House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 13 Oct 2009 (pt 0028)

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Claire Ward: The number of persons found guilty at all courts in England and Wales for offences relating to child pornography of taking, permitting to be taken, distributing, publishing or possession of indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children, from 2003 to 2007 (latest available) is shown in table 1 as follows. It is not possible to separately identify computer based offences from other offences related to indecent photographs.

The number of persons found guilty at all courts in England and Wales for offences relating to child abuse, from 2003 to 2007 is shown in table 2 as follows. There is no specific offence of "child abuse" therefore statistics are only provided where the age of the victim can be identified as a child from the description of the offence. Furthermore the term "child abuse" describes harm caused to a child arising from emotional, physical, sexual abuse or neglect caused by a parent, guardian, carer, or stranger. A number of other offences such as offences against the person including physical assault may frequently be used by the police to charge offenders.

The Sexual Offences Act 2003 significantly modernised and strengthened the laws on sexual offences in England and Wales to provide extra protection to children from sexual exploitation. This makes direct comparisons with previous legislation very difficult. Many new offences created by the Act will not have a direct equivalent under the old legislation. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 came into force on 1 May 2004. Table 2 includes, for 2003 only, comparable offences under the Sexual Offences Act 1956.

Court proceedings data for 2008 are planned for publication at the end of November 2009.

Table 1: The number of persons found guilty at all courts in England and Wales for offences relating to child pornography^{( 1)} from 2003 to 2007^{( 2, 3)}
Offence Description	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Take, permit to be taken, or to make distribute or publish indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children	1,048	978	958	768	782
Possession of an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child	239	184	196	166	185
^{(1 )}Offences under the Protection of Children Act 1978, section 1 and section 6 as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, section 84 & Criminal Justice & Court Services Act 2000 S.41(1); Offences under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 Sec. 160 as amended by the Criminal Justice & Court Services Act 2000. ^{(2 )}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 more severe. ^{(3 )}Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform-Evidence & Analysis Unit.

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Table 2: The number of persons found guilty at all courts in England and Wales for offences relating to child abuse, 2003 to 2007^{( 1, 2)}
Statute	Offence description	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004⁽³⁾ S.5	Causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person	⁽⁴⁾-	⁽⁴⁾-	-	2	6
Children and Young Persons Act 1933 S.1	Cruelty or neglect of children	494	540	482	488	493
Offences against the Person Act 1861 S.27	Abandoning children under 2 years	1	-	-	2	1
Sexual Offences Act 2003⁽⁵⁾ S.1	Rape of a female aged under 16	⁽⁶⁾254	275	234	219	236
Sexual Offences Act 2003⁽⁵⁾ S.1	Rape of a male aged under 16	⁽⁶⁾29	28	32	15	23
Sexual Offences Act 2003⁽⁵⁾ S. 5	Rape of a female child under 13 by a male	⁽⁴⁾-	5	58	85	91
Sexual Offences Act 2003^{(5 )}S. 5	Rape of a male child under 13 by a male	⁽⁴⁾-	1	14	32	37
Sexual Offences Act 2003⁽⁵⁾ S.7⁽⁵⁾	Sexual assault of a female child under 13	⁽⁴⁾-	34	174	243	273
Sexual Offences Act 2003⁽⁵⁾ S.8(1)(2)(1)(3), S.10(1a,b,ci)(3), S.9(1a,b,cii)(2)(3), S.10(1,a,b,c(ii)(2)(3)	Sexual activity involving a child	⁽⁴⁾-	20	127	185	190
Sexual Offences Act 2003⁽⁵⁾ S.16(1ei,2-5),(1eii,2-5), S.17(1ei,2-5)(1eii,2-5), S.18(1fi,2-5), S19(1ei,2-5)	Abuse of a position of trust: Sexual activity with children	⁽⁴⁾-	3	14	16	15
Total		778	906	1,135	1,287	1,365
⁽¹⁾ 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 more severe. ^{(2 )}Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. ^{(3 )}Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 S.5 came into force on 21 March 2005. ^{(4 )}Not applicable. ^{(5 )}The Sexual Offences Act 2003 came into force on 1 May 2004. ^{(6 )}Sexual Offences Act 1956, S.1, as amended by the Criminal Justice & Public Order Act 1994, S.142-comparable offences to S.1 Sexual Offences Act 2003. Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform-Evidence & Analysis Unit

Offences Against Children: Sentencing

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) minimum and (b) maximum length of sentence handed down for offences relating to viewing child abuse images was in each of the last five years. [291749]

Claire Ward: The information available is shown in the following table.

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Minimum and maximum length of immediate custodial sentence handed down for offences relating to viewing child abuse images^{( 1)} , 2003-07
	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Total sentenced	1,261	1,140	1,129	948	944
Total immediate custody	640	595	561	392	404
Maximum (Years)	9	7	IPP	IPP	IPP
Minimum (Weeks)	4	2	4	4	8
⁽¹⁾ Section 1 (1) of the Protection of Children Act 1978, Section 160 (1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Source: OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice.

There is no specific offence of viewing child abuse images, this table covers a wider range of offences and it is not solely based on viewing child abuse images. These data are presented on the principal offence basis. Where an offender has been sentenced for more than one offence, the principal offence is the one for which the heaviest sentence was imposed. Where the same sentence has been imposed for two or more offences, the principal offence is the one for which the statutory maximum is most severe.

There are two main offences in this area:

Under Section 1 (1) of the "Protection of Children Act 1978" it is an offence for a person:

(a) to take, or permit to be taken, or to make any indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child; or

(b) to distribute or show such indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs; or

(c) to have in his possession such indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs, with a view to their being distributed or shown by himself or others; or

(d) to publish or cause to be published any advertisement likely to be understood as conveying that the advertiser distributes or shows such indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs, or intends to do so.

These offences carry a 'maximum 10-year prison sentence'.

Section 160 (1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 makes it an offence for a person to have any indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child in his possession.

This offence carries a maximum prison term of five years.

A sentence of imprisonment for public protection can be given for a specified sexual (or violent offence) that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years or over; the relevant offences are set out in schedule 15 to the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and include an offence under section 1 of the Protection of Children Act 1978. These sentences ensure that serious offenders will not be released from prison unless their level of risk to the public is assessed by the Parole Board as manageable in the community. If the level of risk cannot be assessed as manageable, they will not be released. An offence under section 160 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 may attract an extended sentence for public protection. Such a sentence requires the offender to be on licence and under supervision for a longer period for the purposes of public protection.

Prison Visitors: Expenditure

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent on (a) the administration of and (b) expenditure by the Assisted Prison Visits Unit in each of the last three years; and whether those costs were included in the revenue costs of his Department. [291887]

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Maria Eagle: The administration expenditure for the assisted prison visits unit (APVU) is as follows:

	£
2006-07	697,000
2007-08	693,000
2008-09	710,000

The gross expenditure by the assisted prison visits unit for giving assistance to prisoners' visitors is as follows:

	£
2006-07	1,941,000
2007-08	2,170,000
2008-09	2,171,000

The total expenditure for APVU has been included in the revenue costs of the Ministry of Justice for 2008-09 and 2007-08, and the Home Office for 2006-07.

The assisted prison visits scheme provides help with travel and where appropriate accommodation expenses to prisoners' close relatives, partners or a friend (where they are the only visitor). In all cases the visitor must be in receipt of specified benefits or on a low income.

Prisoners Release: Mentally Ill

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what mentoring programmes are available for people with (a) mental health problems and (b) learning disabilities who leave custody; and if he will make a statement. [290014]

Phil Hope: I have been asked to reply.

The Department does not keep any central record of mentoring programmes for people leaving custody with mental health problems or learning disabilities. Such schemes are usually local initiatives started by voluntary agencies working with their local prison and other services.

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