Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many convictions for paedophilia were referred to her Department under the unduly lenient sentence scheme in 2023.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) receives requests to refer sentences under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme to the Court of Appeal and publishes annual reports on the outcomes of the requests which it refers.
The annual report for 2023 has not yet been published. The latest annual report, for the year 2022, was published on 17 October 2023 (see Unduly lenient sentence annual case outcomes data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)).
The AGO also releases weekly statistics of requests to refer sentences. Weekly statistics for 2023, including requests to refer sentences for offences involving paedophilia (such as indecent images of a child, rape of a child under 13, and sexual assault of a child under 13) can be found at Outcome of unduly lenient sentence referrals - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what assessment she has made of the impact of the unduly lenient sentencing scheme on levels of paedophile crime.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme in England and Wales permits the Court of Appeal to review a sentence, correct a sentencing error, and give guidance on how to approach some of the most serious and complex sentencing exercises.
The Court of Appeal will only grant permission to refer a sentence in exceptional circumstances: for example, if the judge has passed a sentence that falls outside the range of sentences which a judge, applying their mind to all the relevant factors before them, could properly consider appropriate, or if the judge has made some gross error in law.
The scheme is kept under constant review. In November 2019, 14 new offences were added to the scheme. These included offences relating to indecent images of children.
In 2022, the Law Officers referred 139 cases to the Court of Appeal. The Court granted leave to refer in 105 (75%) cases and the sentence was increased in 95 (68%) cases. Of the 95 cases in which the sentence was increased, 23 (24%) were sentences for child sex offences.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what discussions she has had with the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland on increasing conviction rates for (a) theft and (b) burglary.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland (PPSNI) is entirely independent and is not superintended by the Attorney General.
The Attorney General, as Advocate General for Northern Ireland, has limited statutory functions in relation to the PPSNI and the performance of the PPSNI does not fall within this remit.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what steps he is taking to improve the conviction rate for cases relating to violence against women and girls.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) remains one of this government’s top priorities. The CPS has already undertaken significant work on rape and domestic abuse (DA) designed to improve the investigation and prosecution of these offences. Last month the new national operating model for adult rape was launched, which focuses on building stronger cases at an earlier stage, through joint working with police. Increases in specialist RASSO workforce will further support the prosecution of these crimes. A new VAWG strategy for 2023-2025 is being developed for publication later this year. This will create a framework to address the challenges of these crimes across the criminal justice system. Since our significant investment in improving the handling of rape cases, not least through the Joint National Action Plan (JNAP), the national operating model and the publication of the Rape Review in 2021, more cases are getting to court. |
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what discussions she has had with the Department of Communities NI on preventative steps to tackle benefit fraud in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The Attorney General has had no discussions with the Department of Communities NI regarding benefit fraud.
The welfare system in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what recent discussions she has had with her counterparts in the devolved administrations on court delays due to covid-19; and if she will take steps to support those administrations in tackling those delays.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The Attorney General’s Office have had no recent discussions with counterparts in devolved administrations in relation to court delays. In England and Wales, court delays are a matter for the Ministry of Justice and HM Courts and Tribunal’s Service. |
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, if she will make an assessment with her Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of allowing UK courts to be used for hearings about damage to Ukrainian infrastructure caused by Russian forces.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
Those responsible for the atrocities that have been committed in Ukraine will be held to account, including military commanders and other individuals in the Putin regime. Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is barbaric. The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine, and we are committed to helping them secure justice for a growing catalogue of war crimes, which would of course include deliberate or disproportionate damage caused to civilian infrastructure by Russian forces. The international community is rightly focused on prosecution for war crimes. That is the right focus to ensure accountability and to have a deterrent effect on the behaviour of those fighting this conflict at the moment. At Ukraine’s invitation, the UK will play a leading role in a core group of like-minded partners to pursue criminal accountability for Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. The Attorney General has just returned from Ukraine, supporting our training of Ukrainian judges. Cases are already being heard in Ukraine itself. Although consideration could be given to using the courts in England and Wales, it will be necessary to have an international tribunal, and we are determined to help secure justice for the growing catalogue of war crimes in Ukraine. |
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what recent discussions she has had with the Serious Fraud Office on victims of fraud; and what steps she is taking to help ensure that victims of fraud are compensated accordingly.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
I meet regularly with the Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to discuss casework and corporate matters, including issues connected to victims of crime and compensation.
The SFO always aims to trace and seize money and other assets from criminals in all of its fraud, bribery and corruption cases, so that criminals do not benefit from their offending and victims can be compensated wherever possible.
The SFO continues to perform well in this regard and its proceeds of crime recovery rate was higher than all comparable UK agencies in three of the last four years. Last year, the SFO recovered the fourth highest amount in value out of 180 agencies across England and Wales, after HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the Metropolitan Police and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), all of which are much larger organisations. Its success in recovering the proceeds of crime and the work of its Witness Care Team in supporting victims – sometimes totalling thousands in a single case – and witnesses were also positively recognised in two HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) inspection reports published in the past year.
Internationally, the SFO recently obtained £210,610 in compensation as a result of its investigation into Amec Foster Wheeler Energy Limited. The funds will be transferred by the UK Government to the Federal Government of Nigeria, and will support key infrastructure projects, ensuring that the people of Nigeria benefit directly.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many people have been charged with attempted murder in each of the last three years by age group.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of people charged with and prosecuted for attempted murder. This information could only be obtained by an examination of CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.
While no data is held reporting the number of people prosecuted specifically for attempted murder, the CPS can report the number of defendants where the prosecution was flagged under the ‘homicide’ category at finalisation.
The ‘homicide’ category includes offences of murder, manslaughter, causing death by driving dangerously, carelessly or under the influence of alcohol/drugs. The corresponding inchoate offences, such as conspiracy, solicitation, or criminal attempts, are also assigned to this category. It is not possible to separately report prosecution outcomes by the individual offences allocated to this category.
The table below shows by age group, the number of prosecutions in which defendants were allocated the ’homicide’ category at finalisation during each of the last three years.
| 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 |
10-13 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
14-17 | 113 | 103 | 75 |
18-24 | 382 | 315 | 306 |
25-59 | 753 | 724 | 584 |
60-69 | 52 | 55 | 43 |
70-79 | 18 | 21 | 30 |
80+ | 16 | 17 | 14 |
Not Provided | 26 | 8 | 12 |
TOTAL COMPLETED PROSECUTIONS | 1,360 | 1,245 | 1,064 |
Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System | |||
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Attorney General, what steps he is taking to help increase the number of successful prosecutions for cases involving child abuse.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Child sexual abuse cases are some of the most challenging, complex and sensitive cases. They are dealt with by specially trained prosecutors, working closely with the police to build the strongest possible cases that meet the legal test. In 2020-2021 there were 6,402 prosecutions for cases classified as child abuse. In the same period the conviction rate was 85.6%, an increase of 2.7% on the previous year.
The government has successfully rolled out Section 28 for vulnerable victims and witnesses, including children, in all Crown Courts from November 2020. We know that Section 28 provisions which provide for pre-recorded cross-examination can help to improve the experience of victims by enabling them to give their evidence earlier in the process and outside of the courtroom.
The CPS has comprehensive Legal Guidance for prosecutors on cases involving child abuse. This Guidance supports prosecutors to build strong cases and bring effective prosecutions. It is currently being updated to take account of the latest developments in law and policy.