Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prosecutions there have been under section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006; and how many of those have resulted in conviction.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions and convictions at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, including under section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006. They can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics, using HO offence code 06653.
The following table provides the number of prosecutions and convictions from 2015 to 30 June 2024 (latest available data) for ‘Publishing or causing another to publish a statement intending or recklessly encouraging terrorism’:
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | Jan-Jun 2024 |
Proceeded against | 2 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
Convicted | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
Source: Court Proceeding Database
Notes:
Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
These figures are presented on a principal offence basis - i.e. reporting information relating to the most serious offence that a defendant was dealt with for. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
Offences dealt with at magistrates’ court and subsequently committed to the Crown Court for trial or sentence are counted separately at each stage of the process, based on the year in which they receive an outcome at each respective court. For example, an offence committed from the magistrates’ court in 2022 may not receive a final outcome at the Crown Court until a subsequent year, meaning the prosecution and conviction are counted separately in different years. As a result, the number of convictions (or other outcomes) in a given year may exceed the number of prosecutions. Similarly, an offence convicted in one year may be sentenced the following year, meaning that the number of sentences issued may not match the number of convictions in any given year.
Additionally, more offences can be added to the indictment at the Crown Court after committal, meaning the number of outcomes at Crown Court for a given offence could exceed those at magistrates' court. A defendant may also be dealt with for a different offence at the Crown Court than for which they were originally proceeded against at magistrates’ court. For example, an individual initially prosecuted for murder may be convicted at Crown Court for manslaughter. This could also result in the total outcomes for a given offence exceeding the original number of prosecutions.
It is not advised to use this data to calculate conviction rate (the number of convictions as a proportion of the number of prosecutions). This is due to the Court Proceedings Database counting two separate records at two separate stages (one for prosecution, one for conviction). We cannot track the defendant throughout their court journey and an individual may appear at each court in separate years, or for a different principal offence at different stages. As a result, this rate is not an accurate measure of the proportion of prosecutions that result in a conviction.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the conclusion of the Northern Ireland Department of Justice that legislative protections should be established to ensure that compensation monies paid to minors are protected for their benefit, and (2) the data from the Northern Ireland Compensation Recovery Unit that almost one in four personal injury cases in 2022 involving children did not have a legal representative for the injury party; and what steps they intend to take to ensure that minors in England and Wales involved in compensation cases have their compensation monies protected and receive legal representation.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
The administration of justice in Northern Ireland is devolved and a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly. However, the Government notes that the Northern Ireland Department for Justice has proposed changes to strengthen the way that civil claims on behalf of minors are brought. No changes in this area are planned for England and Wales as children are already protected by the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). Under the CPR a child must have a litigation friend to conduct proceedings unless the court orders otherwise, and settlements must be supported by legal advice as well as approved by the court which will direct how the money is dealt with and make a detailed assessment of legal costs payable.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the regulatory regime for solicitors in England and Wales, which permits non-solicitors to invest in solicitors' firms, is beneficial to the investment and growth of the legal sectors, particularly for small firms; and what discussions they have had with the Northern Ireland Executive regarding the regulatory regime for solicitors in this regard.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
Central to the liberalisation of the legal services market has been the creation of alternative business structures (ABS) in 2011, which allowed non-lawyers to become part owners of law firms. No specific assessment has been made of the impacts of non-solicitor investment in the legal services market. However, research suggests that ABS firms have benefited the legal services market by enabling external investment and bringing in external business and commercial expertise, and that these new, innovative providers have increased competition in the market.
While we have not made a direct assessment of the economic value of ABS, ONS data shows that legal services turnover has grown from £26 billion in 2011, to £41.6 billion in 2021. The number of ABS licences issued has also grown substantially in recent times, from 812 in 2016 to 1,861 as of the end of 2022.
The regulation of the legal profession, and more broadly legal services policy, is a devolved matter, and as such the UK government does not directly have a position, nor intention to intervene, in the regulation of legal professionals in Northern Ireland or the operation of the legal services framework. However, where possible the UK government does encourage cooperation between the various administrations and the sharing of best practice.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the fees set down in (1) the Commissioner for Oaths (Authorised Persons) Fees Order 1993, and (2) the Removal, Storage and Disposal of Vehicles (Prescribed Sums and Charges) Regulations 2008.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
We do not currently have any plans to review the fees set down in the Commissioners for Oaths (Authorised Persons) Fees Order 1993.
On 10 January 2023, the Government published the response to its Review of the Statutory Charges which the police can levy when they have exercised their vehicle recovery powers. We will be introducing an increase of 28% to ensure that the vehicle recovery industry can continue to operate sustainably. This consultation did not cover the way in which the police use their power to order vehicle removal, or the operation of recovery schemes and contracts. These are operational matters for the police and National Highways.