Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to provide (a) resources, (b) strategy and (c) public information to tackle invasive Asian hornets.

Answered by Rebecca Pow

The National Bee Unit (NBU), part of the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) have a long-standing relationship with Defra to deliver the Bee Health Programme which includes management and control of honeybee pests and diseases and responding to outbreaks of Asian hornets. As part of APHA, the NBU have already and will continue to draw on further resources from the wider agency to take action on Asian hornets. There is an Asian hornet contingency plan in place which details the government response to Asian hornets and it is regularly reviewed. The most effective way of minimising the threat of Asian hornets is through our continued eradication response, with the aim of preventing Asian hornets from establishing.

The NBU has been taking action against Asian hornets since 2016 and has a fine-tuned response. The Inspectors frequently find a nest within a day of an initial sighting being reported. From 2016 to 2022, there were 23 confirmed sightings, leading to the destruction of 13 nests. In 2023, the well-developed strategy was scaled up to deal with increased incursions with 78 confirmed sightings and 72 nests destroyed.

We are using a range of communication channels to raise awareness and keep beekeepers and the public informed about Asian hornets. To support accurate and timely reporting, Defra has funded development of the Asian hornet watch app. The NBU keep beekeepers informed of the response through updates published on BeeBase and have also carried out other awareness raising activities, including a blog filmed in Kent to support Asian Hornet Week in 2023. The Non-Native Species Secretariat (NNSS) works with over 50 local actions groups and a wide range of other organisations to raise awareness of Asian hornets. In 2023 they sent out 14,000 alert posters and 25,000 ID sheets, and since January 2024 they have sent a further 31,000 alert posters, 57,000 ID sheets, and 14,000 nest ID sheets. Professor Nicola Spence, the Defra Deputy Director for Plant and Bee Health, Plant Varieties and Seeds, has provided press interviews covering details of the response to Asian hornets. Defra is hosting an exhibit at the 2024 Chelsea Flower Show dedicated to raising awareness of the Asian hornet, to increase vigilance amongst the public.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the Answer of 20 January 2023 to Question 125287 on Rape: Prosecutions, how many (a) completed prosecutions and (b) convictions there were for sexual offences in each quarter from the start of January 2005 to the end of September 2015.

Answered by Robert Courts

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) holds management information on its Case Management System showing the number of defendants allocated the Principal Offence Category of Sexual Offences at completion of prosecution. The Principal Offence Category indicates the most serious offence with which a defendant is charged.

The table below shows the number of completed prosecutions and convictions for sexual offences from the start of January 2005 to the end of September 2015. The data provided in the table is in financial quarters.

‘Total completed prosecutions’ refer to the conclusion of a prosecution case against a defendant such as conviction after trial, guilty plea, acquittal, or the prosecution against the defendant being dropped. ‘Convictions’ refer to convictions after trial and guilty pleas.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the Answer of 20 January 2023 to Question 125287 on Rape: Prosecutions, how many (a) completed prosecutions and (b) convictions there were for rape in each quarter from the start of January 2005 to the end of September 2015.

Answered by Robert Courts

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a Case Management System (CMS) which shows the number of defendants where a flag for rape has been added. This flag is applied at the onset of any case referred by the police to the CPS for a charge of rape and remains in place even if the charge is not proceeded with, is amended, or dropped. If a case is referred by the police for a charge other than rape, but subsequently a charge of rape is preferred, the flag is applied at that point.

The tables below show the number of completed prosecutions and convictions in cases where a flag for rape has been added, from 1 April 2006 to the end of September 2015 by quarter. The data provided in the table is in financial quarters.

The CPS’ CMS was introduced during 2004-2005. A national monitoring flag to manage cases where rape offences were referred or later charged was introduced from 1 April 2006. As with any new monitoring system, some variance is expected in the periods immediately following the introduction of a new flagging process.

‘Total completed prosecutions’ refer to the conclusion of a prosecution case against a defendant such as conviction after trial, guilty plea, acquittal, or the prosecution against the defendant being dropped. ‘Convictions’ refer to convictions after trial and guilty pleas.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the Answer of 20 January 2023 to Question 125287 on Rape: Prosecutions, how many (a) completed prosecutions and (b) convictions there were for violent crime in each quarter from the start of January 2005 to the end of September 2015.

Answered by Robert Courts

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not have a formal definition for ‘violent crime’, but it does hold management information on its Case Management System showing the number of defendants allocated the Principal Offence Categories of either Homicide or Offences Against the Person at completion of prosecution. The Principal Offence Category indicates the most serious offence with which a defendant is charged.

The tables below show the number of completed prosecutions and convictions for Homicide and Offences Against the Person from the start of January 2005 to the end of September 2015. The data provided in the tables is in financial quarters.

‘Total completed prosecutions’ refer to the conclusion of a prosecution case against a defendant such as conviction after trial, guilty plea, acquittal, or the prosecution against the defendant being dropped. ‘Convictions’ refer to convictions after trial and guilty pleas.

Homicide

Offences against the person

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