Lord Roberts of Llandudno: MoJ: Written Answers (25)

Written Question

Europol

Thursday 14th July 2016

Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any prisons have suffered arson attacks in the past 12 months.

The National Offender Management Service has a range of measures for monitoring fire safety in prisons. NOMS does not specifically monitor the number of arson incidents in prisons.

Written Question

Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs: Crime

Wednesday 25th March 2015

Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people in each police authority were convicted of alcohol and drug offences in each of the last four years; and what are those figures as a percentage of the population in each police authority area.

Answered by Lord Faulks

Alcohol and drug offences can have a very serious impact on individuals and wider communities, while also being a burden on our courts. This is why we have tough sentences in place for the most serious offences, including a life sentence for supply of Class A drugs.

Our approach on drugs remains clear. We must prevent drug abuse in our communities, help dependent individuals through treatment and wider recovery support, while ensuring law enforcement protects society by stopping the supply.

The number of people found guilty at all courts of alcohol and drug offences, by police force area, in England and Wales, and the figures as a percentage of the population in each police authority area, from 2009 to 2013 (the latest available) can be viewed in the table.

Court proceedings data for 2014 are planned for publication in May 2015.

Persons found guilty at all courts for alcohol related offences ⁽¹⁾ and drug offences ⁽²⁾ for each police force area in England and Wales, 2009 to 2013 ⁽³⁾⁽⁴⁾
	Found guilty					% of population⁽⁵⁾
	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
Alcohol related offences⁽¹⁾
Avon and Somerset	1,619	1,328	1,384	1,304	1,219	0.099%	0.081%	0.085%	0.080%	0.075%
Bedfordshire	620	604	546	527	408	0.098%	0.095%	0.086%	0.083%	0.064%
Cambridgeshire	804	782	687	640	632	0.098%	0.095%	0.084%	0.078%	0.077%
Cheshire	1,388	1,237	1,215	1,180	913	0.134%	0.120%	0.117%	0.114%	0.088%
Cleveland	770	635	519	508	476	0.138%	0.113%	0.093%	0.091%	0.085%
Cumbria	561	470	434	476	409	0.113%	0.094%	0.087%	0.096%	0.082%
Derbyshire	991	837	791	804	655	0.096%	0.081%	0.077%	0.078%	0.064%
Devon and Cornwall	1,724	1,512	1,496	1,453	1,254	0.102%	0.089%	0.088%	0.086%	0.074%
Dorset	750	635	650	567	644	0.099%	0.084%	0.086%	0.075%	0.085%
Durham	714	632	560	510	434	0.115%	0.102%	0.090%	0.082%	0.070%
Essex	2,016	1,613	1,421	1,095	1,254	0.115%	0.092%	0.081%	0.062%	0.072%
Gloucestershire	623	538	553	416	428	0.103%	0.089%	0.091%	0.069%	0.071%
Greater Manchester	3,119	2,632	2,310	2,500	2,134	0.115%	0.097%	0.085%	0.092%	0.079%
Hampshire	2,026	1,921	1,767	1,519	1,433	0.105%	0.100%	0.092%	0.079%	0.074%
Hertfordshire	1,312	1,223	1,062	1,027	823	0.115%	0.107%	0.093%	0.090%	0.072%
Humberside	976	853	812	773	678	0.106%	0.092%	0.088%	0.084%	0.074%
Kent	1,815	1,572	1,485	1,253	1,197	0.103%	0.089%	0.084%	0.071%	0.068%
Lancashire	1,886	1,554	1,395	1,299	1,158	0.128%	0.106%	0.095%	0.088%	0.079%
Leicestershire	974	886	826	750	725	0.094%	0.086%	0.080%	0.073%	0.070%
Lincolnshire	839	718	693	719	701	0.116%	0.099%	0.096%	0.099%	0.097%
City of London⁽⁶⁾	79	108	117	-	-	1.033%	1.412%	1.530%	0.000%	0.000%
Merseyside	1,605	1,232	1,172	1,037	933	0.116%	0.089%	0.085%	0.075%	0.067%
Metropolitan Police	8,811	7,588	6,667	5,560	5,578	0.105%	0.090%	0.079%	0.066%	0.066%
Norfolk	777	684	659	825	676	0.089%	0.079%	0.076%	0.095%	0.078%
Northamptonshire	745	721	697	736	637	0.105%	0.102%	0.099%	0.104%	0.090%
Northumbria	1,719	1,410	1,328	1,279	1,116	0.120%	0.099%	0.093%	0.089%	0.078%
North Yorkshire	985	804	718	750	694	0.122%	0.100%	0.089%	0.093%	0.086%
Nottinghamshire	1,229	1,021	916	977	845	0.111%	0.092%	0.083%	0.088%	0.076%
South Yorkshire	1,522	1,151	1,066	935	861	0.112%	0.085%	0.078%	0.069%	0.063%
Staffordshire	1,247	1,005	980	977	859	0.113%	0.091%	0.089%	0.088%	0.078%
Suffolk	734	577	608	692	607	0.100%	0.078%	0.083%	0.094%	0.082%
Surrey	1,068	887	943	973	924	0.093%	0.077%	0.082%	0.084%	0.080%
Sussex	1,601	1,426	1,361	1,286	1,098	0.098%	0.087%	0.083%	0.079%	0.067%
Thames Valley	2,046	1,975	1,960	1,903	1,839	0.088%	0.085%	0.085%	0.082%	0.079%
Warwickshire	723	585	434	467	455	0.132%	0.107%	0.079%	0.085%	0.083%
West Mercia	1,315	1,233	1,290	1,310	1,159	0.106%	0.100%	0.104%	0.106%	0.094%
West Midlands	3,499	2,354	2,565	2,263	1,822	0.126%	0.085%	0.092%	0.081%	0.065%
West Yorkshire	2,332	1,910	1,690	1,692	1,500	0.104%	0.085%	0.075%	0.075%	0.067%
Wiltshire	474	482	467	497	476	0.068%	0.069%	0.067%	0.072%	0.069%
Dyfed Powys	580	528	521	543	441	0.112%	0.102%	0.101%	0.105%	0.085%
Gwent	705	490	578	513	436	0.122%	0.085%	0.100%	0.089%	0.075%
North Wales	906	765	635	667	623	0.131%	0.111%	0.092%	0.096%	0.090%
South Wales	1,825	1,447	1,462	1,149	1,131	0.141%	0.112%	0.113%	0.089%	0.087%
England and Wales	62,054	52,565	49,440	46,351	42,285	0.109%	0.092%	0.087%	0.081%	0.074%
All Drug Offences including Summary Drug Offences ⁽²⁾
Avon and Somerset	1,113	1,328	1,597	1,827	1,758	0.068%	0.081%	0.098%	0.112%	0.108%
Bedfordshire	388	481	492	470	430	0.061%	0.076%	0.078%	0.074%	0.068%
Cambridgeshire	570	599	653	586	592	0.069%	0.073%	0.080%	0.071%	0.072%
Cheshire	724	801	728	793	753	0.070%	0.077%	0.070%	0.077%	0.073%
Cleveland	1,020	1,023	922	810	823	0.182%	0.183%	0.165%	0.145%	0.147%
Cumbria	640	646	793	641	603	0.128%	0.130%	0.159%	0.129%	0.121%
Derbyshire	687	834	905	813	824	0.067%	0.081%	0.088%	0.079%	0.080%
Devon and Cornwall	1,212	1,426	1,487	1,069	1,010	0.072%	0.084%	0.088%	0.063%	0.060%
Dorset	577	555	476	438	429	0.076%	0.074%	0.063%	0.058%	0.057%
Durham	428	460	336	314	310	0.069%	0.074%	0.054%	0.051%	0.050%
Essex	1,161	1,255	1,361	1,017	1,216	0.066%	0.072%	0.078%	0.058%	0.069%
Gloucestershire	524	494	403	420	446	0.087%	0.082%	0.067%	0.069%	0.074%
Greater Manchester	3,197	3,830	3,887	3,347	2,985	0.118%	0.141%	0.143%	0.123%	0.110%
Hampshire	1,714	1,817	1,736	1,848	1,860	0.089%	0.094%	0.090%	0.096%	0.097%
Hertfordshire	985	1,168	1,150	1,174	1,115	0.086%	0.102%	0.101%	0.103%	0.098%
Humberside	726	736	872	878	876	0.079%	0.080%	0.095%	0.095%	0.095%
Kent	1,293	1,431	1,328	1,188	1,312	0.073%	0.081%	0.075%	0.067%	0.074%
Lancashire	1,655	1,912	1,673	1,740	1,460	0.113%	0.130%	0.114%	0.118%	0.099%
Leicestershire	538	677	566	552	474	0.052%	0.066%	0.055%	0.053%	0.046%
Lincolnshire	456	452	468	387	416	0.063%	0.062%	0.065%	0.053%	0.057%
City of London⁽⁶⁾	78	97	120	-	-	1.020%	1.268%	1.569%	0.000%	0.000%
Merseyside	3,844	4,171	3,865	3,560	3,007	0.277%	0.301%	0.279%	0.257%	0.217%
Metropolitan Police	12,695	13,924	13,764	12,722	13,379	0.151%	0.166%	0.164%	0.151%	0.159%
Norfolk	580	679	710	707	723	0.067%	0.078%	0.082%	0.081%	0.083%
Northamptonshire	335	507	434	419	498	0.047%	0.072%	0.061%	0.059%	0.070%
Northumbria	1,460	1,547	1,919	1,843	1,561	0.102%	0.108%	0.134%	0.129%	0.109%
North Yorkshire	576	616	615	526	488	0.072%	0.077%	0.076%	0.065%	0.061%
Nottinghamshire	1,019	1,187	1,203	942	875	0.092%	0.107%	0.109%	0.085%	0.079%
South Yorkshire	1,364	1,520	1,547	1,508	1,544	0.100%	0.112%	0.114%	0.111%	0.114%
Staffordshire	626	701	651	725	843	0.057%	0.063%	0.059%	0.065%	0.076%
Suffolk	534	415	482	551	634	0.073%	0.056%	0.065%	0.075%	0.086%
Surrey	610	620	749	976	914	0.053%	0.054%	0.065%	0.085%	0.079%
Sussex	1,420	1,420	1,414	1,291	1,214	0.087%	0.087%	0.087%	0.079%	0.074%
Thames Valley	1,916	1,929	1,714	1,839	1,868	0.083%	0.083%	0.074%	0.079%	0.081%
Warwickshire	205	299	184	215	210	0.037%	0.054%	0.034%	0.039%	0.038%
West Mercia	606	605	621	676	619	0.049%	0.049%	0.050%	0.055%	0.050%
West Midlands	3,171	2,940	2,999	2,762	2,529	0.114%	0.106%	0.108%	0.099%	0.091%
West Yorkshire	2,105	2,434	2,340	2,241	1,965	0.093%	0.108%	0.104%	0.100%	0.087%
Wiltshire	407	328	317	320	407	0.059%	0.047%	0.046%	0.046%	0.059%
Dyfed Powys	705	828	797	938	995	0.136%	0.160%	0.154%	0.182%	0.193%
Gwent	542	537	631	628	627	0.094%	0.093%	0.109%	0.108%	0.108%
North Wales	537	619	553	458	490	0.078%	0.089%	0.080%	0.066%	0.071%
South Wales	1,891	2,133	2,196	1,966	1,905	0.146%	0.165%	0.170%	0.152%	0.147%
England and Wales	56,834	61,981	61,658	58,125	56,987	0.100%	0.109%	0.108%	0.102%	0.100%

-' =- Nil

(1) Includes offences under sections 6(2B)(2C) of Licensing Act 1902, and sections 137,138,141,142,145,146,147,149(1)(3)(4)7A, 7B,150,151,152,153,156,157 of Licencing Act 2003 ,Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Act 1997 S.1,Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc) Act 1985 SS.1(4), 1A(4),2(1)(2),ss5B(3),5C(4), 5D(3)1(2)(3),1A(2)(3),3(10)5B(2)5C(3)5D(2)5C(5),6(2), Policing and Crime Act 2009 S.30, Road Traffic Act 1988 S.5(1)(a)(b),Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 S.12,Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 Sch.12 P.5

(2) Includes Sections 12, 13, 19(a), (b) Criminal Justice Co-Operation Act 1990, RR.6(5), 7, 8, & 9(2) Controlled Drugs (Drug Precursors)(Community External Trade) Regs 2008, Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (SS.50(2), (3) & (5), 68 (2) & (4) & 170(1), (2), (3) & (4) & Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 SS 327-330, 333, 334 (1,2) & 336 (5) & (6)

(3) 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 police forces. 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.

(4) The conviction statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence 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.

(5) Population estimates mid 2013 England and Wales.

(6) City of London Local Justice Area abolished on 31 December 2011, and merged into Central London Local Justice Area. These data recorded under Metropolitan Police henceforth

Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.
Ref: PQs HL5791

Written Question

Freedom of Expression

Wednesday 17th December 2014

Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what provisions they have put in place to safeguard the exercise of free speech in the United Kingdom.

Answered by Lord Faulks

The United Kingdom is bound by its obligations under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which makes clear that everyone has the right to freedom of expression. It also makes clear that this right carries duties and responsibilities and consequently can be restricted for the reasons set out in Article 10 where prescribed by law and necessary in a democratic society.

In the Coalition Agreement the Government agreed that the obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, including Article 10, will continue to be enshrined in UK law.

The removal earlier this year of the word “insulting” from the offence under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 is a concrete example of the Government keeping our legislation under review and ensuring it strikes the right balance in protecting freedom of speech.

Written Question

Verne Prison

Tuesday 24th June 2014

Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it is their intention for on-site legal surgeries be held in HMP The Verne.

Answered by Lord Faulks

Earlier this year the Legal Aid Agency conducted an expression of interest exercise among existing contract holders providing immigration surgeries at other Immigration Removal Centres, with four providers confirmed as interested in operating surgeries in HMP The Verne. Communications will be issued shortly regarding when these services are likely to commence.

Written Question

Verne Prison

Tuesday 24th June 2014

Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to make legal aid-funded immigration representation available to migrants detained in HMP The Verne.

Answered by Lord Faulks

Currently, advice on immigration matters within the scope of Legal Aid can be given to detainees in HMP The Verne by any provider that holds an Immigration & Asylum contract with the Legal Aid Agency (LAA).

Earlier this year the LAA conducted an expression of interest exercise among existing contract holders providing immigration surgeries at other Immigration Removal Centres, with four providers confirmed as interested in operating surgeries in HMP The Verne. Communications will be issued shortly regarding when these services are likely to commence.