Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on backlogs of court cases.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
I welcome the strong action already taken by the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor to bring down the outstanding caseload that this Government inherited, and measures introduced to help ensure victims have swift access to justice.
These actions include extending magistrates’ court sentencing powers to 12 months and funding additional Crown Court sitting days, taking them to the highest levels since financial year 2015/16 .
In the longer term, the Lord Chancellor has commissioned an independent review of the criminal courts, led by Sir Brian Leveson, to consider the merits of wider reforms, as well as assessing the efficiency and timeliness of court processes.
These important issues have been discussed as part of our cross-government approach through the Safer Streets Mission Board.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what steps she is taking to help ensure the effective prosecution of rural crime.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
This Government is committed to working with the police and other partners to address the blight of rural crime to ensure the safety of those in all communities.
We are introducing tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, strengthening neighbourhood policing, and introducing robust laws to prevent farm theft and fly-tippers.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council Wildlife and Rural Crime Strategy 2022-2025 provides a framework through which policing, and its partners, can work together to tackle the most prevalent threats and emerging issues which predominantly affect rural communities.
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutors work closely with local police officers and officers from the National Wildlife Crime Unit to tackle all types of rural crime.
The CPS provides legal guidance on Wildlife, Rural and Heritage Crime, which is available to all its prosecutors, to assist them in dealing with these cases. They also provide specialist training to ensure that its prosecutors have the expert knowledge needed to prosecute these crimes.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what steps she is taking to help ensure the effective prosecution of people who commit hate crime.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Hate crime is truly abhorrent and can have a devastating impact on victims and their communities.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) takes such offending very seriously.
The CPS works closely with the police to build robust cases and secure prosecutions for these offences.