Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offences that were recorded as convictions for assaulting an emergency worker were assaults against (a) police officers, (b) NHS staff, (c) prison officers, (d) firefighters and (e) other emergency workers since the offence was introduced.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Never has the debt of gratitude we owe our emergency workers been greater, they are heroes who risk their lives to keep us safe. Assaulting an emergency worker is wholly unacceptable and we need to make sure that the criminal law can reflect the seriousness with which we take these crimes.
That is why the Government recently announced a consultation on doubling the maximum penalty for assaulting an emergency worker, in line with its manifesto commitment.
Court outcomes data centrally held by the Ministry of Justice does not identify the specific occupation of the victim. The exception to this is the summary offence ‘Assault on a constable’. This offence, albeit that it remains on the statute book with a maximum penalty of 6 months imprisonment, has been superseded by the triable either way offence of ‘Assault on an emergency worker’, which was introduced in November 2018. This offence has a maximum penalty of 12 months imprisonment and applies to the police, in addition to other categories of emergency workers.
The information may be held on court records, however identification of the occupation of victims would require access to these records to manually collect information, which would be of disproportionate cost.
The Ministry of Justice has published information on convictions and sentencing outcomes for the following offences: ‘Assault on a constable’, ‘Assault of an emergency worker’ and ‘Common assault’ up to December 2019, available in the Outcomes by Offence data tool:
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people convicted of assaulting an emergency worker since the offence was introduced had previously committed (a) zero, (b) between one and four, (c) between five and nine, (d) between 10 and 15, (e) between 16 and 25, (f) between 26 and 50, (g) between 51 and 75, (h) between 76 and 100, (i) between 101 and 150, (j) between 151 and 200 and (k) over 200 offences.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Obtaining the necessary information to answer these questions involves accessing the secure Police National Computer (PNC) system, which my relevant officials are unable to do at this time in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. I will write to the Hon Member in due course with the information requested, once my officials are able to safely access the PNC system, and will place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a specific strategy on violence against migrant women.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Protecting women and girls from violence remains a key priority of this Government. In March 2019 we published a refreshed Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy to update and reinforce our commitment to tackling VAWG.
We are committed to the fight against VAWG and we welcome the views of people across civil society on how best to address these crimes.
We have met regularly with organisations that support BME victims and survivors to discuss both the VAWG Strategy and the Domestic Abuse Bill.
We have prioritised those at risk of domestic abuse throughout the coronavirus pandemic national health emergency, including BME victims.
When allocating some of our emergency funding packages to support the most vulnerable in society at this time, we have specifically encouraged bids from organisations who support minority groups, including BME victims of domestic abuse. We have, for example, allocated £51,714 to Southall Black Sisters, which supports female BME victims of domestic abuse and other forms of VAWG, to enable them to develop an online chat application and a national online referral form to manage the greater number of contacts which they have received as a result of the pandemic.
As part of the Domestic Abuse Bill, we have published draft statutory guidance setting out how individuals can be the victims of multiple and different abusive behaviours because of the way different characteristics, including immigration status, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic position and sexuality intersect and overlap, particularly in relation to accessing services and support if they are not adequately designed to meet their needs. The guidance also sets out how those from BME backgrounds may experience additional barriers to receiving help or reporting abuse.
In addition, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s role description states that they must adopt a specific focus on the needs of victims and survivors of domestic abuse from minority or marginalised groups with particular needs, such as victims who are BAME. A thematic lead within the Commissioner’s office will be identified for each of these groups.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to (a) consult specialist BME organisations as part of her Department's violence against women and girls strategy refresh and (b) ensure that strategy contains a section on the needs of abused (i) BME and (ii) migrant women when seeking protection.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Protecting women and girls from violence remains a key priority of this Government. In March 2019 we published a refreshed Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy to update and reinforce our commitment to tackling VAWG.
We are committed to the fight against VAWG and we welcome the views of people across civil society on how best to address these crimes.
We have met regularly with organisations that support BME victims and survivors to discuss both the VAWG Strategy and the Domestic Abuse Bill.
We have prioritised those at risk of domestic abuse throughout the coronavirus pandemic national health emergency, including BME victims.
When allocating some of our emergency funding packages to support the most vulnerable in society at this time, we have specifically encouraged bids from organisations who support minority groups, including BME victims of domestic abuse. We have, for example, allocated £51,714 to Southall Black Sisters, which supports female BME victims of domestic abuse and other forms of VAWG, to enable them to develop an online chat application and a national online referral form to manage the greater number of contacts which they have received as a result of the pandemic.
As part of the Domestic Abuse Bill, we have published draft statutory guidance setting out how individuals can be the victims of multiple and different abusive behaviours because of the way different characteristics, including immigration status, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic position and sexuality intersect and overlap, particularly in relation to accessing services and support if they are not adequately designed to meet their needs. The guidance also sets out how those from BME backgrounds may experience additional barriers to receiving help or reporting abuse.
In addition, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s role description states that they must adopt a specific focus on the needs of victims and survivors of domestic abuse from minority or marginalised groups with particular needs, such as victims who are BAME. A thematic lead within the Commissioner’s office will be identified for each of these groups.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many prosecutions for assaulting an emergency worker have related to assaults against (a) police officers, (b) NHS staff, (c) prison officers, (d) firefighters and (e) other emergency workers since the offence was introduced.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 is legislation that amended section39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 to provide offences relating to common assault or battery committed against an emergency worker while carrying out their duties.
The CPS maintains records of the number of offences in which a CPS prosecution commenced, including offences of assaulting an emergency worker. The data provided in the table detailed below shows the total number of offences in which a prosecution by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) commenced at magistrates’ courts under the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 since it came into force on the 13th November 2018. However the CPS does not hold any central record of the details of complainants’ occupations.
| 2018/19 (Nov 18 - Mar 19) | 2019/20 |
Total offences: Criminal Justice Act 1988 and section 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 {39} | 4,395 | 23,492 |
It should be noted that the figures relate to the number of offences and not the number of individual defendants. It may be the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence. No data are held on the final outcome or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at finalisation.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of defendants charged with, or prosecuted for these offences. This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to protect NHS staff following reports of staff being mugged for their NHS staff identification cards.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Government condemns any instance of violence, abuse or robbery of National Health Service staff – such behaviour is despicable. Any robbery or attempted robbery of a NHS staff ID card should be reported to the police immediately, as it is a criminal offence.
The NHS and the Crown Prosecution Service recently signed the Joint Agreement on Offences Against Emergency Workers. This agreement sets out a framework for the effective investigation and prosecution of cases where emergency workers are the victim of a crime and the standards that victims of these crimes can expect. The definition of an emergency worker in this agreement also includes all those who are employed to support the provision of NHS health services.
NHS organisations will also have local arrangements in place to support staff who are the victim of a crime.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 on the demand for custodial resources; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Attacks against our brave emergency workers who protect us are appalling and cowardly. That is why we doubled the maximum penalty for assaulting an emergency worker and gave judges the powers to aggravate the sentences for crimes committed against them.
In the year ending September 2019, 1,205 people had been sentenced to immediate custody for the new offence of assault on an emergency worker, with custodial sentences averaging around 2-3 months over the period.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases have been prosecuted under the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number of individuals proceeded against and convicted of an assault against an emergency worker can be found at:
Using the pivot table, filter by ‘Offence’ for:
`8.22 Assault against an emergency worker’.
Asked by: Lord Clark of Windermere (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals have been charged with offences under the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018; and how many of those incidents occurred in connection with the provision of services by the NHS.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office does not hold information on the number of individuals charged under The Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act, which came into effect on 13 November 2018. However, police forces in England and Wales provide the Home Office with data on the number of offences recorded of Assault or assault by beating of a constable or emergency worker that resulted in a charge.
Between 13 November 2018 to 31 December 2018, there were 947 offences recorded under the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 that resulted in a charge. However, this provides an incomplete count of all individuals charged under this Act because some offences will result in more than one offender being charged and more serious incidents may result in a higher charge such as Grievous Bodily Harm.
The Home Office does not hold data on whether or not the incident occurred in connection with the services provided by the NHS.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been prosecuted for common assault or battery under the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The number of individuals proceeded against and convicted of an assault against an emergency worker can be found at:
Filter by ‘Offence’ for:
`8.22 Assault against an emergency worker’.
This link also provides information on the average length of sentence (in months) given to those convicted of this offence.
It is not possible to obtain an estimate of the number of people who have received an increased sentence for an offence specified as aggravated under the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018. Detailed information may be held on individual court records but to be able to identify these cases we would have to access these individual court records which would be of disproportionate cost.