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1216834

	registered interest
	date	23/06/2020
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Treasury Solicitor's Department
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, what plans he has in place to ensure that the Treasury Solicitor - Bona Vacantia Division (a) undertakes investigations into the existence of wills for the deceased in an efficient and diligent manner and (b) administers estates in accordance with the law.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	63512
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2020 answer text <p>The Bona Vacantia Division (BVD) of the Government Legal Department (GLD) deals with the estates of people domiciled in England &amp; Wales who appear to have died without leaving a valid will or relatives entitled to share in their estates in priority to the Crown.</p><p> </p><p>Estates are administered by BVD in compliance with the law and the legal duties which apply to the administrators of estates.</p><p> </p><p>This includes making reasonable enquiries to establish whether the deceased has left a valid will or relatives entitled to share in the estate in priority to the Crown. Such enquiries include publishing details of the estate on BVD’s website and in the national and local press; making enquiries of banks, local solicitors and other parties and potentially conducting a search of the deceased’s property to establish whether they left a will.</p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 29/06/2020 10:52:45 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1148396

	registered interest
	date	04/10/2019
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Trials
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 4 October 2019 to Question 290946, what the average time taken was from referral to finalisation in each year from 2008-09 to 2018-19 where the CPS made a decision to charge and where a trial outcome was recorded in England for cases (a) relating to sexual violence or rape, (b) focusing on actual bodily harm charges, (c) focusing on grievous bodily harm charges and (d) focusing on burglary.
	tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
	tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
	uin	294695
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the average time to charge and the average time to prosecute in days by Principal Offence Category and for cases flagged as rape.</p><p>The tables below show the total average time, in days, from referral to finalisation for each year from 2008/10 to 2018/19 where the CPS made a decision to charge and where a trial outcome was recorded in England.</p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="6"><p><strong>(a)(i) Sexual Offences excluding Rape Flagged</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="5"><p><strong>Total average time (days) from referral to finalisation</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008-2009</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>294.50</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009-2010</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>299.69</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-2011</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>300.12</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-2012</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>304.01</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-2013</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>306.78</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-2014</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>285.63</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-2015</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>320.44</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015-2016</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>343.78</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-2017</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>347.83</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-2018</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>363.74</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018-2019</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>390.79</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"><p>Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>(a)(ii) Rape Flagged</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="5"><p><strong>Total average time (days) from referral to finalisation</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008-2009</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>321.52</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009-2010</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>336.94</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-2011</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>346.95</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-2012</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>344.40</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-2013</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>351.50</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-2014</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>338.36</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-2015</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>383.54</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015-2016</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>381.20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-2017</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>412.84</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-2018</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>460.59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018-2019</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>495.24</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="5"><p>Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="6"><p><strong>(b) &amp; (c) Offences against the Person</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="5"><p><strong>Total average time (days) from referral to finalisation</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008-2009</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>192.73</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009-2010</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>191.06</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-2011</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>192.09</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-2012</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>194.67</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-2013</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>193.29</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-2014</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>183.23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-2015</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>194.20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015-2016</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>198.22</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-2017</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>192.32</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-2018</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>191.95</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018-2019</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>209.96</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p>Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>(d) Burglary</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="5"><p><strong>Total average time (days) from referral to finalisation</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008-2009</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>200.99</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009-2010</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>213.21</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-2011</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>195.38</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-2012</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>190.24</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-2013</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>206.28</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-2014</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>202.05</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-2015</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>226.71</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015-2016</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>246.06</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-2017</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>231.99</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-2018</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>246.76</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018-2019</p></td><td colspan="5"><p>244.81</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3"><p>Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The data provided above is for the more serious cases in which the CPS has been required to authorise charge and in which there has been a trial. MoJ data for all cases in 2018 report figures of between 185 days and 193 days for offence to completion</p><p> </p><p>The time taken from referral to finalisation has increased for all crime types. This is due to greater complexity and the increase in electronic material for the police, CPS and courts to consider. In addition the Police are now encouraged to seek early investigative advice more often and in particular in serious, sensitive or complex cases. Early investigative advice helps to ensure that cases are thoroughly investigated and the evidence to be brought before the court is strong. With the increase in early investigative advice, CPS is more often involved at an earlier stage in proceedings.</p><p> </p><p>There has also been an increase in the time taken for a case to pass through the courts which has also impacted on overall timeliness.</p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 08/10/2019 16:16:34 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
	tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

1148397

	registered interest
	date	04/10/2019
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Trials
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, what the average time taken was from referral to finalisation in each year from 2009-10 to 2011-12 where the CPS made a decision to charge and where a trial outcome was recorded in England.
	tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
	tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
	uin	294696
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the average time to charge and the average time to prosecute in days.</p><p>The table below shows the total average time, in days, from referral to finalisation for each year from 2009/10 to 2011/12 where the CPS made a decision to charge and where a trial outcome was recorded in England.</p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Total average time (days) from referral to finalisation</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009-2010</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>216.26</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-2011</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>217.99</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-2012</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>225.27</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p>Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 08/10/2019 16:18:09 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
	tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

1172534

	registered interest
	date	22/01/2020
	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	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many cases in which the CPS has made a decision to charge are waiting to be (a) completed and (b) resolved.
	tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
	tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
	uin	6633
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/01/2020 answer text <p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the number of defendants whose prosecution is carried forward or waiting to be completed at the end of each year, representing a snapshot in time. The table below shows the number of these, in cases where the CPS had made a decision to charge.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>2018-2019</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total Defendants Carried Forward</p></td><td><p>53,631</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p>Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>Records are also held showing the number of finalised (or resolved) prosecution outcomes (by defendant) where the CPS authorised a charge. The table below provides the volumes of these.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>2018-2019</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total Finalised Prosecution Outcomes</p></td><td><p>183,917</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p>Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 27/01/2020 16:42:32 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
	tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

1174331

	registered interest
	date	29/01/2020
	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	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2020 to Question 6633 on Prosecutions, how many defendants had prosecutions (a) carried forward and (b) finalised in each year since 2014.
	tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
	tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
	uin	9639
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/02/2020 answer text <p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the number of defendants whose prosecution is carried forward or waiting to be completed at the end of each year. The table below shows the number of these, in cases where the CPS made a decision to charge, at the end of each year since 2014-15.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>2014-2015</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2015-2016</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2016-2017</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017-2018</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2018-2019</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total Defendants Carried Forward</p></td><td><p>87,530</p></td><td><p>77,200</p></td><td><p>69,676</p></td><td><p>59,422</p></td><td><p>53,631</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System</p><p> </p><p>Records are also held showing the number of finalised (or resolved) prosecution outcomes (by defendant) where the CPS authorised a charge. The table below provides the volumes of these in each year since 2014-15. The 21% reduction in the number of CPS authorised charges since 2014-15 follows the falling caseload trend. Police charged CPS prosecutions reduced by 28% and total finalised prosecutions by 26% in the same time period.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>2014-2015</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2015-2016</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2016-2017</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017-2018</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2018-2019</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total Finalised Prosecution Outcomes</p></td><td><p>233,959</p></td><td><p>234,124</p></td><td><p>223,079</p></td><td><p>211,154</p></td><td><p>183,917</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 05/02/2020 10:07:40 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
	tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

1202419

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2020
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Intestacy
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, whether she has made a recent assessment of levels of compliance among local authorities with the guidance issued by the Government Legal Department on the referral to the Bona Vacantia Division of estates of people who have died without (a) known entitled relatives and (b) leaving a will and instead passing the details directly to a single heir hunting firm.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
	uin	58045
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2020 answer text <p>The Bona Vacantia Division (BVD) of the Government Legal Department (GLD) deals with the estates of people domiciled in England &amp; Wales who appear to have died without leaving a valid will or relatives entitled to share in their estates in priority to the Crown. Estates which potentially fall to be dealt with as bona vacantia may be referred to BVD by a variety of routes, for example, banks, other financial institutions, solicitors or members of the public.</p><p> </p><p>There is no statutory obligation to refer estates to BVD but guidance on the referral process and the circumstances in which a referral will be accepted are published on BVD’s website (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/bona-vacantia" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/bona-vacantia</a>). It is for local authorities to determine whether an estate should be referred to BVD.</p><p> </p><p>In 2017-2018, 2768 estates were referred to BVD of which 909 were referred by local authorities. In 2018-2019, 1971 estates were referred to BVD of which 575 were referred by local authorities.</p><p>In 2019-2020, 2336 estates were referred to BVD of which 561 were referred by local authorities</p><p> </p><p>GLD has no responsibility for overseeing local authorities or their compliance with guidance issued by GLD about the handling of estates. Such information – including whether an estate has been referred to the Bona Vacantia Division of GLD, or whether the local authority has instructed an heir hunter – will be held by the particular local authority concerned.</p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 24/06/2020 16:20:38 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
	tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1202420

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2020
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Intestacy
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, if she will make it her policy to strengthen the guidance issued by the Government Legal Department to local authorities on handling the estates of people who have died without (a) known entitled relatives and (b) leaving a will to ensure that they refer all eligible estates as soon as possible after death to the Bona Vacantia Division and do not pass the details directly to a single heir hunting firm.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
	uin	58046
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2020 answer text <p>The Bona Vacantia Division of the Government Legal Department (GLD) handles the estates of people who die without known entitled relatives, and without leaving a will. There is no statutory obligation to refer estates to GLD. However, GLD publishes guidance on the matter. In addition, local authorities can and do seek advice from GLD about the referral of specific cases.</p><p> </p><p>GLD does not provide advice to local authorities on the use of heir hunters.</p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 24/06/2020 16:23:59 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
	tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1220624

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2020
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Administration of Estates
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many estates of people who died without known entitled relatives and left a will were referred to the Bona Vacant Division of the Government Legal Department in (a) March, (b) April and (c) May in (i) 2019 and (ii) 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
	uin	68760
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2020 answer text <p>The Bona Vacantia Division (BVD) of the Government Legal Department (GLD) deals with the solvent estates of people domiciled in England &amp; Wales who appear to have died <strong>without</strong> leaving a valid will or relatives entitled to share in their estates in priority to the Crown. It therefore does not generally deal with estates where there is a valid will.</p><p> </p><p>If the referral contains information which suggests the deceased has left a valid will disposing of their entire estate, it will be returned to the person who referred it. The Division does not keep a record of these estates.</p><p> </p><p>If the deceased does not appear to have left a valid will or entitled relatives, the estate will be advertised on the Division’s website.</p><p> </p><p>Occasionally the Division determines that the deceased has left a valid will which disposes of the entire estate after it has been advertised. There were two such estates referred in March 2019; two in April 2019; none in May 2019; one in March 2020; one in April 2020 and one in May 2020.</p><p> </p><p>Estates where the deceased has left a valid will but it does not dispose of the entire estate are sometimes referred to the Division because the undisposed residue passes by intestacy to the Crown. One such estate was referred to the Division in March 2019 and one in April 2019. There have been no other referrals in the months concerned.</p><p> </p><p>During the corresponding period, the number of estates referred to the Division where there was no will or no will has subsequently come to light were: March 2019 = 296; April 2019 = 187; May 2019 = 160; March 2020 = 192; April 2020 = 204; May 2020 = 81.</p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 10/07/2020 12:47:20 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
	tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1379010

	registered interest
	date	16/11/2021
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Government Departments: Land
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress has been made on the Government’s review of central Government land.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
	uin	75961
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2021 answer text <p>Following the Spending Review 2021, we plan to update the Government Estate Strategy to reflect our vision and objectives for the government estate. We expect the strategy will continue to focus on disposal of government land and property and on reducing the size of the estate - albeit with more focus on divesting of property with high operating costs and maintenance liabilities than capital receipts. Work is already underway and we anticipate that this work will be completed by spring/summer 2022.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 24/11/2021 16:53:51 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
	tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1489212

	registered interest
	date	14/07/2022
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Aviation: Security
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate he has made of the length of time it takes a baggage handler to complete counter terrorism checks.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
	uin	36843
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2022 answer text <p>The Cabinet Office acknowledges the pressures that the aviation sector is under and has been working with the industry to offer support and speed up the security processes for prospective airport staff. UK Security Vetting (UKSV) has prioritised applications from the aviation sector since April of this year.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>UKSV can only provide overall statistics for the aviation industry and are unable to separate out statistics for baggage handlers. On average, Accreditation Checks are being completed in five days or less. Counter Terrorist Checks (CTC) in the Aviation sector are being processed in under ten days on average.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.</p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 22/07/2022 13:55:12 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
	tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse