Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what is the status under UK law of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's (a) 2016 and (b) conviction by the Revolutionary Court in Iran.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
A determination of the status in UK law of the findings of courts in foreign jurisdictions is a matter for the UK courts, as and when the need arises for such a determination in domestic proceedings.
The Government is delighted that after years of detention, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is safely home and has been reunited with her family and loved ones.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2021 to Question 143029 on Taking of Hostages Act 1982: Prosecutions, how many proceedings referred to her Office under article 2 of the Taking of Hostages Act 1982 by the Crown Prosecution Service her Office has consented to prosecute in the last 10 years.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Our records indicate that the Law Officers have consented to prosecutions under the Taking of Hostages Act 1982 on four occasions in the last 10 years.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many and what proportion of the staff employed by her Department are apprentices.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Attorney General’s Office currently have no apprentices. As staffing levels are below 250 the Department does not meet the criteria for the 2.3% target. However, plans are nevertheless in place to recruit 2 or 3 apprentices.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, on what basis she makes an assessment of the applications for instituting proceedings for an offence under article 2 of the Taking of Hostages Act 1982; and whether her Department has published guidance for preparing such applications.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Law Officers do not institute proceedings under this legislation but must consent to any prosecution brought under it. The Crown Prosecution Service would ordinarily institute such proceedings.
The Law Officers apply the established principles of evidential sufficiency and public interest, which have their current expression in the Code for Crown Prosecutors, when considering an application for consent. We act quasi-judicially and independent of government. We do so in accordance with the Framework Agreement between the Law Officers and the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many proceedings for an offence under article 2 of the Taking of Hostages Act (1982) her office has instituted in the last 10 years.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Law Officers do not institute proceedings under this legislation but must consent to any prosecution brought under it. The Crown Prosecution Service would ordinarily institute such proceedings.
The Law Officers apply the established principles of evidential sufficiency and public interest, which have their current expression in the Code for Crown Prosecutors, when considering an application for consent. We act quasi-judicially and independent of government. We do so in accordance with the Framework Agreement between the Law Officers and the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what data his Department holds on the average length of time taken by the Crown Prosecution Service to deliver early investigative advice in (a) 2017 and (b) 2018.
Answered by Robert Buckland
During 2017/18 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) took an average of 28 calendar days from the receipt of a request for early investigative advice to complete the consultation and provide a response to the police. Responses to the police may take longer depending on the complexity of the case in question.
The facility to capture and report this information through the CPS Case Management Information System was introduced on the 1st April 2017.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how much funding his Department allocated to the Serious Fraud Office in each year since 2016; and how many staff the Serious Fraud Office employed in each year since 2016.
Answered by Robert Buckland
Details of funding and staffing for the Serious Fraud Office covering the years 2015-16 and 2016-17 can be found in the respective SFO Annual Report and Accounts. These are laid before the House each year and deposited in the Library of the House. These can also be accessed online at: www.sfo.gov.uk/publications/corporate-information/annual-reports-accounts/. Details for financial year 2017-2018 are due to published later this year once the 2017-18 Annual Report and Accounts have been prepared and then audited by the National Audit Office.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, if he will publish (a) the amount of money he has allocated to and (b) how many full-time equivalent staff were employed by CPS Proceeds of Crime in each year since 2016.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) has allocated £9,536,522 to its central Proceeds of Crime Unit in 2016/17. This does not include work carried out in CPS Areas. An average 127.7 full time equivalent staff were in post in the Proceeds of Crime Unit during 2016/17
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many referrals the Crown Prosecution Service has received from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on the breach of financial sanctions in each year since 2010.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not get direct referrals from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many successful prosecutions there have been under the Equality Act 2010 for discrimination against the Gypsy and Traveller communities.
Answered by Robert Buckland
There was one prosecution under s175 (1)(a) and 2 of the Equalities Act in 2011/12. This creates offences in relation to access to public service vehicles. In accordance with CPS Retention Policy a case involving an offence under section 175 of the Equalities Act 2010 would be archived one year following sentencing. Therefore, no further information is held about the case in question.
Section 9 of the Equality Act 2010 defines the protected characteristics of ‘race’. Race includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins. Ethnic or national origins include being from a Roma or Traveler background, therefore the CPS prosecutes crimes against the Gypsy and Traveller communities under other legislation, in particular hate crimes against the community.
A programme of CPS mandated training for prosecutors, including racially aggravated crime, was developed and completed by the start of 2017.