT infrastructure on behalf of the AGO.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold data on the number of defendants assessed under the modern slavery National Referral Mechanism (NRM). This information could only be obtained by an examination of CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.

The NRM is the UK framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery and ensuring they receive the appropriate support. Certain public authorities, including the police, have a statutory duty to refer potential victims to the NRM. Adults must agree to this. The CPS cannot make referrals; it is not a first responder.

Section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 provides for a statutory defence for adult and child victims of modern slavery who are accused of committing criminal offences. The defence does not apply to the most serious crimes such as murder or manslaughter.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold data from which it is possible to cross-reference Threshold Test charging decisions about a defendant with subsequent Full Code Test decisions. This information could only be obtained by an examination of CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.

The Code for Crown Prosecutors is clear that the Threshold Test may only be applied after a rigorous examination of its five conditions. This ensures that it is only applied when necessary and that cases are not charged prematurely. Any decision to charge under the Threshold Test must be kept under review and the Full Code Test must be applied as soon as practicable.

Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Management Information is available showing the number of pre-charge legal decisions when the Principal Offence Category allocated at the first consultation was homicide and whether the final consultation completed against the suspect involved application of the Threshold Test.

Data can be provided from April 2019 to the end of September 2023 and the tables below show this information for each year and the financial year 2023/24 to date.

Principal Offence Categories comprise a range of offences. These cannot be separated to report suspect outcomes by specific offence.

Legal decisions are to charge, take no further action (NFA), or recommend an out of court disposal (OoCD).

Following the receipt of a file from the police requesting a CPS charging decision, several consultations may take place before the final decision whether to charge or not is taken by the reviewing lawyer. The first consultation may result in a legal decision outcome or in an action plan that needs to be sent to the police for further investigation or additional evidentiary material to allow a charging decision to take place.

The methodology of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Joint Enterprise Pilot 2023 is set out on their website at: www.cps.gov.uk/publication/crown-prosecution-service-joint-enterprise-pilot-2023-data-analysis.

This involved the application of a local ‘flag’ to joint enterprise homicide and attempted homicide cases which were then manually reviewed and certain case features were counted. The number of cases in which the defendant was assessed under the modern slavery National Referral Mechanism was not counted during the pilot and it is not possible to extract further management information from the local ‘flag’ centrally.

In conducting any review, it is essential we involve operational partners and stakeholders affected by the changes.

The 2023 update to the Attorney General’s Guidelines has been focused on digital evidence and a working group was established with representatives including the Crown Prosecution Service, Serious Fraud Office, HM Revenue and Customs, National Crime Agency, police, Ministry of Justice, and Home Office. In addition, specific sessions were held with the legal defence community.