Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to ensure serious sex offenders serve their entire sentence in custody.
Answered by Gareth Bacon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Unlike Labour, who in Government reduced the prison time served by all Standard Determinate Sentence prisoners (including rapists and serious violent offenders) from two thirds of their sentence to half, we have taken a robust approach to increasing both the sentence length of rapists and the proportion of that sentence served in prison.
Average sentence length for adult rapists has increased by over 40% since 2010, from around 6.5 years to over 9.5 years. We have also reversed Labour’s changes, so that rapists and other serious sexual offenders currently serve two thirds of that time behind bars.
But we are now going further. The Sentencing Bill, introduced on 14 November, will ensure that rapists and serious sexual offenders serve their full custodial term in prison, before being released on a fixed licence period, which is critical for public protection and in reducing reoffending.
Offenders convicted of certain serious sex offences, including rape, which carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment will no longer receive a standard determinate sentence with automatic or discretionary early release by the Parole Board. Instead, these offenders will now get an Extended Determinate Sentence (EDS) or a Sentence for Offenders of Particular Concern (SOPC).
The Bill also alters the release arrangements for these offences so that they will now serve the entirety of the appropriate custodial term in custody, with no referral to the Parole Board at the two-thirds point.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the number of prosecutions for illegal downloading in each of the last five years.
Answered by Gareth Bacon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of offenders found guilty of criminal offences in England and Wales, up to June 2023, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-june-2023.
Information on whether offenders were prosecuted for offences relating to illegal downloading is not held by the Ministry of Justice, as this information is not recorded centrally in the Court Proceedings Database.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what discussions she has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) the Government of South Africa on (i) the Supreme Court judgment of 8 May 2024 in Argentum Exploration Ltd v Republic of South Africa [2024] UKSC 16 and (ii) the silver cargo in that case.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
I have not had any discussions with the Government of South Africa on this legal case.
With respect to discussions with Cabinet colleagues, the Law Officers’ Convention requires that it is not generally disclosed outside Government whether I have been asked to provide advice or the contents of any such advice. This is a long-standing principle of Cabinet collective agreement which enables the government of the day to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, on what dates the Trade Envoy for Bangladesh visited that country in each of the last three years.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy visited Bangladesh on the following dates in the last three years: 2021 - no visit undertaken; 2022 – 27 March-1 April; 2023 – 8-9 January and 20-23 March.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on continuing military support to Ukraine.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The UK has increased our military support to Ukraine this year by £500 million to £3 billion, and pledged to maintain that support until the end of this decade, or longer if required. The Foreign Secretary is in constant contact with international partners making the case for allies to increase their military support to Ukraine. His recent international engagement includes, for example: a visit to Ukraine on 2 May; meetings with NATO Foreign Ministers, G7 Foreign Ministers and his counterparts in the USA in April; Germany in March; and Poland, Bulgaria, France, G20 Foreign Ministers and the UN in February.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department plans to take to commemorate the D-Day landings.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is the lead Department for the Government’s National UK D-Day 80th anniversary and is working across Whitehall and with external stakeholders to lead a programme of official commemorations in the UK and in France, ensuring our Normandy Veterans are the VIPs for this significant anniversary.
The UK’s National Commemorative Event in Portsmouth will once again highlight this nation’s major contribution as a leading partner in the Western Alliance. The programme will commemorate the service and sacrifice of all who fought under British command on D-Day, by honouring our veterans, securing their legacy within our youth and demonstrating the UK’s global role in defence and security alliances.
The official programme includes:
UK:
A National Commemoration on Southsea Common, Portsmouth on 5 June – an audience of 4,000 and live BBC One broadcast.
In France on 5 June:
A Royal British Legion service of commemoration in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) Bayeux War Cemetery, with up to 50 Normandy veterans present and 1,500 guests.
A CWGC led Bayeux Cathedral Service in partnership with the MOD for 1,000 guests.
A CWGC and MOD partnered BBC One live broadcast from Bayeux War Cemetery when all 4,144 graves will be illuminated.
In France on 6 June:
A National Commemoration at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver sur Mer with up to 50 Normandy veterans present and an audience of 2,500, live broadcast on BBC One. It is the first time, during a major commemorative year, that this event will take place at the Memorial following its official opening in 2021.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many maritime boarding actions Border Force performed on (a) recreational and (b) commercial vessels in each of the last five years.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Border Force does not hold the data requested in an easily accessible format.
Border Force enhance UK maritime border security through intelligence-led and proactive maritime operations to deliver the right law enforcement effect in the right place, at the right time. This is in order to:
Reassure the public and wider maritime community whilst minimising interference into the lawful passage of people and goods within UK Territorial Waters.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what contingency measures are in place to mitigate delays when eGates are not in use.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
It has never been Government practice, for reasons of law enforcement, to comment on operational issues relating to border security and immigration controls. This includes offering commentary on the performance of border systems and of ePassport Gates data specifically.
The Home Office has a number of contingency arrangements in the event of a single system failure, including technical and business contingency measures.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many sea-faring vessels are under the command of the Border Force.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Border Force Maritime Command operate a fleet of vessels including five offshore Cutters, six inshore Coastal Patrol Vessels (CPV), and a range of smaller crafts to secure the UK maritime border.
Since April 2022, Border Force Maritime have deployed five dedicated rescue vessels to the Channel, formerly in support of the Ministry of Defence and currently Small Boats Operational Command. These five vessels work on rotation to provide 24 hours support to rescue operations in the Channel.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of Border Force sea-fairing vessels have been out of service in each of the last three years.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Border Force Maritime Command operate a fleet of vessels including five offshore Cutters, six inshore Coastal Patrol Vessels (CPV), and a range of smaller craft to secure the UK maritime border. Routine maintenance on these vessels is an essential part of ensuring operational availability.