Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how he plans to encourage practising lawyers to volunteer pro bono hours for Citizens Advice Bureaux in their local communities.
Answered by Robert Buckland
As the Government's pro bono champions, the Attorney and I chair the pro bono panel and committee to bring together key players to steer and coordinate the overall work in this area. The panel and committee feature members from across the legal community, including Citizens Advice.
Each year the Attorney and I take part in National Pro Bono week. We attend and support pro bono events across the country, to encourage the excellent work being done by the pro bono community. This year Global Pro Bono Week is taking place 29th October – 2nd November, and will involve many organisations across the legal community including members of our pro bono panel and committee like Citizens Advice.
In the past year over 1,000 lawyers provided pro bono help through local Citizens Advice offices and I will continue to encourage more lawyers to do this.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what steps he is taking to promote pro bono work by lawyers in large law firms.
Answered by Robert Buckland
As the Government’s pro bono champions, the Law Officers chair the pro bono panel and committee to bring together key players to steer and coordinate the overall work in this area. The Law Society is an important member of both and represents the views all solicitors, including large firms, at those meetings.
The Attorney General officially launched the 16th National Pro Bono week at an event hosted by a large law firm, the Law Society and others. During pro bono week, and throughout the year, the Law Officers attend and support pro bono events across the country, to encourage and support the excellent work being done by the pro bono community.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of training anti-terrorism agencies alongside officials from the CPS so that there is a better understanding of evidence trails required by the CPS for a successful prosecution.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
Terrorism prosecutions are dealt with by a specialist unit within the CPS and there is close working between the CPS, the police and the intelligence services from the launch of an investigation to the conclusion of the trial.
Regular joint training events are held for CPS, police, intelligence services and other government departments. The training has included disclosure process and strategy, terrorism offences, international investigations and mutual legal assistance, warrants of further detention, case study presentations and workshops.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what steps he is taking to ensure that the CPS deal sensitively with elderly witnesses who are afraid of giving evidence in court.
Answered by Robert Buckland
For elderly people who are vulnerable or intimidated, the CPS supports them as witnesses to give the best evidence that they can. The CPS does this by applying for special measures to, for example, allow them to give evidence by video link, or behind screens. The CPS can also apply for the use of an intermediary and/or communication aids to assist the witness.
The CPS published a policy statement and guidance on prosecuting crimes against older people in 2009. The CPS has committed to updating both documents during 2017 to take into account the larger numbers of older people in society and changes to the nature of crime, such as on-line fraud targeting. The revised guidance and policy statement will address the support available to older victims of crime. The policy statement will be subject to a public consultation to ensure that the CPS considers the views of interested parties.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the Government's consultation on sentences for dangerous driving.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The Law Officers have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues and are sighted on a number of Government consultations where necessary. The consultation on sentences for dangerous driving closed on 1 February and the Law Officers will continue to be engaged in the development of the Government response.