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Written Question
Prosecutions
Friday 19th November 2021

Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what steps she is taking to help improve prosecution levels under section 24 of the Offences Against The Person Act 1861.

Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

The recent rise in reports of spiking is incredibly concerning and is being investigated by the police. The CPS will always treat maliciously administering poison as a high harm offence and is working in close partnership with the police to bring perpetrators of this offence to justice.

Between 2020-2021 there were 222 prosecutions for cases charged under Section 24, which was an increase of 22% on the previous year.


Written Question
Prosecutions
Wednesday 5th February 2020

Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2020 to Question 6633 on Prosecutions, how many defendants had prosecutions (a) carried forward and (b) finalised in each year since 2014.

Answered by Michael Ellis

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the number of defendants whose prosecution is carried forward or waiting to be completed at the end of each year. The table below shows the number of these, in cases where the CPS made a decision to charge, at the end of each year since 2014-15.

2014-2015

2015-2016

2016-2017

2017-2018

2018-2019

Total Defendants Carried Forward

87,530

77,200

69,676

59,422

53,631

Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System

Records are also held showing the number of finalised (or resolved) prosecution outcomes (by defendant) where the CPS authorised a charge. The table below provides the volumes of these in each year since 2014-15. The 21% reduction in the number of CPS authorised charges since 2014-15 follows the falling caseload trend. Police charged CPS prosecutions reduced by 28% and total finalised prosecutions by 26% in the same time period.

2014-2015

2015-2016

2016-2017

2017-2018

2018-2019

Total Finalised Prosecution Outcomes

233,959

234,124

223,079

211,154

183,917

Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System


Written Question
Prosecutions
Monday 27th January 2020

Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, how many cases in which the CPS has made a decision to charge are waiting to be (a) completed and (b) resolved.

Answered by Michael Ellis

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the number of defendants whose prosecution is carried forward or waiting to be completed at the end of each year, representing a snapshot in time. The table below shows the number of these, in cases where the CPS had made a decision to charge.

2018-2019

Total Defendants Carried Forward

53,631

Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System

Records are also held showing the number of finalised (or resolved) prosecution outcomes (by defendant) where the CPS authorised a charge. The table below provides the volumes of these.

2018-2019

Total Finalised Prosecution Outcomes

183,917

Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System


Written Question
Trials
Tuesday 8th October 2019

Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 4 October 2019 to Question 290946, what the average time taken was from referral to finalisation in each year from 2008-09 to 2018-19 where the CPS made a decision to charge and where a trial outcome was recorded in England for cases (a) relating to sexual violence or rape, (b) focusing on actual bodily harm charges, (c) focusing on grievous bodily harm charges and (d) focusing on burglary.

Answered by Michael Ellis

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the average time to charge and the average time to prosecute in days by Principal Offence Category and for cases flagged as rape.

The tables below show the total average time, in days, from referral to finalisation for each year from 2008/10 to 2018/19 where the CPS made a decision to charge and where a trial outcome was recorded in England.

(a)(i) Sexual Offences excluding Rape Flagged

Total average time (days) from referral to finalisation

2008-2009

294.50

2009-2010

299.69

2010-2011

300.12

2011-2012

304.01

2012-2013

306.78

2013-2014

285.63

2014-2015

320.44

2015-2016

343.78

2016-2017

347.83

2017-2018

363.74

2018-2019

390.79

Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System

(a)(ii) Rape Flagged

Total average time (days) from referral to finalisation

2008-2009

321.52

2009-2010

336.94

2010-2011

346.95

2011-2012

344.40

2012-2013

351.50

2013-2014

338.36

2014-2015

383.54

2015-2016

381.20

2016-2017

412.84

2017-2018

460.59

2018-2019

495.24

Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System

(b) & (c) Offences against the Person

Total average time (days) from referral to finalisation

2008-2009

192.73

2009-2010

191.06

2010-2011

192.09

2011-2012

194.67

2012-2013

193.29

2013-2014

183.23

2014-2015

194.20

2015-2016

198.22

2016-2017

192.32

2017-2018

191.95

2018-2019

209.96

Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System

(d) Burglary

Total average time (days) from referral to finalisation

2008-2009

200.99

2009-2010

213.21

2010-2011

195.38

2011-2012

190.24

2012-2013

206.28

2013-2014

202.05

2014-2015

226.71

2015-2016

246.06

2016-2017

231.99

2017-2018

246.76

2018-2019

244.81

Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System

The data provided above is for the more serious cases in which the CPS has been required to authorise charge and in which there has been a trial. MoJ data for all cases in 2018 report figures of between 185 days and 193 days for offence to completion

The time taken from referral to finalisation has increased for all crime types. This is due to greater complexity and the increase in electronic material for the police, CPS and courts to consider. In addition the Police are now encouraged to seek early investigative advice more often and in particular in serious, sensitive or complex cases. Early investigative advice helps to ensure that cases are thoroughly investigated and the evidence to be brought before the court is strong. With the increase in early investigative advice, CPS is more often involved at an earlier stage in proceedings.

There has also been an increase in the time taken for a case to pass through the courts which has also impacted on overall timeliness.


Written Question
Trials
Tuesday 8th October 2019

Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what the average time taken was from referral to finalisation in each year from 2009-10 to 2011-12 where the CPS made a decision to charge and where a trial outcome was recorded in England.

Answered by Michael Ellis

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the average time to charge and the average time to prosecute in days.

The table below shows the total average time, in days, from referral to finalisation for each year from 2009/10 to 2011/12 where the CPS made a decision to charge and where a trial outcome was recorded in England.

Total average time (days) from referral to finalisation

2009-2010

216.26

2010-2011

217.99

2011-2012

225.27

Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System


Written Question
Trials
Friday 4th October 2019

Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what the average amount of time was, in each of the last eight years, between a case's first referral to the CPS and the conclusions of that case, for all cases which reached a trial in England.

Answered by Michael Ellis

The table below shows the total average time, in days, from referral to finalisation for each year from 2011/12 to 2018/19 where the CPS made a decision to charge and where a trial outcome was recorded in England.

Year

Average days from referral to finalisation

2011-2012

225.27

2012-2013

233.27

2013-2014

226.09

2014-2015

243.74

2015-2016

253.82

2016-2017

256.77

2017-2018

259.24

2018-2019

276.92

Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System


Written Question
Fraud: Prosecutions
Friday 4th October 2019

Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, how many cases have been prosecuted by the Serious Fraud Office in each of the last ten years.

Answered by Michael Ellis

The SFO exists to tackle the most serious and complex cases of fraud, bribery and corruption. The SFO’s remit is to investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute those cases that fall within this remit.

Please find a breakdown of Serious Fraud Office (SFO) prosecutions by case in each financial year:

Financial Year

Number of Cases

2009/10

8

2010/11

4

2011/12

7

2012/13

5

2013/14

7

2014/15

4

2015/16

5

2016/17

7

2017/18

3

2018/19

2

Total

52

Please note we interpret the prosecution of an SFO case to begin from the date of the first charge brought against an individual or organisation in a case. More information about our cases is available online at https://www.sfo.gov.uk/our-cases/.


Written Question
Unexplained Wealth Orders
Friday 4th October 2019

Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, how many unexplained wealth orders the Serious Fraud Office has (a) applied for and (b) been granted in each of the last 10 financial years.

Answered by Michael Ellis

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has not applied for any Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWO) to date. However, the SFO is committed to making use of the new powers enacted in the Criminal Finances Act 2017, including UWOs, and they proactively review all cases to see whether the use of this tool would be appropriate.


Written Question
Fraud: Prosecutions
Friday 4th October 2019

Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, how many Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) the Serious Fraud Office has entered into in each of the last 10 years.

Answered by Michael Ellis

Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) have been available to prosecutors since February 2014. The SFO has agreed five DPAs with UK companies since the legislation came into force, three of which were for overseas corruption offences.

Full details of all DPAs are available on the SFO’s website at: https://www.sfo.gov.uk/publications/guidance-policy-and-protocols/deferred-prosecution-agreements/.


Written Question
Fraud: Confiscation Orders
Friday 4th October 2019

Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what the total value is of all assets confiscated by the Serious Fraud Office in each of the last 10 years.

Answered by Michael Ellis

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has a dedicated Proceeds of Crime Division which is focused on recovering the proceeds of crime so that criminals who are successfully prosecuted by the SFO do not benefit from their offending and victims can be compensated wherever possible.

The total value of all proceeds of crime orders obtained by the SFO in each financial year since 2010, and the total value of payments made against them, can be found on the SFO website at https://www.sfo.gov.uk/about-us/.