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7 Apr 2005 : Column 1573W—continued
Overseas Citizens
Peter Bottomley: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will estimate the proportions of eligible UK citizens resident overseas who have not registered to vote, broken down by (a) service personnel and (b) civilians. [224953]
Mr. Lammy: The information is not collected. British citizens resident overseas are entitled to apply to be included on the overseas electors' list. This is not compulsory, however, and electoral registration officers are not required to obtain or record the proportion of eligible British citizens previously resident in the electoral area for which they are responsible who do not register as overseas voters. It is not possible to identify separately those overseas electors who may also be service personnel. According to the Office for National Statistics the number of British citizens included on the overseas electors' list in December 2004 was 9,672.
SOLICITOR-GENERAL
Civilian Trials (Armed Forces)
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Solicitor-General if the Attorney-General will review the application of the double jeopardy rule as it relates to soldiers going to trial in the civilian courts having lost the opportunity of a court martial on the grounds that the commanding officer found there was no case to answer. [224461]
The Solicitor-General: The double jeopardy rule applies to soldiers in the same way as it does to defendants in the civilian courts. The Attorney-General will not review the application of the double jeopardy rule as it relates to soldiers going to trial in the civilian courts.
For the doctrine of autrefois convict/acquit to apply the defendant must stand for a second time in jeopardy". Jeopardy" means a real risk or danger of punishment following conviction. In cases transferred to the civilian system from the military the doctrine of autrefois convict/acquit will apply as in any other case.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Solicitor-General pursuant to her oral answer of 24 March, in what circumstances it would be appropriate to bring to trial a serving soldier in the civilian courts. [224462]
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The Solicitor-General: The vast majority of offences committed by Army personnel are dealt with by courts martial, following investigation by the military police. In some cases both in the UK and abroad there is concurrent jurisdiction. Often, the most appropriate jurisdiction is for the case to proceed in the military system. When considering the appropriate jurisdiction for trial the various considerations will be taken into account such as where the offence was allegedly committed in operational circumstances; whether there are other charges which can only be preferred under military law; witness availability; whether the alleged victim is military or civilian; whether the soldiers committed offences with civilians who are not subject to military law.
This is not an exhaustive nor cumulative list but an example of the type of considerations that will apply in deciding when it would be appropriate to bring to trial a serving soldier in the civilian courts.
Correspondence
David Winnick: To ask the Solicitor-General, when will she reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall, North of 24 January concerning a constituent, reference ULS/8/05 [224786]
The Solicitor-General: I have no record of receiving the hon. Member's letter dated 24 January. However, I will write to him to advise him of the outcome of the case about which I wrote to him on 24 January.
Crown Prosecution Service
Mr. Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General what the cost of staffing the Crown Prosecution Service was in (a) Essex and (b) Southend in each year since 1997. [222488]
The Solicitor-General: The figures given in the following table include the staff in the trials unit preparing papers for prosecutions in the Crown court, as well as staff allocated to prosecutions in magistrates court, and staff engaged in administrative support and management.
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 2,680,184 |
| 1998–99 | 2,866,935 |
| 1999–2000 | 3,005,097 |
| 2000–01 | 3,169,339 |
| 2001–02 | 3,818,204 |
| 2002–03 | 4,392,303 |
| 2003–04 | 4,912,280 |
| 2004 (To date) | 4,924,402 |
Southend Criminal Justice Unit (CJU) restructured following the implementation of the Glidewell Project in 2000. This resulted in transfer of staff from Chelmsford's main office, to the co-located Criminal Justice Units shared with Essex Police, and is reflected in a discontinuity in payroll figures for periods before and after the date of re-structuring.
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| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 455,631 |
| 1998–99 | 487,379 |
| 1999–2000 | 482,907 |
| 2000–01 | 494,527 |
| 2001–02 | 439,249 |
| 2002–03 | 619,278 |
| 2003–04 | 656,845 |
| 2004 (To date) | 524,390 |
Mr. Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General what plans she has to make the activities of the Crown Prosecution Service more transparent when considering a prosecution. [219434]
The Solicitor-General: The Code for Crown Prosecutors, which sets out the guidance for prosecutors, is a publicly available document issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions. Detailed legal guidance that underpins the Code is available on the Crown Prosecution Service's website.
The Crown Prosecution Service now routinely explains to victims its decisions to discontinue or down grade the charges.
The Crown Prosecution Service explains its role to communities at both local and national levels and consults on the development of its prosecution policies, in particular in the areas of domestic violence, race crime, homophobic crime and the prosecution of rape offences.
HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate inspects and reports on CPS Areas and thematic issues. The Crown Prosecution Service produces an Annual Report.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General (1) how many (a) domestic violence, (b) vehicle theft, (c) assault, (d) youth crime, (e) violence against the person, (f) violent crime and (g) sexual offence cases the Crown Prosecution Service has brought in (i) Essex and (ii) England and Wales in each year since 1997; and how many of these resulted in (A) conviction and (B) acquittal; [210456]
(2) how many cases have been referred to the Crown Prosecution Service relating to graffiti in (a) Essex and (b) England and Wales in each year since 1997; and how many resulted in (i) conviction and (ii) acquittal; [216356]
(3) how many prosecutions there have been in (a) Essex and (b) Southend for (i) possession of and (ii) dealing in each category of drug in each year since 1997; [219435]
(4) what criteria the Crown Prosecution Service uses in making decisions on whether or not to prosecute when a person is found dead under suspicious circumstances; [222477]
(5) how many objections have been lodged against lenient sentences in all categories of convictions in each year since 1997; and how many of those were successfully upheld in each year; [222474]
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(6) pursuant to the answer of 8 February 2005, Official Report, column 1639W, on mobile phone offences, what the cost to public funds was of prosecutions since February 2004; and if she will make a statement; [222425]
(7) how many objections have been lodged against lenient sentences in all categories of convictions of police officers in each year since 1997; and how many of these in each year were successfully upheld. [222473]
The Solicitor-General: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Departmental Accounts
Tony Baldry: To ask the Solicitor-General whether she has issued written instructions to override her Department's accounting officer's objections since 1997. [221114]
The Solicitor-General: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 14 March 2005, Official Report, column 79W.
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