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1199493

registered interest
date	02/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Crime: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether it is a criminal offence to (a) threaten and (b) actually (i) spit, (ii) cough and (iii) sneeze upon another person; whether any such offence is aggravated by a claim by the assailant to be infected with the covid-19 virus; whether it is in the public interest to prosecute such cases during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will review any recent decision to take no action against such an assailant on grounds that the subsequent death of the victim could not be directly attributed to the assault.
tabling member constituency	New Forest East
tabling member printed	Dr Julian Lewis
uin	53275
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2020 answer text <p>Whether such behaviour amounts to a criminal offence will depend on the circumstances. Threatening to infect someone with covid-19, for example, can be charged as an assault and if a direct causal link can be established between one person’s unlawful act and another person contracting the virus then other more serious offences could be charged. Each case is considered on its own specific facts.</p><p>Provided there is sufficient evidence, whether it is in the public interest to prosecute such cases is a matter for the CPS. The Director of Public Prosecutions has made clear that the CPS will not hesitate to prosecute those using covid-19 to threaten people in this way and CPS data shows that more than 300 such prosecutions were brought in the first month of lockdown alone.</p><p>The Sentencing Council has published interim guidance clarifying that, when sentencing common assault offences involving threats or activity relating to the transmission of covid-19, courts should treat this as an aggravating feature of the offence and take this into account when sentencing.</p><p>The Government has no remit for reviewing operational decisions of the police or the CPS in individual cases.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 08/06/2020 16:11:59 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	54 label Biography information for Sir Julian Lewis

1199511

registered interest
date	02/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Marriage: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether legislative proposals are required to amend the law to enable weddings, including death-bed weddings, to take place during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Broxtowe
tabling member printed	Darren Henry
uin	53651
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2020 answer text <p>We understand the frustration couples planning a wedding must be feeling, and as with all coronavirus restrictions we will look to ease them as soon as it is safe to do so.</p><p>Statute law provides that marriages must be solemnized, and civil partnerships formed, in certain types of location and in the presence of certain people, including witnesses. We continue to explore what potential changes to the requirements for marriage and civil partnership might assist couples – where restrictions remain in place or where infection control means that the requirements cannot be met – without undermining the safeguards in the system.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 53652 question first answered 08/06/2020 15:46:51 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4794 label Biography information for Darren Henry

1199513

registered interest
date	02/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Civil Partnerships and Marriage: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans the Government has to allow witnesses to marriages and civil partnerships to attend remotely as the covid-19 lockdown is eased.
tabling member constituency	Broxtowe
tabling member printed	Darren Henry
uin	53652
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2020 answer text <p>We understand the frustration couples planning a wedding must be feeling, and as with all coronavirus restrictions we will look to ease them as soon as it is safe to do so.</p><p>Statute law provides that marriages must be solemnized, and civil partnerships formed, in certain types of location and in the presence of certain people, including witnesses. We continue to explore what potential changes to the requirements for marriage and civil partnership might assist couples – where restrictions remain in place or where infection control means that the requirements cannot be met – without undermining the safeguards in the system.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 53651 question first answered 08/06/2020 15:46:51 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4794 label Biography information for Darren Henry

1199657

registered interest
date	02/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Courts: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to use alternative buildings to create more court capacity to enable social distancing during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
uin	53319
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2020 answer text <p>We are working hard to ensure that justice can continue to be done under these challenging circumstances. HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) officials are looking at how we make the best possible use of the existing estate, as well as creating more capacity. This means considering whether any recently closed courts which are still owned by HMCTS are suitable for reopening, and identifying alternative spaces to further extend provision.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 08/06/2020 16:13:44 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1199757

registered interest
date	02/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Nitrous Oxide: Misuse
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions for use of nitrous oxide have been brought since the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 came into force.
tabling member constituency	Belfast East
tabling member printed	Gavin Robinson
uin	53449
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2020 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice has published data on the number of prosecutions and convictions in England &amp; Wales up to December 2019. This data is available in the Principal offence proceedings and outcomes by Home Office offence code data tool available here:</p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/888344/HO-code-tool-principal-offence-2019.xlsx" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/888344/HO-code-tool-principal-offence-2019.xlsx</a></p><p>Select the pull down for ‘Detailed Offence’, and in the field search bar type ‘psychoactive substance’ and select all the options that appear.</p><p>The total number of prosecutions and convictions under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 in each year since 2016 can be found in row 31 and row 32 of the pivot table, respectively.</p><p>To identify the number of prosecutions and convictions specifically for use of nitrous oxide under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 would require a manual search of court records as this level of detail (specific substance) is not held within the courts proceedings database; which would be of disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 53450 question first answered 08/06/2020 16:15:09 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4360 label Biography information for Gavin Robinson

1199758

registered interest
date	02/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Drugs: Prosecutions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions have been brought under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016; and how many of those prosecutions were successful.
tabling member constituency	Belfast East
tabling member printed	Gavin Robinson
uin	53450
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2020 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice has published data on the number of prosecutions and convictions in England &amp; Wales up to December 2019. This data is available in the Principal offence proceedings and outcomes by Home Office offence code data tool available here:</p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/888344/HO-code-tool-principal-offence-2019.xlsx" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/888344/HO-code-tool-principal-offence-2019.xlsx</a></p><p>Select the pull down for ‘Detailed Offence’, and in the field search bar type ‘psychoactive substance’ and select all the options that appear.</p><p>The total number of prosecutions and convictions under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 in each year since 2016 can be found in row 31 and row 32 of the pivot table, respectively.</p><p>To identify the number of prosecutions and convictions specifically for use of nitrous oxide under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 would require a manual search of court records as this level of detail (specific substance) is not held within the courts proceedings database; which would be of disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 53449 question first answered 08/06/2020 16:15:09 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4360 label Biography information for Gavin Robinson

1197972

registered interest
date	01/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Brian Healless
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the psychiatric reports presented before the jury in the trail of Brian Healless were used in the decision to transfer him to a mental hospital from prison.
tabling member constituency	West Lancashire
tabling member printed	Rosie Cooper
uin	51730
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/06/2020 answer text <p>I wrote to the Honourable Member on 1 June in which I set out, in detail, why Mr Healless was transferred from a prison to hospital and the operation of that transfer process, prior to receiving this question.</p><p>I can confirm that the psychiatric reports submitted to the Preston Crown Court during the course of Brian Healless’s trial for murder were not submitted as part of the required medical recommendations for his subsequent transfer from a prison to a hospital under Section 47 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (the 1983 Act).</p><p>The Secretary of State would not ordinarily accept the use of psychiatric reports submitted to a court during the course of a criminal trial for the purposes of determining whether the statutory criteria for the transfer of a prisoner to hospital are met. Such reports do address similar criteria regarding the presence of a mental disorder and a potential need for an offender to be treated in a hospital. However, the primary aim of such a report is to assist a court in determining the appropriate sentence for a mentally-disordered offender, not the necessity for transferring a serving prisoner to hospital under the 1983 Act.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 04/06/2020 14:52:46 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	1538 label Biography information for Rosie Cooper

1198079

registered interest
date	01/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Police Stations: Expenditure
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was spent on free and independent police station advice across England and Wales in the most recent period for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull East
tabling member printed	Karl Turner
uin	51897
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2020 answer text <p>Expenditure on police station advice is published as part of Legal Aid Agency’s Quarterly Statistics. This data can be viewed by accessing Column ‘L’ of the table 2.2 at this link:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2019</a></p><p> </p><p>The number of claims received by the Legal Aid agency for police station attendances is also published in the Legal Aid Agency’s Quarterly Statistics at table 2.1, please note that the number of claims for ‘attendances’ can be found at Column C. These are a specific subset of total claims for all types of police station advice which can be found at Column L of the same table</p><p> </p><p>This information is not held by the Ministry of Justice because the Legal Aid Agency does not record this type of information about Legal Aid Providers.</p><p> </p><p>Please note for the figures provided that some firms may have more than 1 office. There are currently 1,147 firms holding a criminal legal aid contract, and this equates to 1,697 offices. This data is correct at 3rd June 2020.</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>2021/21 (at June 20)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>New Firms</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>165</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>87</p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>115</p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>New Offices</p></td><td><p>14</p></td><td><p>187</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>87</p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>131</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Please note ‘New firms’ may be the result of mergers and acquisitions outside of the tender process. Firms may have withdrawn and then re-entered into new contract later. This data has been provided on yearly basis as the data is too granular to provide month on month changes - the year end position has been shown for active firms/offices. There were formal tenders in 2010 and 2017, hence the larger numbers. In 2015/16 after the competitive tender was set aside new firms that had been successful in their bid for an own client contract were allowed to deliver services. The data is correct at 3rd June 2020.</p><p> </p><p>As at 1 June 2020 we have 4455 duty solicitors listed on our database allocated slots for the current rota period. The LAA publishes the duty solicitor rotas here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/duty-solicitors-rotas-information-and-guidance#duty-solicitor-rotas-1st-april-2020-to-september-30-2020---first-publication" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/duty-solicitors-rotas-information-and-guidance#duty-solicitor-rotas-1st-april-2020-to-september-30-2020---first-publication</a></p><p> </p><p>There are 2063 reps which includes probationary and accredited on the current list and it is published here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standard-crime-contract-2017" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standard-crime-contract-2017</a></p><p> </p><p>We are aware that the Covid19 restrictions have had an impact on the volume of work conducted by Legal Aid providers. The LAA have been in contact with providers to assess the impact on their businesses. Many have reported taking advantage of the schemes made available by HMT and we continue to monitor the situation closely.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 51898 51899 51900 51901 51902 51903 51905 question first answered 09/06/2020 10:17:19 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4030 label Biography information for Karl Turner

1198093

registered interest
date	01/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Rape: Criminal Proceedings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his timescale is for the (a) completion and (b) publication of the review of the criminal justice response to rape and serious assault cases.
tabling member constituency	St Albans
tabling member printed	Daisy Cooper
uin	52505
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/06/2020 answer text <p>The Government recognises that the decline in the number of rape and serious sexual offences being charged and prosecuted in England and Wales is a cause for concern, and we are determined to do everything we can to ensure these appalling crimes are tackled effectively and victims are supported.</p><p>A review of the criminal justice response to rape and serious sexual offences was commissioned in March 2019 by the National Criminal Justice Board (CJB). A sub-group of the CJB is driving forward the review and continues to gather and analyse detailed views from key groups and agencies across the Criminal Justice System to enable us to better understand how the system’s response to rape cases can be improved. The sub-group met in April 2019, June 2019, October 2019 and March 2020.</p><p>The review was due to report its findings to the Criminal Justice Board in Spring 2020, however due in particular to the impact of COVID-19 on the Criminal Justice System, this has been delayed. The Government remains committed to the review and further details will be announced in due course.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse grouped question UIN 52506 question first answered 04/06/2020 14:41:19 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	4769 label Biography information for Daisy Cooper

1198100

registered interest
date	01/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Rape: Criminal Proceedings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times the Criminal Justice Board has met to discuss the review of the criminal justice response to rape and serious sexual offence cases since 6 March 2019.
tabling member constituency	St Albans
tabling member printed	Daisy Cooper
uin	52506
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/06/2020 answer text <p>The Government recognises that the decline in the number of rape and serious sexual offences being charged and prosecuted in England and Wales is a cause for concern, and we are determined to do everything we can to ensure these appalling crimes are tackled effectively and victims are supported.</p><p>A review of the criminal justice response to rape and serious sexual offences was commissioned in March 2019 by the National Criminal Justice Board (CJB). A sub-group of the CJB is driving forward the review and continues to gather and analyse detailed views from key groups and agencies across the Criminal Justice System to enable us to better understand how the system’s response to rape cases can be improved. The sub-group met in April 2019, June 2019, October 2019 and March 2020.</p><p>The review was due to report its findings to the Criminal Justice Board in Spring 2020, however due in particular to the impact of COVID-19 on the Criminal Justice System, this has been delayed. The Government remains committed to the review and further details will be announced in due course.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse grouped question UIN 52505 question first answered 04/06/2020 14:41:19 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	4769 label Biography information for Daisy Cooper