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1273678

	registered interest
	date	05/01/2021
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Honours: Prosecutions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many investigations have been undertaken in each of the last 25 years for which figures are available into alleged offences under (1) section 1(1), and (2) section 1(2) of the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925; on how many occasions in such a period evidence has been provided to the Crown Prosecution Service for its consideration of a prosecution under each of these sub-sections of the Act; and when any such occasions took place.
	tabling member printed	Lord Garnier
	uin	HL11735
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2021 answer text <p>Records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (‘CPS’) indicate that between 2004 – 2021 there have been no criminal charges in relation to offences under the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925.</p><p> </p><p>The CPS does not hold records of the number of pre-charge case files referred by the police, and information relating to criminal investigations is a matter for the police.</p> answering member printed Lord Stewart of Dirleton question first answered 14/01/2021 13:01:28 answering member 4899 label Biography information for Lord Stewart of Dirleton
	tabling member	337 label Biography information for Lord Garnier

1276962

	registered interest
	date	14/01/2021
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Halifax Bank of Scotland: Fraud
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, how many (1) bank directors, (2) insolvency practitioners, (3) estate agents, (4) lawyers, and (5) accountants, have been prosecuted since the publication of the report by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Business Banking Project Lord Turnbull report, published on 22 June 2018.
	tabling member printed	Lord Sikka
	uin	HL12174
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2021 answer text <p>The Crown Prosecution Service (‘CPS’) do not have a mechanism for recording the profession of defendants and so are unable to provide the data requested.</p><p> </p><p>The CPS continue to play an important role in prosecuting professionals, whether they be professionals who have used their position to commit crimes or whether they have enabled others to commit crimes. This includes bank directors, insolvency practitioners, estate agents, lawyers, and accountants.</p><p> </p><p>It is important that alongside prosecuting professional individuals, prosecutors should have the right tools to pursue and prosecute corporate bodies. In November last year, this government announced the Law Commission Project on Corporate Criminal Liability, which will be conducted over a 12-month period with a view to setting out potential options for reform.</p><p> </p><p>The above answer represents the position for England and Wales only, and not for Scotland, for which the data, if available, would be held by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.</p> answering member printed Lord Stewart of Dirleton question first answered 26/01/2021 12:13:58 answering member 4899 label Biography information for Lord Stewart of Dirleton
	tabling member	4885 label Biography information for Lord Sikka

1283250

	registered interest
	date	02/02/2021
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Corruption: Prosecutions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) commercial organisations, and (2) individuals, have been prosecuted each year under the Bribery Act 2010 for failure to prevent bribery; and what outcome was secured in each such case.
	tabling member printed	Lord Sikka
	uin	HL12913
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/02/2021 answer text <p>Section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010 provides that a commercial organisation is guilty of an offence of failing to prevent bribery if a person associated with the organisation bribes another person, intending to obtain or retain business or an advantage for the company. The offence can only be committed by a corporate body.</p><p> </p><p>In respect of the two prosecuting agencies that the Attorney General superintends:</p><p> </p><ul><li>The Crown Prosecution Service has prosecuted one commercial organisation under Section 7, securing a conviction against Skansen Interiors Ltd in 2018.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>The Serious Fraud Office (‘SFO’) has prosecuted one commercial organisation under Section 7, with Sweett Group plc pleading guilty in 2015. The SFO has also separately entered into six Deferred Prosecution Agreements (‘DPAs’) with companies for this offence:</li></ul><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of DPAs </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Company</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2015</strong></p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>Standard Bank</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2016</strong></p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>Sarclad</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2017</strong></p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>Rolls-Royce</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2018</strong></p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2019</strong></p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>Guralp Systems ltd</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2020</strong></p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>Airbus SE Airline Services ltd</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member printed Lord Stewart of Dirleton question first answered 16/02/2021 15:06:57 answering member 4899 label Biography information for Lord Stewart of Dirleton
	tabling member	4885 label Biography information for Lord Sikka

1300429

	registered interest
	date	08/03/2021
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Crown Prosecution Service: ICT
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 19 February 2016 (HL6037), whether the Crown Prosecution Service's IT systems can undertake electronic searches of relevant records by character string; and if not, whether a system update is planned.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Doocey
	uin	HL13955
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/03/2021 answer text <p>There is no planned update or change to Crown Prosecutions Service’s existing IT systems to undertake electronic searches of relevant records by character string.</p> answering member printed Lord Stewart of Dirleton question first answered 22/03/2021 11:57:22 answering member 4899 label Biography information for Lord Stewart of Dirleton
	tabling member	4197 label Biography information for Baroness Doocey

1313646

	registered interest
	date	11/05/2021
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Royal Albert Hall
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will make a decision about the Charity Commission's request to refer the Royal Albert Hall to the charity tribunal.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts
	uin	HL38
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/05/2021 answer text <p>The Charity Commission sought the previous Attorney General’s permission to refer a number of questions to the Tribunal concerning the Corporation of the Hall of Arts and Sciences – the Royal Albert Hall – which is a registered charity. While the Charity Commission has the power to refer questions to the Tribunal, it may only do so with the consent of the Attorney General, as set out in section 325 of the Charities Act 2011.</p><p> </p><p>The issues concerned in this case are complex. The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has engaged with the parties since the original request was made in order to explore the issues, which involve both modern charity law and its application to an organisation established over 150 years ago. This engagement has helped to refine the issues.</p><p> </p><p>Before taking a decision on whether to consent to the latest iteration of the Commission’s request, the previous Attorney General asked the Commission and the Corporation to try to find a way forward without recourse to litigation. The AGO is awaiting an indication from the parties regarding the outcome of that process.</p> answering member printed Lord Stewart of Dirleton question first answered 25/05/2021 12:03:06 answering member 4899 label Biography information for Lord Stewart of Dirleton
	tabling member	1651 label Biography information for Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts

1330295

	registered interest
	date	07/06/2021
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Prosecutions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the rate at which perpetrators of crime are charged in the criminal justice system.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
	uin	HL796
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2021 answer text <p>The decision to charge suspects in England and Wales with criminal offences is made either by the police or by the CPS depending on the nature of the offence involved. The CPS make the decision to charge in serious cases but over the last five years the police have made the charging decision in 61% to 63% of the cases that are prosecuted by the CPS. In cases in which the CPS make the decision to charge, the CPS had a charging rate of between 74.5% and 77.7% over the last five years.</p><p> </p><p>While the police and other investigators are responsible for conducting inquiries into any alleged crime and gathering evidence to inform a charging decision, prosecutors work closely with police during the investigation stage to assist with the building of strong cases. The recently introduced Director of Public Prosecution’s Guidance on Charging 6<sup>th</sup> Edition (DG6) supports this work to ensure cases are robustly prepared by police and prosecutors pre-charge.</p><p> </p><p>This reflects aspects of the revised Attorney General’s Guidelines on Disclosure; both came into effect in England and Wales on the 31 December 2020.</p> answering member printed Lord Stewart of Dirleton question first answered 21/06/2021 15:49:14 answering member 4899 label Biography information for Lord Stewart of Dirleton
	tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1336820

	registered interest
	date	15/06/2021
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Crown Prosecution Service: Internet
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar on 14 June concerning recent acquittals in the case of perverting the Court of Justice in relation to the Hillsborough disaster (HL Deb, cols 1668–71), what plans they have to ask the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to revert to the practice of earlier DPPs of publishing their advice on their website.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL1097
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2021 answer text <p>The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) did not advise on these cases and there is no DPP advice to publish. Whenever appropriate the CPS will look to provide more detailed explanations about its decision making on its website.</p><p> </p><p>Throughout criminal proceedings relating to the Hillsborough disaster, the CPS has issued regular press statements, and published reasons for its decision making. In particular, in June 2017, the CPS published a public statement following the decision to charge the three individuals with perverting the course of justice alongside other suspects referred for a charging decision at the same time.</p><p> </p><p>On 26 May 2021 the CPS issued a public statement on this ruling and has confirmed publicly that the decision not to appeal was based on the conclusion that the legal test to do so was not met.</p> answering member printed Lord Stewart of Dirleton question first answered 29/06/2021 11:03:36 answering member 4899 label Biography information for Lord Stewart of Dirleton
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1337557

	registered interest
	date	16/06/2021
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Hillsborough Stadium Inquiry
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar on 14 June concerning recent acquittals in the case of perverting the Court of Justice in relation to the Hillsborough disaster (HL Deb, cols 1668–71), what discussions they have had with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) as to why the decision of the Court was not appealed; whether the DPP gave advice on the decision not to appeal; and whether the DPP intends to publish the advice not to appeal.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL1146
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2021 answer text <p>The decision not to pursue an appeal in these cases was made by the CPS team managing the original prosecution after seeking advice from senior counsel. Prosecution decisions are made independently from Government. The Director of Public Prosecutions did not provide advice on these cases.</p><p> </p><p>To bring an appeal, the prosecution would have to be able to show that the Judge’s decision was wrong in law, that he had made an error about the facts or that his decision was otherwise unreasonable. After careful consideration, especially for the families involved, the CPS concluded that it could not meet this test.</p><p> </p><p>On 26 May 2021, the CPS issued a public statement on this ruling and has confirmed publicly that the decision not to appeal was based on the conclusion that the legal test was not met.</p> answering member printed Lord Stewart of Dirleton question first answered 29/06/2021 11:05:38 answering member 4899 label Biography information for Lord Stewart of Dirleton
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1337559

	registered interest
	date	16/06/2021
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Hillsborough Stadium Inquiry
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar on 14 June concerning recent acquittals in the case of perverting the Court of Justice in relation to the Hillsborough disaster (HL Deb, cols 1668–71), whether they have discussed with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) the reasons for not bringing charges in relation to misconduct in public office; and whether they have asked the DPP to publish those reasons.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL1147
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2021 answer text <p>The CPS carefully considered the available evidence against a wide range of suspects but the Code for Crown Prosecutors only permits the CPS to commence a prosecution where there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and where it is in the public interests to do so. The CPS brought prosecutions where the Code Test was met. The CPS makes prosecution decisions independently from Government.</p><p> </p><p>In June 2017, the CPS published a public statement following the decision to charge the three individuals with perverting the course of justice alongside other suspects referred for a charging decision at the same time.</p><p> </p><p>On 15 June, the DPP appeared before the Justice Select Committee and outlined the reasons why the CPS did not pursue misconduct in public office charges. Charges of misconduct in public office would only have been available against two of the three defendants and, the CPS assessed that perverting the course of justice was the correct charge against all three. The conduct alleged would have been identical whatever the charge selected. The DPP’s evidence is publicly available on the Justice Select Committee website.</p> answering member printed Lord Stewart of Dirleton question first answered 29/06/2021 11:04:50 answering member 4899 label Biography information for Lord Stewart of Dirleton
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1337577

	registered interest
	date	16/06/2021
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Attorney General: Mothers
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Government Legal Department, in any of its official (1) paperwork, (2) guidance, (3) instructions, (4) manuals, or (5) other documents, (a) has replaced, or (b) intends to replace, the word “mother” with the phrase “parent who has given birth”.
	tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
	uin	HL1158
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2021 answer text <p>GLD has not replaced, nor does it intend to replace, the word “mother” with the phrase “parent who has given birth” in any of its official (1) paperwork, (2) guidance, (3) instructions, (4) manuals, or (5) other documents.</p> answering member printed Lord Stewart of Dirleton question first answered 30/06/2021 10:55:09 answering member 4899 label Biography information for Lord Stewart of Dirleton
	tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra