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6 Oct 2008 : Column 154W—continued
(1) i.e. Community punishment order or community punishment and rehabilitation order (under pre Criminal Justice Act 2003 legislation.
| Number of unpaid work or equivalent orders revoked for failure to comply | Percentage of all unpaid work or equivalent orders terminated | |
Constitutions: Cornwall
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has considered the merits of undertaking a review of academic research relating to the constitutional status of Cornwall. [222754]
Mr. Wills: No consideration has been given to undertaking a review of academic research relating to the constitutional status of Cornwall and the Government have no plans to undertake a review of this kind. Cornwall is an administrative county of England, electing MPs to the UK Parliament, and is subject to UK legislation. It has always been an integral part of the Union. The Government have no plans to alter the constitutional status of Cornwall.
Dangerous Driving
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what percentage of those found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving (a) did not have a current driving licence, (b) were banned from driving, (c) did not have insurance and (d) did not have a current MOT certificate in the latest period for which figures are available. [222080]
Maria Eagle: While the Department for Transport monitors details of road traffic fatalities, this information is not linked with details of any subsequent prosecutions.
The court proceedings data held by my Department cannot be used to answer this question directly since the information held on a defendant does not extend beyond the person’s age, gender, ethnicity, the offences for which the person was prosecuted and the outcome for each offence. However part of the question can be answered on the basis of offence and outcome information.
In 2006 (latest available), there were 224 defendants found guilty of at least one offence of causing death by dangerous driving. Of these, as part of the same proceedings, five (2 per cent.) were convicted of driving while disqualified, 31 (14 per cent.) of driving while uninsured against third party risks and nine (4 per cent.) for both of these offences. 2007 data will be available towards the end of this year.
The Court Proceedings Database cannot separately identify the specific offence of driving a vehicle without a valid MOT certificate nor defendants who do not have a driving licence.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what percentage of those found guilty of death by dangerous driving had a previous conviction for dangerous driving in the last period for which figures are available. [222074]
Mr. Hanson: 233 offenders are recorded on the Police National Computer as having been found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving in England and Wales in 2007. Of these, 10 offenders (4 per cent.) had a previous conviction for dangerous driving. These figures have been derived from the police’s administrative IT system, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Dangerous Driving: Sentencing
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will review the maximum sentence for causing death by dangerous driving whilst under the influence of (a) alcohol and (b) illegal drugs. [222079]
Maria Eagle: We strongly support the need for stiff penalties for bad drivers. We increased the maximum penalties for causing death by dangerous driving and causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink and drugs from 10 to 14 years imprisonment in the Criminal Justice Act 2003. We also introduced new offences of causing death by careless driving and causing death by driving when unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured in the Road Safety Act 2006.
A defendant can also be charged with manslaughter if, for example, he was grossly negligent. This carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Sections 32 and 33 of the Road Safety Act 2006 make clear which alternative verdicts are available if a prosecution for manslaughter (in England and Wales) or culpable homicide (Scotland) is unsuccessful. This is to ensure that manslaughter will be charged where appropriate in the knowledge that, if unsuccessful, the lesser charge can be preferred.
We welcome the sentencing guidelines published in July by the Sentencing Guidelines Council on causing death by driving. They make it clear that an offence will be considered more serious if there is evidence of impairment caused by the consumption of alcohol or drugs, where the presence of drugs or alcohol is not a required element of the offence.
We have no plans for a further review at this stage.
Data Protection: Prosecutions
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many prosecutions for (a) unauthorised computer access, (b) unauthorised modification of data, (c) obstructing the Information Commissioner, (d) unauthorised use of data, (e) other breaches of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and (f) any other breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998 were brought in each year since 2000; [223634]
(2) how many people convicted of (a) unauthorised computer access, (b) unauthorised modification of data, (c) obstructing the Information Commissioner, (d) unauthorised use of data, (e) any other breaches of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and (f) any other breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998 received (i) a fine, (ii) a community sentence, (iii) a custodial sentence and (iv) another disposal in each year since 2000. [223636]
Mr. Straw: Data showing the number of defendants proceeded against, found guilty and a sentence breakdown for offences under the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Computer Misuse Act 1990 in England & Wales from 2000 to 2006 is in the following table.
The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
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