Female Genital Mutilation
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted of an offence under sections 1, 2 or 3 of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 where the offence was committed against a child in each of the last four years. [194022]
Damian Green: No one has been convicted of an offence under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 in England and Wales since the Act came into force. However, the Director of Public Prosecutions announced the first prosecutions for female genital mutilation on 21 March.
The Government are committed to tackling and preventing the harmful and unacceptable practice of female genital mutilation. As part of this cross-Government work, the Ministry of Justice is already considering suggestions made by the DPP for strengthening the criminal law on female genital mutilation to make successful prosecutions more likely.
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We welcome the Home Affairs Committee inquiry into this area and will give careful consideration to any additional recommendations for legislative change that may be made by the Committee when it reports in due course.
Homicide: Victim Support Schemes
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) whether his Department's new national homicide service will provide support to victims involved in a homicide that took place abroad prior to November 2010; [193171]
(2) pursuant to the contribution of the Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims, of 4 March 2014, Official Report, columns 317-20WH, on fatal domestic violence, if he will make it his policy that the New Homicide Scheme supports victims involved in a homicide prior to April 2010; [193174]
(3) pursuant to the contribution of the Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims of 5 March 2014, Official Report, columns 319-20W, on fatal domestic violence, what estimate he has made of the number of people bereaved before 2010 who will no longer receive support as a result of the scope of the new Homicide Scheme not covering cases predating the current service. [193209]
Damian Green: We are committed to making sure that there is no loss of support for those bereaved prior to 2010. I have listened to representations made by police and crime commissioners and the Victims' Commissioner that our support for those families bereaved pre-2010 should be continued, and I will write to the hon. Gentleman shortly on how this is being taken forward.
Offences Against Children
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted of an offence contrary to sections 142 or 143 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, where the offence was committed against a child, in each of the last four years, broken down by year. [193983]
Damian Green: The number of offenders found guilty of offences under section 12 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956, as amended by Section 143 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, where the victim is not specifically identified as an adult, in England and Wales from 2008 to 2012 can be viewed in the table. The proportion of offenders receiving immediate custody has increased significantly since 2008.
Section 142 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 amended section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956, and findings of guilt for offences of rape of those under the age of 16 under that Act cannot be disaggregated from findings of guilt for such offences of rape under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 provided to the hon. Lady in respect to PQs 193577 and 193582.
| Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences under Section 12 of the Sexual Offences Act 19561, as amended by Section 143 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 19942, England and Wales, 2008 to 20123, 4 | |||||
| Outcome | 20085 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
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| 1 Section 12 of the Sexual Offences Act described buggery offences; the stats here are presented where it was not specifically indentified if the victim was 16 or over 2 Act reduced homosexual age of consent from 21 to 18. 3 The figures given in the table 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 it 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. 4 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. 5 Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. 6 The proportion of offenders sentenced who are sentenced to immediate custody. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice | |||||
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted of an offence contrary to section 8 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in each of the last four years. [194010]
Damian Green: Our laws in these areas are robust and clear. The Government take very seriously all matters relating to sexual abuse including the abuse of children.
The number of offenders found guilty of offences under section 8 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in England and Wales from 2008 to 2012 can be viewed in the table.
Court proceedings data for England and Wales for 2013 are planned for publication as part of the Criminal Justice Statistics publication in May 2014.
| Offenders found guilty at all courts of offences under section 8 of the Sexual Offences Act 20031, England and Wales, 2008 to 20122, 3 | |
| Number | |
| 1 Section 8 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 describes offences of causing or inciting children under 13 to engage in sexual activity. 2 The figures given in the table 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 it 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. 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. 4 Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice. | |
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Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted of an offence under section 128 of the Mental Health Act 1959 where the offence was committed against a child in each of the last four years. [194031]
Damian Green: Section 128 of the Mental Health Act 1959 was repealed in 2004. There have been no convictions in any of the last four years. Prosecutions are now brought under modernised legislation contained in the Sex Offenders Act 2003.
Offensive Weapons
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what (a) sentences and (b) other outcomes were received by people aged (i) under 18 and (ii) 18 and over who were prosecuted for carrying a bladed or pointed article in a public place in each year since 2008; and if he will make a statement. [194748]
Jeremy Wright: Since 2009 there has been an overall decline in knife crime. A higher proportion of people are going to prison for knife possession than in previous years and sentences are getting longer. Although sentencing remains a matter for the independent judiciary, we continue to keep this area of the law under close scrutiny. We have already introduced new offences of threatening with a knife in a public place or school under the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. We are currently legislating in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill to make it clear that cautions should no longer be used for knife-possession offences for adults and we are exploring further changes to how we tackle knife offences.
The latest available figures on the outcomes by age group for offences involving carrying a knife or offensive weapon are available in table 2 and annex table 1 of the Knife Possession Sentencing Quarterly Brief October-December 2013 which was published on 13 March 2014. The quarterly bulletin is available from the Ministry of Justice website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/knife-possession-sentencing-quarterly
The figures provided have been drawn from an extract of the Police National Computer (PNC) data held by the Department. The PNC holds details of all convictions and cautions given for recordable offences committed in England and Wales. In addition, as with any large scale recording system the PNC is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Offensive Weapons: Sentencing
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward legislative proposals to allow mandatory sentencing in cases of carrying an article with blade or point of offensive weapon; and if he will make a statement. [194327]
Jeremy Wright:
Possession of an offensive weapon or bladed article is a serious offence which carries a maximum four year custodial sentence. This Government have already introduced new offences for threatening with a knife, which carries a minimum mandatory custodial sentence for adults and 16 to 17-year-olds in the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2013.
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More recently we made it clear that cautions for adults cannot be used for knife-possession offences, and are legislating in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill to put statutory restrictions around their use.
Knife crime continues to fall, with a higher proportion of offenders going to prison for knife possession than in previous years and average custodial sentences getting longer.
While this is encouraging, this Government continue to keep this area of the law under close scrutiny and if further action is necessary they will bring forward proposals.
Open Prisons
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners who are in open prisons are serving (a) a life sentence and (b) an indeterminate sentence for public protection. [194415]
Jeremy Wright: Depending on the length of tariff and the risk they pose, indeterminate sentenced prisoners (ISPs—both those serving life and imprisonment for public protection sentences) move through their sentence via a series of progressive transfers into lower security establishments in the closed estate and then usually into open conditions. The purpose of any placement in open conditions is for such prisoners' risks to be tested in less stringent conditions in order to inform the Parole Board's consideration as to whether it is safe to release them into the community. It is also an important part of the offender's rehabilitation. The decision to transfer ISPs to open conditions is a categorisation decision which is a matter for the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State may take this decision after seeking advice from the Parole Board or executively where the prisoners may demonstrate exceptional progress.
However, there is nothing automatic about progress from open conditions to eventual release. Rather, the period in open prison will serve as an important time to test the prisoner and will help inform the Parole Board's decision whether the offender’s risk is such that it may be safely managed in the community.
For many prisoners, in particular those such as ISPs who have spent a considerable amount of time in custody, these are essential components for successful reintegration in the community and therefore an important factor in protecting the public. To release these prisoners directly from a closed prison without the resettlement benefits of the open estate would undoubtedly lead to higher levels of post-release reoffending.
The main purpose of open conditions is to test prisoners in conditions more similar to those that they will face in the community. It also enables them to develop their plans for eventual release. Time spent in open prisons affords prisoners the opportunity to find work, re-establish family ties, reintegrate into the community and ensure housing needs are met. Open prisons are the most effective means of ensuring that prisoners are subject to testing, with appropriate risk assessment to ensure the protection of the public, before they are released into the community. Once tariff has expired, an ISP's continued detention is justified only so long as it is necessary for the protection of the public.
Public protection is the priority and the Board will take into account a range of factors when assessing whether an offender's risk is reduced sufficiently, in
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order that they can be managed in open conditions or on licence in the community. These might include the completion of offence-related courses, a sustained period of good custodial behaviour, access to appropriate and stable accommodation, access to education, training and employment, and support from professionals as well as family and friends. The Parole Board would not recommend a prisoner's transfer to open conditions unless it considered it safe to do so. Prisoners located in open prison conditions have been rigorously risk assessed and categorised as being of a low enough risk to the public to warrant their placement in an open prison.
The requested information is provided in the following table.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
| Indeterminate sentenced prisoners held in the open estate1 by type of sentence, 31 December 2013, England and Wales | |
| Number | |
| 1 Based on predominant function of the prison and therefore excludes prisoners held in open wings of closed establishments. | |
Police and Crime Commissioners
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when the budgets for the criminal justice and emergency services will be devolved to police and crime commissioners; and what the total budget that police and crime commissioners will take over for England and Wales is. [192956]
Damian Green [holding answer 24 March 2014]: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.
There are no current plans to transfer responsibility and budgets for the criminal justice system or the emergency services to police and crime commissioners.
The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 contains a duty to co-operate for police and crime commissioners and criminal justice partners which sets the framework for commissioners to play a substantial local leadership role. Commissioners are taking a prominent role in local justice matters and are, for example, taking seats (sometimes even as chair) on their local criminal justice boards.
The Government are further extending the remit of PCCs, who will assume responsibility for commissioning local victims’ services in October 2014—complementing their other responsibilities to respond to local views and needs when drawing up plans to cut crime.
The Government are also driving collaboration between local emergency services to deliver more effective services and better value for money for the public. They are providing funding through the Home Office Police Innovation Fund and DCLG’s Transformation Challenge Award and Fire Transformation Fund to support emergency services collaboration projects.
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Prison Accommodation
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on which occasions prisons (a) reached and (b) exceeded their (i) occupational capacity and (ii) in-use certified normal accommodation in each month since September 2013. [194307]
Jeremy Wright: Individual prison population and capacity information is published monthly on the Ministry of Justice website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-population-figures-2014
Population and capacity figures for March 2014 will be published on the Government website on Friday 11 April.
Prison Service
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions (a) workshops and (b) classrooms have been closed in each prison in England and Wales since 1 September 2013 due to staff shortages; and on how many occasions wings have been locked for (i) a half day, (ii) a full day and (iii) a lunch period for that reason since that date. [194631]
Jeremy Wright: The information regarding the number of occasions on which (a) workshops and (b) classrooms have been closed in each prison in England and Wales since 1 September 2013 due to staff shortages; and on how many occasions wings have been locked for (i) a half day, (ii) a full day and (iii) a lunch period in that time and for that reason, is not collated centrally and is collected in different formats in each prison. The processes required to collect these data would incur disproportionate costs.
Prisoners: Foreign Nationals
Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answers of 5 February 2014, Official Report, column 293W, 28 February 2014, Official Report, column 548W and 31 March 2014 on prisoners: foreign nationals, which three countries have the next largest number of foreign nationals in UK prisons; and what steps he is taking to return those offenders to secure detention in their own countries. [194906]
Jeremy Wright: Data on the nationality and numbers of Foreign National Offenders {FNOs) held in custody are published in the quarterly offender management statistics.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/276084/prison-population-tables-q3-2013.xls
The countries with the 10th, 11th and 12th largest populations of FNOs in UK prisons on 31 December 2013 are:
10. Bangladesh (276)
11. Albania (275)
12. Vietnam (247)
We do not currently have a Prisoner Transfer Arrangement (PTA) with Bangladesh. We signed a compulsory PTA with Albania last year and hope to see
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the first transfers soon. We have a voluntary PTA with Vietnam and made three prisoner transfers under this arrangement last year.
The Prisoner Transfer process is just one mechanism for removing Foreign National Offenders (FNOs). The number of FNOs deported under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) has increased under this Government. In 2013, we removed nearly 2,000 FNOs under ERS and under the Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS), which we introduced in May 2012, we have removed 237 FNOs to date.
Mr Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many Indian nationals there are serving a prison sentence in England and Wales. [194948]
Jeremy Wright: As of 31 December 2013, the latest period for which figures are available, there were 223 Indian nationals serving a prison sentence in England and Wales.
All foreign national offenders (FNOs) sentenced to custody are referred to the Home Office for it to consider deportation at the earliest possible opportunity.
Prisoners: Publications
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effect of prisoners' access to books on (a) prisoners' educational achievements, (b) prisoners' behaviour and (c) reoffending rates; and what steps he is taking to improve prisoners' access to books. [194424]
Jeremy Wright: Our assessment is that education and access to books is very important in the rehabilitation of prisoners. That is why the National Offender Management Service works closely with the Shannon Trust to support schemes such as ‘Toe by Toe', which includes peer mentoring to improve reading levels. Every prison has a library, to which every prisoner has access.
Prisoners may also buy books with their own money, to which they have access. Up to 12 books may be held by prisoners in their cell at any one time and additional volumes may be stored locally at the prison.
Prisoners: Uniforms
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will publish his Department's equality impact assessment of its policy on uniforms for male and female prisoners. [194430]
Jeremy Wright: The requirement for prisoners to wear uniform is set out in the Incentives and Earned Privileges national policy framework, Prison Service Instruction 30/2013. During the review of this policy in 2013 an equality impact assessment was completed and I have placed a copy in the Libraries of both Houses.
Prisons: Disciplinary Proceedings
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prison staff were dismissed in 2013 for conducting inappropriate relationships with prisoners. [192342]
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Jeremy Wright: The National Offender Management Service is committed to dealing with all allegations of misconduct swiftly and robustly. The NOMS Conduct and Discipline Policy sets out the standards of behaviour that all staff are expected to maintain. Where these standards are found to have been breached, the disciplinary process set out in the NOMS Conduct and Discipline policy is applied.
From 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2013 there were a total of 11 NOMS employees dismissed for having an “Inappropriate Relationship with a prisoner/ ex-prisoner”.
Prisons: Publications
Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which books are available to be bought from the shop in prisons in England. [194356]
Jeremy Wright: Prisoners are able to purchase any book through prison retail, other than where there are reasons to believe the book is not suitable. It is for governors locally to determine when a particular book is not suitable, based on the prisoner's risk profile and the nature of the book itself. There is no centrally approved list of books.
Probation
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects to announce the finalists for each community rehabilitation company; and if he will make a statement. [194437]
Jeremy Wright: The contract winners for each community rehabilitation company will be announced by the end of 2014. Bids to run the community rehabilitation companies (CRCs) have yet to be submitted, but are expected in June 2014. In mid-December 2013, the 30 bidders that passed the first stage of the competition to bid for the rehabilitation contracts were announced and approximately one third of the bidders included a potential mutual organisation within their consortium. A list of the bidders that have been successful at this stage can be found at:
https://www.justice.gov.uk/transforming-rehabilitation/competition
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many bids have been received for each community rehabilitation company; how many of those were (a) successful and (b) discounted; and if he will make a statement. [194438]
Jeremy Wright: The contract winners for each Community Rehabilitation Company will be announced by the end of 2014. Bids to run the Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) have yet to be submitted, but are expected in June 2014. In mid-December 2013, the 30 bidders that passed the first stage of the competition to bid for the rehabilitation contracts were announced and approximately one third of the bidders included a potential mutual organisation within their consortium. A list of the bidders that have been successful at this stage can be found at:
https://www.justice.gov.uk/transforming-rehabilitation/competition
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Procurement
Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his Department’s 10 largest contracts let since the financial year 2010-11 are; what savings have been made in such contracts; what the level of overspend or underspend was in each such contract; and what steps his Department has taken to monitor the performance of each supplier of such contract following the contract award. [183913]
Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice has taken a number of steps to improve commercial capability across the Department. We regularly review suppliers’ performance against key performance indicators and have recently embarked on a programme aimed at introducing a more robust approach to contract management, to ensure that contracts deliver best possible value for the taxpayer.
The following table features the 10 largest contracts let by the Ministry of Justice since the financial year 2010-11, and provides details of savings and of any under or overspend in each financial year.
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Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) 20 highest and (b) 20 lowest-value contracts awarded by his Department were in each financial year since 2009-10. [194226]
Jeremy Wright: Under this Government's transparency programme, contracts are published on Contracts Finder, which is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder
Rail Travel
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on first-class rail travel by (a) Ministers and (b) officials in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012 and (iv) 2013. [190548]
Damian Green: The Secretary of State has put in place a ban on all first-class rail travel. An exception to this ban is to support the needs of some disabled staff in carrying out their duties, where it is reasonable to do so, and which exceptionally justify the use of first-class rail travel.
The following table provides details of spend on first- class rail travel for Ministers and officials for the calendar years 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. This shows a reduction of £1,589,275, or 80%, over the period.
| Calendar year | Spend (£) |
| 1 Spend information is available only for the period April to December 2009. | |
In addition to the reduction in spend on first-class rail travel, the total MoJ spend on travel has fallen by more than 40% since 2009, a saving of more than £9 million. The spend on first-class rail and air travel in the financial year 2009-10 was £4.4 million.
Reoffenders
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many instances of breaches by offenders released on licence there were in each year since 2002; [188583]
(2) how many instances of offenders remaining at large after (a) recall and (b) temporary release there were in each year since 2002. [188584]
Jeremy Wright: For offenders, the period of post-release supervision on licence forms an integral part of a sentence imposed by the court. The overriding priority is to protect the public from harm and prevent re-offending.
The recall of offenders on licence is designed to protect the public by removing an offender from the community who, by breaching his licence conditions, is considered to present an increased risk of re-offending and where the Probation Service recommends that this is the most effective response to the increased risk, in order to protect the public.
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Behaviour that can result in recall includes: the commission of further offences or charges being laid; behaviour which indicates that further offending is imminent; and breaches of licence conditions which undermine the Probation Service's ability to provide effective supervision, such as not living at the address stipulated on the licence or failing to attend probation appointments.
Once recalled, it is the responsibility of the police to apprehend offenders, although all agencies closely co-operate to ensure that they are swiftly returned to custody.
Data on those offenders who had committed minor breaches of licence, were warned, and not recalled to prison are not collected centrally. Those offenders whose breach of licence has resulted in a recall to prison are published quarterly in the Ministry of Justice's Offender Management Statistics Quarterly Bulletin. This may be found at the following web address:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly
The most recent bulletin was published on 30 January 2014, covering all offenders who were recalled to custody since 1 January 1984 and who remained unlawfully at large as at 31 December 2013. Therefore, the total number who remained unlawfully at large as at 31 December 2013 includes some offenders who were recalled before 2001-02.
In over 99% of cases where an offender has been recalled, the individual has successfully been returned to custody. Where an offender has died, we are unable to remove them from the list until we receive a death certificate.
The data covering the years since 2001-02 are shown in the following table.
| Financial year | Number of recalls | Prisoners who remain unlawfully at large |
Data on the number of releases on temporary release licence (ROTL) since 1995-96, and temporary release failures since 2004-05 are published in the NOMS Prison Performance Digest. This may be found at the following web address:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225234/prison-performance-digest-12-13.xls
The most recent data were published on 25 July 2013.
Data on ROTL and recorded temporary release failures are shown in the following table.
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| Financial year | Release on temporary licence | Recorded temporary release failures |
Not all temporary release failures are recorded on central administrative systems. Those that are not recorded centrally are more likely to be low-level failures including, for example, returning with unauthorised possessions. These failures are managed locally. Where failures are recorded, the central administrative system allows for only one reason to be recorded; where it is a failure to return, this takes priority.
The number of prisoners unlawfully at large (UAL) having failed to return from release on temporary licence for each financial year since 2004-05 is shown in the following table.
| Financial year | Number of prisoners who remain UAL following failure to return from ROTL |
To provide the number of temporary release failures where the prisoner has failed to return and remains unlawfully at large prior to this date would require the manual interrogation of 1,000 temporary release records, which could be done only at disproportionate cost.
These figures have all been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. 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.
Sexual Offences
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted of an offence contrary to sections 30 to 41 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in each of the last four years. [193810]
Damian Green: Our laws in these areas are robust and clear. The Government take very seriously all matters relating to sexual abuse including the abuse of children. The proportion of offenders sentenced who were sentenced to immediate custody rose to 86% in 2012, compared with 58% in 2009.
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The number of defendants found guilty of offences under sections 30-41 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, in England and Wales from 2008 to 2012 can be viewed in the table.
Court proceedings data for England and Wales for 2013 are planned for publication as part of the Criminal Justice Statistics publication in May 2014.
It is not possible separately to identify the age of the victim from centrally held data or to give figures for each individual offence requested.
| Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences under sections 30-41 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, England and Wales, 2008 to 20121, 2, 3 | |||||
| Outcome | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| 1 The figures given in the table 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 it 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. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, 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 The number of offenders sentenced can differ from those found guilty, as it may be the case that a defendant found guilty in a particular year, and committed for sentence at the Crown court, may be sentenced in the following year. 4 Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. 5 Conviction ratio is calculated as the number of convictions as a proportion of the number of proceedings. 6 The category Otherwise Dealt With (ODW) includes: one day in police cells; disqualification order; restraining order; confiscation order; travel restriction order; disqualification from driving; recommendation for deportation; and other miscellaneous disposals. 7 The proportion of offenders sentenced who are sentenced to immediate custody. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice. | |||||
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many people have been convicted of an offence under section 72 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 where the offence committed corresponds to an offence which would lead to automatic inclusion in the children's barred list, with the right to make representations, under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 in each of the last four years; [193918]
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(2) how many people have been convicted of an offence contrary to section 72 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, where the offence committed corresponds to an offence which would lead to automatic inclusion in the adults' barred list, with the right to make representations, under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, in each of the last four years. [194024]
Damian Green: Information held centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the Court Proceedings Database does not include the circumstances behind each case beyond the description provided in the statute. It is not possible separately to identify findings of guilt for sexual offences committed outside England and Wales from those committed within England and Wales. This information could be obtained from the individual courts only at disproportionate cost.
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted of an offence contrary to section 4 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885, in each of the last four years. [193981]
Damian Green: The Criminal Law Amendment Act was repealed in respect of England and Wales in 1967. There have been no prosecutions under section 4 of that Act in any of the last four years. Prosecutions are now brought under modernised legislation contained in the Sex Offenders Act 2003.
Sexual Offences: Northern Ireland
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted of an offence contrary to articles 43 to 54 of the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008, in each of the last four years. [193779]
Simon Hughes: My Department's Court Proceedings Database holds information on criminal justice statistics only in England and Wales. Criminal Justice Statistics in Northern Ireland are a matter for the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland.
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted of an offence contrary to Articles 122 (1)(a) and 123 of the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986, in each of the last four years. [193809]
Simon Hughes: My Department's court proceedings database holds information on criminal justice statistics only in England and Wales. Criminal justice statistics in Northern Ireland are a matter for the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan
Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's budget for work in Afghanistan will be in 2014. [194842]
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Hugh Robertson: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office budget allocated to Afghanistan for financial year 2014-15 is £62.27 million. This includes staffing, security, capital expenditure, programme spend and running and maintenance costs. This also includes the conflict pool allocation for Afghanistan.
Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which staff positions in the UK embassy in Kabul are required to undergo training in human rights and gender awareness; and how many staff in the UK embassy in Kabul have undergone such training. [194853]
Hugh Robertson: All staff in the political team who have responsibility for human rights work are expected to undertake appropriate training. Beyond this, all HMG staff are encouraged to include human rights training, including gender awareness, in their pre-posting preparations before travelling out to work in our embassy in Kabul. This can include human rights briefings from London geographical desk, and meetings with Human Rights and Democracy Department thematic policy officers and Afghanistan research analysts.
Burma
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had about the census in Burma and recognition of the Rohingya population. [194879]
Mr Swire: The international community, including the UK through the Department for International Development, is providing significant funding to the census in 2014 because it will be a critical step in the country's development process, underpinning better planning and delivery of vital services and infrastructure such as schools, roads and hospitals.
The UK, UN and other international donors argued strongly for the right of all people to be enumerated fairly and to be able to self-identify their ethnicity in the census. In most areas where the census is being conducted, self-identification has been permitted. We are, however, deeply disappointed that the Burmese Government reversed their commitment to allow the Rohingya to self-identify.
I discussed our concerns on the census with the senior Burmese Minister responsible, Immigration Minister U Khin Yi, on 26 March, and on 7 April summoned the Burmese ambassador. I made clear that this decision is in contravention of international norms and standards on census conduct. We are engaging in further discussions, together with the UN, as to next steps on this issue.
Iran
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received about (a) attempts by the Iranian state to incite hatred towards the Bahá'í community and (b) the number of religiously motivated attacks on the Bahá'í in Iran. [194575]
Hugh Robertson:
The Bahá’i community in Iran is subject to ongoing persecution, and we are concerned by state efforts to identify, monitor and arbitrarily detain Bahá’is. The March 2014 report of the UN
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Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran details examples of this persecution, including prosecution for participation in their community affairs, such as by publicly engaging in religious practices such as attending devotional gatherings. There are no reliable figures on the number of religiously motivated attacks on the Bahá’i community, but according to the Bahá’i international community, over 100 Bahá’is currently remain in detention in Iran.
We have repeatedly expressed concern at the sentencing of seven Bahá’i leaders in Iran to 20 years imprisonment each on charges of espionage, ‘propaganda against the regime’, ‘collusion and collaboration for the purpose of endangering the national security’, and ‘spreading corruption on earth’. We raised the treatment of Bahá’is with the UN Special Rapporteur at the UN Human Rights Council in March 2014, and the UK's non-resident chargé d’affaires raised human rights with a range of Iranian officials during his most recent visit to Iran in March. We will continue to press the Iranian Government to take action to improve Iran’s dire human rights record.
Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of visits to Iran by representatives of major international companies; and what his policy is on such visits. [194594]
Hugh Robertson: We are aware of reports of companies visiting Iran. The Government do not encourage trade with Iran and do not offer support to companies wishing to do so. It is for the companies themselves to assess whether any proposed activity with Iran would be compliant with the international sanctions regime. The UK considers active trade promotion by Governments to be inappropriate at present, and we have made this case to our international partners.
Kashmir
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the work of the India-Pakistan working group on confidence-building measures along the Line of Control which met on 4 March 2014. [194848]
Mr Swire: We welcome the commitment made by the Prime Ministers of Pakistan and India in September last year to maintain a ceasefire on the line of control in Kashmir and the subsequent meeting of military commanders in December 2013. The meeting of the working group on confidence-building measures on 4 March 2014 is another positive step towards building confidence between the two sides. We encourage both sides to maintain positive dialogue, but the pace and scope of this is for the two sides to determine.
Middle East
Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of recent claims by senior Palestinian Authority leader Nabil Shaath that the reason the Palestinian Authority has not stopped negotiations is because the Palestinian Authority wants the release of all prisoners arrested by Israel before the Oslo Accords. [194939]
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Hugh Robertson: Palestinian President Abbas has made clear that he is committed to the current negotiations in order to reach a final status agreement. The UK will do all it can to support the parties in achieving that goal.
Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the pilot recently introduced by the Israeli Government in response to the recommendations of the report entitled “Children in Military Custody”, published in June 2012. [194966]
Hugh Robertson: We have received reports from our embassy in Tel Aviv that the Israeli military has agreed to pilot the use of summons instead of night-time arrests for all Palestinians arrested, including children, but approval from the relevant Knesset Committee is required before the pilot can start. We continue to lobby the Israeli authorities on this and other measures to improve treatment of Palestinians in military detention.
National Iranian Oil Company
Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the Iranian National Oil Company hosting a trade conference in London. [194595]
Hugh Robertson: We are aware that a UK-based company is exploring holding a conference in London on the future of trade in Iranian oil, involving the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). We do not support this. Our policy is not to encourage trade with Iran. Furthermore, trade in Iranian oil remains subject to EU and other international sanctions. Meanwhile, NIOC remains an EU and US-designated entity. Any EU entity contemplating activities with, or on behalf of, a designated entity would need to ensure its compliance with these sanctions.
Nuclear Security Summit
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the statement given by the UK at the Nuclear Security Summit held in The Hague on 24 and 25 March 2014, if he will (a) place in the Library and (b) post on his Department's website (i) each of the reports on discussion meetings hosted in partnership with the Royal United Services Institute, the Dutch Embassy and King's College London, (ii) copies of the UK presentation at a meeting of the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Materials and Weapons of Mass Destruction, (iii) the UK paper delivered at the IAEA International Nuclear Security Conference 2013 and (iv) the UK 2013 UNSCR1540 National Action Implementation Plan highlighting measures to protect sensitive information effectively. [194602]
Hugh Robertson:
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office delivered a single Nuclear Information Security workshop in partnership with the Royal United Services Institute, the Dutch embassy and Kings College London. No official record of this event was taken. The UK subsequently produced a short guide to Nuclear Information Security for circulation to the 85 partners
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of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism. This document covers many of the issues discussed at the workshop and will be placed in the Library.
The UK presentation to the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Materials and Weapons of Mass Destruction took the form of an oral update by a Government official. The issues covered were the same as those presented at the 2013 IAEA International Nuclear Security Conference. This UK presentation and the requested conference paper will be placed in the Library, as will the UK 2014 UNSCR1540 National Action Implementation Plan. We have no plans to publish these detailed documents on gov.uk, though the UNSCR 1540 National Action Implementation Plan is available on the internet at
http://www.un.org/en/sc/1540/national-implementation/pdf/UK_action-plan.pdf
Palestinians
Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on financial payments by the Palestinian Authority to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. [194609]
Hugh Robertson: UK officials raised the issue of payments to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails with the Palestinian Authority (PA) most recently in March 2014. The International Development Committee also received information on this issue from the Minister of Finance during its visit in March.
Singapore
Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to enhance trade and co-operation between the UK and Singapore. [194971]
Mr Swire: Singapore is the UK's largest trading partner in south-east Asia. Our relationship is supported by very senior visits in both directions; most recently Prime Minister Lee visited London in March. Initiatives to enhance cooperation include the UK-Singapore Economic and Business Partnership, launched in October 2011, which focuses on increasing business, research and development and policy exchange. During the visit of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), in February a new bilateral Financial Dialogue and private sector working group on offshore renminbi (RMB) was launched.
UK Trade & Investment is also working to position UK companies for commercial contracts relating to the doubling of Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit System, development of Changi International Airport and the planned new megaport in Tuas. To date, British firms have secured contracts from these projects worth £512 million.
The work of the Overseas Business Network Initiative, launched by the Prime Minister in November 2012, and the UK-ASEAN Business Council also underpin the UK-Singapore trade relationship. Looking ahead, the State Visit by President Tan in autumn 2014 and ratification of the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement will strengthen our bilateral trade and investment links even further.
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Sri Lanka
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will review the Government's policy on the position of President Rajapaksa as Commonwealth Chairperson-in-office following the adoption of the Human Rights Council Resolution establishing an international investigation into alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes in Sri Lanka. [194739]
Mr Swire: The Commonwealth is a consensus organisation, and, as such, decisions on the Chair in Office role are necessarily made by consensus. As the British Government have made clear, it is important that allegations of violations and abuses of international law on both sides of Sri Lanka's military conflict are thoroughly investigated. On 27 March 2014, the UN agreed a renewed resolution that establishes an international investigation, in addition to calling on the Sri Lankan Government to make progress on human rights and reconciliation.
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Turkey
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Turkish Prime Minister on show-trials and the jailing of journalists in that country. [194463]
Mr Lidington: We regularly raise concerns about the number of journalists imprisoned in Turkey and the efficacy of judicial process, as part of a broader dialogue on freedom of expression in that country.
During my visit to Turkey in February, I discussed these issues directly with my counterpart, Minister for EU Affairs Mevlüt Cavusoglu and reiterated the importance the UK attaches to the rule of law and fundamental rights.
The UK is clear that the EU Accession process remains the most effective mechanism for continuing reform in Turkey and we remain fully committed to, and supportive of, that process. As a candidate country, we expect Turkey to promote the values of freedom of expression, democracy and the rule of law, in line with EU standards.