Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, with reference to the Crown Prosecution Service Joint Enterprise Pilot 2023: Data Analysis, published on 29 September 2023, what steps she plans to take to help tackle the ethnicity disproportionality outlined in that data.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
As Minister Sackman has set out in other substantive answers on the the matter of joint enterprise, we are aware of concerns about the impact of joint enterprise doctrine on defendants and their families. That is why more broadly the Government continues to keep the law in this area under review.
With regard to the role of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), following publication of the Joint Enterprise Pilot 2023, the CPS held two national scrutiny panels on joint enterprise, with input from external stakeholders with relevant expertise and experience, to review the findings of the pilot and scrutinise joint enterprise casework. This review included a national scrutiny panel held on 1 February 2024 which focussed on joint enterprise cases where evidence of gang association was a feature.
The pilot found ethnic disparities in the caseload, but it was not possible to draw strong conclusions from the analysis due to the relatively small sample size (190 cases involving 680 defendants).
The CPS updated its case management system to commence a full national monitoring scheme in 2024. This monitors all homicide and attempted homicide prosecutions brought on a joint enterprise basis and will report annually. The CPS will publish a report on the monitoring data collected during the 2024/25 financial year in the summer.
Self-identified defendant ethnicity data from the police or other investigative authorities, subject to varying levels of error and omission at local levels, is uploaded to the CPS’ case management system. This can record the ethnicity category “W3 Gypsy and Irish Traveller” in accordance with criminal justice system data standards.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, with reference to the Crown Prosecution Service Joint Enterprise Pilot 2023 whether the scheme is monitoring cases involving (a) Romani, (b) Roma and (c) Irish Travellers; and when will the scheme will issue its first report.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
As Minister Sackman has set out in other substantive answers on the the matter of joint enterprise, we are aware of concerns about the impact of joint enterprise doctrine on defendants and their families. That is why more broadly the Government continues to keep the law in this area under review.
With regard to the role of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), following publication of the Joint Enterprise Pilot 2023, the CPS held two national scrutiny panels on joint enterprise, with input from external stakeholders with relevant expertise and experience, to review the findings of the pilot and scrutinise joint enterprise casework. This review included a national scrutiny panel held on 1 February 2024 which focussed on joint enterprise cases where evidence of gang association was a feature.
The pilot found ethnic disparities in the caseload, but it was not possible to draw strong conclusions from the analysis due to the relatively small sample size (190 cases involving 680 defendants).
The CPS updated its case management system to commence a full national monitoring scheme in 2024. This monitors all homicide and attempted homicide prosecutions brought on a joint enterprise basis and will report annually. The CPS will publish a report on the monitoring data collected during the 2024/25 financial year in the summer.
Self-identified defendant ethnicity data from the police or other investigative authorities, subject to varying levels of error and omission at local levels, is uploaded to the CPS’ case management system. This can record the ethnicity category “W3 Gypsy and Irish Traveller” in accordance with criminal justice system data standards.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, with reference to the Crown Prosecution Service Joint Enterprise Pilot 2023, whether the CPS convened a scrutiny panel in January 2024 as planned that focused on joint enterprise cases where evidence of gang association was a feature.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
As Minister Sackman has set out in other substantive answers on the the matter of joint enterprise, we are aware of concerns about the impact of joint enterprise doctrine on defendants and their families. That is why more broadly the Government continues to keep the law in this area under review.
With regard to the role of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), following publication of the Joint Enterprise Pilot 2023, the CPS held two national scrutiny panels on joint enterprise, with input from external stakeholders with relevant expertise and experience, to review the findings of the pilot and scrutinise joint enterprise casework. This review included a national scrutiny panel held on 1 February 2024 which focussed on joint enterprise cases where evidence of gang association was a feature.
The pilot found ethnic disparities in the caseload, but it was not possible to draw strong conclusions from the analysis due to the relatively small sample size (190 cases involving 680 defendants).
The CPS updated its case management system to commence a full national monitoring scheme in 2024. This monitors all homicide and attempted homicide prosecutions brought on a joint enterprise basis and will report annually. The CPS will publish a report on the monitoring data collected during the 2024/25 financial year in the summer.
Self-identified defendant ethnicity data from the police or other investigative authorities, subject to varying levels of error and omission at local levels, is uploaded to the CPS’ case management system. This can record the ethnicity category “W3 Gypsy and Irish Traveller” in accordance with criminal justice system data standards.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 19 March (HL5463), how many people the Attorney General's Office employs on zero-hour contracts.
Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General
The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) does not employ any staff on a zero-hour contract. The AGO has a mix of permanent and fixed term contracts.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what legal advice she has sought on the UK's military assistance to the US in Yemen.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Law Officers’ Convention applies to advice which may or may not have been given by the Law Officers, or requested of the Law Officers, and the Convention applies to your question.
The Law Officers’ Convention can be found at paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May:
“By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph [5.14] of the Ministerial Code [updated on 6 November 2024]. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, with reference to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Joint Enterprise Pilot 2023, whether the CPS has updated its case management system to flag joint enterprise cases for detailed manual assessment.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
In early 2024, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) updated its case management system to enable a new national ‘flag’ to be applied to prosecutions for homicide and attempted homicide brought on a joint enterprise basis. Each prosecution also now receives an enhanced level of supervision from a case management panel, chaired by a senior legal manager.
The CPS will publish a report on the monitoring data collected during the 2024/25 financial year in the summer.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what diversity, equality and inclusion targets her Department has for staff recruitment.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Attorney General’s Office does not have a set target for diversity, equality and inclusion (EDI) for staff recruitment or representation. The AGO welcomes applications from those of all backgrounds.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, how many (a) attempted and (b) successful public prosecutions there have been of (a) British nationals and (b) individuals resident in the UK with respect to the general bribery offences under the Bribery Act 2010 broken down by (i) type or sub-type of offence and (ii) prosecuting organisation or agency.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
As Solicitor General I superintend the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The SFO is the lead agency in England and Wales for investigating and prosecuting serious international fraud, bribery, and corruption cases. The CPS also prosecutes bribery offences investigated by the police, committed either overseas or in England and Wales.
General bribery offences (sections 1 and 2 Bribery Act 2010)
The tables below show the number of individuals – British national or UK resident – charged and successful prosecuted (by way of guilty plea or conviction by jury) by the SFO under sections 1 and 2 of the Bribery Act 2010.
British national | UK resident | |
Individuals charged | 13 | 0 |
Individuals successfully prosecuted | 6 | 0 |
Bribery Act 2010 counts | Section 1 | Section 2 |
Counts charged | 31 | 5 |
Counts successfully prosecuted | 17 | 4 |
The CPS does not record or hold the requested data centrally and is not able to disaggregate its data based on nationality of offenders. The information can only be obtained by completing manual case file reviews, which would be at a disproportionate cost.
Section 7 Bribery Act 2010
The SFO has charged and successfully prosecuted (by way of Deferred Prosecution Agreement, guilty plea, or conviction by jury) 12 organisations under section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010.
The CPS has charged organisations under section 7 five times. However, this is not an indication of final outcome or if the charged offences were the substantive charges at finalisation. The CPS does not record or hold the requested data on prosecution outcomes at the offence-level centrally. The information can only be obtained by completing manual case file reviews, which would be at a disproportionate cost.
Section 45 Criminal Finances Act 2017
The SFO and CPS have not brought any charges under section 45 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what information his Department holds on the number of (a) attempted and (b) successful public prosecutions under Section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010, broken down by (i) type or sub-type of offence and (ii) prosecuting organisation or agency.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
As Solicitor General I superintend the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The SFO is the lead agency in England and Wales for investigating and prosecuting serious international fraud, bribery, and corruption cases. The CPS also prosecutes bribery offences investigated by the police, committed either overseas or in England and Wales.
General bribery offences (sections 1 and 2 Bribery Act 2010)
The tables below show the number of individuals – British national or UK resident – charged and successful prosecuted (by way of guilty plea or conviction by jury) by the SFO under sections 1 and 2 of the Bribery Act 2010.
British national | UK resident | |
Individuals charged | 13 | 0 |
Individuals successfully prosecuted | 6 | 0 |
Bribery Act 2010 counts | Section 1 | Section 2 |
Counts charged | 31 | 5 |
Counts successfully prosecuted | 17 | 4 |
The CPS does not record or hold the requested data centrally and is not able to disaggregate its data based on nationality of offenders. The information can only be obtained by completing manual case file reviews, which would be at a disproportionate cost.
Section 7 Bribery Act 2010
The SFO has charged and successfully prosecuted (by way of Deferred Prosecution Agreement, guilty plea, or conviction by jury) 12 organisations under section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010.
The CPS has charged organisations under section 7 five times. However, this is not an indication of final outcome or if the charged offences were the substantive charges at finalisation. The CPS does not record or hold the requested data on prosecution outcomes at the offence-level centrally. The information can only be obtained by completing manual case file reviews, which would be at a disproportionate cost.
Section 45 Criminal Finances Act 2017
The SFO and CPS have not brought any charges under section 45 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what information her Department holds on the number of (a) attempted and (b) successful public prosecutions under Section 45 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017, broken down by (a) type or sub-type of offence and (b) prosecuting organisation or agency.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
As Solicitor General I superintend the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The SFO is the lead agency in England and Wales for investigating and prosecuting serious international fraud, bribery, and corruption cases. The CPS also prosecutes bribery offences investigated by the police, committed either overseas or in England and Wales.
General bribery offences (sections 1 and 2 Bribery Act 2010)
The tables below show the number of individuals – British national or UK resident – charged and successful prosecuted (by way of guilty plea or conviction by jury) by the SFO under sections 1 and 2 of the Bribery Act 2010.
British national | UK resident | |
Individuals charged | 13 | 0 |
Individuals successfully prosecuted | 6 | 0 |
Bribery Act 2010 counts | Section 1 | Section 2 |
Counts charged | 31 | 5 |
Counts successfully prosecuted | 17 | 4 |
The CPS does not record or hold the requested data centrally and is not able to disaggregate its data based on nationality of offenders. The information can only be obtained by completing manual case file reviews, which would be at a disproportionate cost.
Section 7 Bribery Act 2010
The SFO has charged and successfully prosecuted (by way of Deferred Prosecution Agreement, guilty plea, or conviction by jury) 12 organisations under section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010.
The CPS has charged organisations under section 7 five times. However, this is not an indication of final outcome or if the charged offences were the substantive charges at finalisation. The CPS does not record or hold the requested data on prosecution outcomes at the offence-level centrally. The information can only be obtained by completing manual case file reviews, which would be at a disproportionate cost.
Section 45 Criminal Finances Act 2017
The SFO and CPS have not brought any charges under section 45 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017.