Oral Answers to Questions

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 18th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. If we are brief, we might just clear all the questions.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

8. What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the CPS in prosecuting cases of hate crime.

[The Solicitor General (Alex Chalk)]

Hate crime can have a devastating impact on individuals and communities. In the last year, the CPS prosecuted more than 10,000 such offences; in 79% of those cases that resulted in a conviction, the court agreed to impose a sentence uplift to reflect this important aggravating factor. Let the message go out: those who seek to divide our society through hate can expect a robust response.

[Bob Blackman]

Hate crime is clearly a serious concern right across this country. Do local Crown Prosecution Service areas have all the resources that they need to take these measures on and prosecute people for hate crime?

[The Solicitor General]

Yes, and those resources are growing. CPS London North maintains hate crime co-ordinators and inclusion and community engagement managers to provide a single point of contact on all aspects of hate crime prosecution. It has achieved some of the highest sentence uplift statistics anywhere in the country, with increases handed down in 83% of cases.