Philip Davies

The Crown Prosecution Service does not maintain a central record of prosecutions against domestic abuse complainants for perverting the course of justice and/or wasting police time. Obtaining this information would therefore require a manual review of individual case files which would incur a disproportionate cost.

The Crown Prosecution Service takes cases of domestic abuse extremely seriously and is determined to bring perpetrators to justice and ensure victims are protected from repeated offending. The Crown Prosecution Service has specific guidance for prosecutors on how to approach cases where a complaint alleging a false allegation is made. When reaching a prosecution decision Crown Prosecutors apply the two stage test in the Code for Crown Prosecutors. There must be sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and it must be in the public interest for a prosecution to be brought.

A referral to the Court of Appeal for consideration of a sentence as unduly lenient must be made within 28 days of the date of the sentence as set out in Schedule 3, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. The 28 day statutory time limit is absolute; the statute provides no power to extend the time limit or to apply for leave to refer out of time.

There are no plans to extend the 28 day deadline. The current deadline provides an appropriate balance between the rights of victims and offenders, ensuring that offenders are not left uncertain of whether their sentence may be extended for a long period of time, whilst allowing victims sufficient time to request a review of the sentence under the scheme.

2015 – of the 14 sentences that were received out of time only 1 was received on the 28th day and too late for it to be actioned.

2016 – of the 28 sentences that were received out of time only 1 was received on the 28th day and too late for it to be actioned.

2017 - of the 27 sentences that were received out of time only 1 was received on the 28th day and too late for it to be actioned.

2018 - of the 31 sentences that were received out of time 2 were received on the 28th day and too late for them to be actioned.

2019 - of the 43 sentences that were received out of time only 1 was received on the 28th day and too late for it to be actioned.

Whilst referrals for sentences are received and actioned on the 28^th day, those are cases that are received early enough on the day to be actioned. An unduly lenient sentence case can only be taken forward if either myself or the Attorney General has approved action (on the basis of a complete prosecution file and proper legal advice) and an application has been filed with the Court of Appeal before the expiry of the statutory 28 day deadline. None of the above cases were accepted as being within time by my office as they were received too late to be actioned and consequently they were all marked as out of time.

A referral to the Court of Appeal for consideration of a sentence as unduly lenient must be made within 28 days of the date of the sentence as set out in Schedule 3, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. The 28 day statutory time limit is absolute; the statute provides no power to extend the time limit or to apply for leave to refer out of time.

2015 – of the 14 sentences that were received out of time only 1 was received on the 28th day and too late for it to be actioned.

2016 – of the 28 sentences that were received out of time only 1 was received on the 28th day and too late for it to be actioned.

2017 - of the 27 sentences that were received out of time only 1 was received on the 28th day and too late for it to be actioned.

2018 - of the 31 sentences that were received out of time 2 were received on the 28th day and too late for them to be actioned.

2019 - of the 43 sentences that were received out of time only 1 was received on the 28th day and too late for it to be actioned.

Whilst referrals for sentences are received and actioned on the 28^th day, those are cases that are received early enough on the day to be actioned. An unduly lenient sentence case can only be taken forward if either myself or the Attorney General has approved action (on the basis of a complete prosecution file and proper legal advice) and an application has been filed with the Court of Appeal before the expiry of the statutory 28 day deadline. None of the above cases were accepted as being within time by my office as they were received too late to be actioned and consequently they were all marked as out of time.

A referral to the Court of Appeal for consideration of a sentence as unduly lenient must be made within 28 days of the date of the sentence as set out in Schedule 3, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. The 28 day statutory time limit is absolute; the statute provides no power to extend the time limit or to apply for leave to refer out of time.

A referral to the Court of Appeal for consideration of a sentence as unduly lenient must be made within 28 days of the date of the sentence as set out in Schedule 3, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. The 28 day statutory time limit is absolute; the statute provides no power to extend the time limit or to apply for leave to refer out of time.

An unduly lenient sentence case can only be taken forward if either myself or the Attorney General has approved action (on the basis of a complete prosecution file and proper legal advice) and an application has been filed with the Court of Appeal before the expiry of the statutory 28 day deadline. Tracey Hanson emailed the Attorney General’s office, requesting a review of a potentially unduly lenient sentence. The email was received by my office at 8.41pm on the 28^th day and therefore was received after the close of court business. By the time my office received the email it was impossible to act on it and it was too late to file a referral with The Court of Appeal.

A referral to the Court of Appeal for consideration of a sentence as unduly lenient must be made within 28 days of the date of the sentence as set out in Schedule 3, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. The 28 day statutory time limit is absolute; the statute provides no power to extend the time limit or to apply for leave to refer out of time.

An unduly lenient sentence case can only be taken forward if either myself or the Attorney General has approved action (on the basis of a complete prosecution file and proper legal advice) and an application has been filed with the Court of Appeal before the expiry of the statutory 28 day deadline. Tracey Hanson emailed the Attorney General’s office, requesting a review of a potentially unduly lenient sentence. The email was received by my office at 8.41pm on the 28^th day and therefore was received after the close of court business. By the time my office received the email it was impossible to act on it and it was too late to file a referral with The Court of Appeal.

The Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme is an important avenue for victims, family members and the public to ensure justice is delivered in the most serious cases.

This is why the Government has extended the scheme to cover further child sexual abuse offences, as well as some domestic abuse offences, including controlling and coercive behavior.

The remit of the scheme remains under constant review. We work closely with stakeholders to ensure it appropriately reflects the needs of victims, family members and the public.

The Government is committed to ensuring that facility time usage within the public sector remains accountable and represents value for money to the taxpayer.

With the exception of the education sector, compliance rates for all other sectors, using the Government’s reporting portal, for the 2020/21 reporting year exceeded 60% of expected returns. This was an overall improvement compared to the 2019/20 reporting year where both education and the NHS sectors were below a 60% compliance rate.

The Government is taking action this year to ensure that overall compliance rates continue to rise. Greater transparency will enhance accountability over the spending of taxpayers’ money and practices within the public sector.

The full sector breakdown for the compliance rates over the last two years is below:

Network Rail is not currently in scope for the relevant facility time reporting regulations; we are open to representations on this matter.

Cabinet Office records losses and special payments in line with managing public money and are included in the department’s losses & special payments register. The total number and amounts are summarised in the Cabinet Office’s Annual Accounts.

All losses and special payments for the years 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 valued at under £300,000 are set out in the attached document.

Throughout the pandemic, all Civil Service employers have followed government guidance in setting out their internal COVID-19 related policies. This includes complying with the Working Safely during Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance which sets out the key actions organisations should take to protect employees and customers in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading in workplaces, along with carrying out health and safety risk assessments that include the ongoing risk from COVID-19.

On 21 February 2022, the Government published their COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID-19. This document sets out how and when the remaining restrictions will be lifted in England. Government guidance was subsequently amended, including the Working Safely guidance.

The Government’s Working Safely guidance continues to require organisations to carry out a risk assessment which includes the risk from COVID-19. It also sets out additional actions organisations can take to protect employees and customers in the workplace, such as ensuring adequate ventilation, frequent cleaning, asking people to wash their hands frequently and asking people with COVID-19 to stay away. The guidance advises that people continue to wear face coverings in crowded and enclosed settings where they come into contact with people they do not normally meet, when rates of transmission are high. Civil Service employers will continue to follow this guidance and align their policies accordingly.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

Throughout the pandemic, the Cabinet Office has followed, and continues to follow, the latest government guidance in relation to managing the risk of COVID-19 in the workplace, including any variations between the four nations of the UK.

In England, the BEIS ‘Working Safely during coronavirus (COVID-19)’ guidance provides sensible precautions employers can take to manage risk and support their staff. The guidance is available via this link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-covid-19/offices-factories-and-labs#offices-7-2.

It is for individual employers to determine which mitigations are appropriate to adopt as they review their workplace risk assessments in light of the updated guidance.

Cabinet Office fully supports individuals who choose to wear a face covering in the workplace and asks staff to comply with any additional Health and Safety procedures in buildings they enter in the course of their work.

Unconscious bias training courses were removed from the Civil Service cross-Civil Service curriculum in January 2021. The Cabinet Office also took action to remove unconscious bias training from any relevant learning and related materials. The Written Ministerial Statement on this was communicated to all departments.

The Civil Service is committed to maintaining a strong focus on diversity and inclusion. A review of existing learning is being conducted to ensure new learning utilises evidence-based interventions. The government expects other parts of the public sector to review their approaches in light of the evidence and developments in the Civil Service.

Unconscious bias training courses were removed from the Civil Service cross-Civil Service curriculum in January 2021. The Cabinet Office also took action to remove unconscious bias training from any relevant learning and related materials. The Written Ministerial Statement on this was communicated to all departments.

The Civil Service is committed to maintaining a strong focus on diversity and inclusion. A review of existing learning is being conducted to ensure new learning utilises evidence-based interventions. The government expects other parts of the public sector to review their approaches in light of the evidence and developments in the Civil Service.

Unconscious bias training courses were removed from the Civil Service cross-Civil Service curriculum in January 2021. The Cabinet Office also took action to remove unconscious bias training from any relevant learning and related materials. The Written Ministerial Statement on this was communicated to all departments.

The Civil Service is committed to maintaining a strong focus on diversity and inclusion. A review of existing learning is being conducted to ensure new learning utilises evidence-based interventions. The government expects other parts of the public sector to review their approaches in light of the evidence and developments in the Civil Service.

Unconscious bias training courses were removed from the Civil Service cross-Civil Service curriculum in January 2021. The Cabinet Office also took action to remove unconscious bias training from any relevant learning and related materials. The Written Ministerial Statement on this was communicated to all departments.

The Civil Service is committed to maintaining a strong focus on diversity and inclusion. A review of existing learning is being conducted to ensure new learning utilises evidence-based interventions. The government expects other parts of the public sector to review their approaches in light of the evidence and developments in the Civil Service.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to PQ.133645.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to PQ.133645.

The Cabinet Office promoted a number of virtual events to mark International Men’s Day on 19 November 2020, this included an event regarding Men & Mental Health.

The data requested could have the potential to identify an individual's personal information, and therefore would not normally be disclosed.

Information on senior salaries are already published in our annual reports. Information on salaries and roles for staff is published as Organogram of Staff Roles & Salaries on Gov.UK.

Salaries of individual civil servants may change because of promotions, re-ranking with a pay band, changes to Civil Service grade, or a change of role.

For 2020, pay awards were paid in accordance with appropriate central pay guidance which differ depending on grade and profession.

Government undertakes a wide range of analysis to support decision making and publishes information to keep Parliament and the wider public updated which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-statistics-and-analysis#social-impacts.

There is no single cost-benefit analysis.

Further to the information published in the Cabinet Office Annual Accounts for 2019-20, the total value of communications contracts issued by the Cabinet Office was £981,403 supporting UK security and trade objectives in Nigeria, Tunisia, Montenegro, Philippines and India. Government Communication Service International shares communication expertise and knowledge based on UK Government best practice in security, economy, health and education communications.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

10 Downing Street is an integral part of the Cabinet Office and is included in this answer.

Cabinet Office and 10 Downing Street owns 29 Union Flags (including internal ceremonial flags), 3 St George’s, 4 Scottish Saltires and 2 Flags of Wales.

The information on how many times each flag has been flown is not held centrally.

10 Downing Street is an integral part of the Cabinet Office and is included in this answer.

Cabinet Office and 10 Downing Street owns 29 Union Flags (including internal ceremonial flags), 3 St George’s, 4 Scottish Saltires and 2 Flags of Wales.

The information on how many times each flag has been flown is not held centrally.

The information requested falls under the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.