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1180106

registered interest
date	24/02/2020
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Attorney General: Civil Society
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, how much funding his Department has allocated to (a) civil society and (b) campaigning bodies in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	19824
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/03/2020 answer text <p>The Attorney General’s Office has not allocated any funding to civil society or<br>campaigning bodies in the last three years.</p><p /><p /> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 03/03/2020 13:04:31 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1179075

registered interest
date	21/02/2020
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Social Security Benefits: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many and what proportion of people that were due to be prosecuted for benefit fraud have had their prosecution proceedings terminated in the latest period for which figures are available; and for what reasons were those proceedings terminated.
tabling member constituency	North West Durham
tabling member printed	Mr Richard Holden
uin	18925
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2020 answer text <p>Allegations of benefit fraud are investigated by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and Local Authority investigators. DWP and Local Authority investigators have discretion to apply an administrative penalty or refer to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) or Local Authority prosecutors for a decision on whether to prosecute.</p><p> </p><p>The records held by the CPS identify the number of offences in which a prosecution commenced and reached a first hearing in magistrates’ courts, rather than the number of people prosecuted. A single defendant may be prosecuted for multiple offences.</p><p> </p><p>No central records of the prosecution outcomes of offences are held by the CPS. To obtain details of the number of people prosecuted and whose proceedings were stopped by the CPS, for offences of benefit fraud would require a manual exercise of reviewing individual case files to be undertaken at a disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, cases of benefit fraud are also prosecuted by Local Authorities so any data the CPS can glean from a manual exercise would not provide a complete record.</p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 02/03/2020 14:04:21 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
tabling member	4813 label Biography information for Mr Richard Holden

1179280

registered interest
date	21/02/2020
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Sentencing: Appeals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, if she will extend the current 28 day limit for appealing a sentence under the unduly lenient sentence scheme; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Shipley
tabling member printed	Philip Davies
uin	18559
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2020 answer text <p>A referral to the Court of Appeal for consideration of a sentence as unduly lenient must be made within 28 days of the date of the sentence as set out in Schedule 3, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. The 28 day statutory time limit is absolute; the statute provides no power to extend the time limit or to apply for leave to refer out of time.</p><p> </p><p>There are no plans to extend the 28 day deadline. The current deadline provides an appropriate balance between the rights of victims and offenders, ensuring that offenders are not left uncertain of whether their sentence may be extended for a long period of time, whilst allowing victims sufficient time to request a review of the sentence under the scheme.</p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 02/03/2020 14:02:41 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

1179284

registered interest
date	21/02/2020
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Sentencing: Appeals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many of the cases referred to her Department under the unduly lenient sentence scheme were received on the 28th day after sentence outside office hours; and what proportion of those cases were (a) accepted and (b) refused in each of the last five years for which information is available.
tabling member constituency	Shipley
tabling member printed	Philip Davies
uin	18563
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2020 answer text <p>2015 – of the 14 sentences that were received out of time only 1 was received on the 28th day and too late for it to be actioned.</p><p> </p><p>2016 – of the 28 sentences that were received out of time only 1 was received on the 28th day and too late for it to be actioned.</p><p> </p><p>2017 - of the 27 sentences that were received out of time only 1 was received on the 28th day and too late for it to be actioned.</p><p> </p><p>2018 - of the 31 sentences that were received out of time 2 were received on the 28th day and too late for them to be actioned.</p><p> </p><p>2019 - of the 43 sentences that were received out of time only 1 was received on the 28th day and too late for it to be actioned.</p><p>Whilst referrals for sentences are received and actioned on the 28<sup>th</sup> day, those are cases that are received early enough on the day to be actioned. An unduly lenient sentence case can only be taken forward if either myself or the Attorney General has approved action (on the basis of a complete prosecution file and proper legal advice) and an application has been filed with the Court of Appeal before the expiry of the statutory 28 day deadline. None of the above cases were accepted as being within time by my office as they were received too late to be actioned and consequently they were all marked as out of time.</p><p> </p><p>A referral to the Court of Appeal for consideration of a sentence as unduly lenient must be made within 28 days of the date of the sentence as set out in Schedule 3, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. The 28 day statutory time limit is absolute; the statute provides no power to extend the time limit or to apply for leave to refer out of time.</p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 02/03/2020 14:09:52 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

1179285

registered interest
date	21/02/2020
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Sentencing: Appeals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many of the cases referred to her Department under the unduly lenient sentence scheme were received before the 28th day after sentence time period had elapsed but outside office hours and where his office did not re-open until after that 28 day deadline had passed; and what proportion of those cases were (a) accepted and (b) refused in each of the last five years for which information is available.
tabling member constituency	Shipley
tabling member printed	Philip Davies
uin	18564
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2020 answer text <p>2015 – of the 14 sentences that were received out of time only 1 was received on the 28th day and too late for it to be actioned.</p><p> </p><p>2016 – of the 28 sentences that were received out of time only 1 was received on the 28th day and too late for it to be actioned.</p><p> </p><p>2017 - of the 27 sentences that were received out of time only 1 was received on the 28th day and too late for it to be actioned.</p><p> </p><p>2018 - of the 31 sentences that were received out of time 2 were received on the 28th day and too late for them to be actioned.</p><p> </p><p>2019 - of the 43 sentences that were received out of time only 1 was received on the 28th day and too late for it to be actioned.</p><p>Whilst referrals for sentences are received and actioned on the 28<sup>th</sup> day, those are cases that are received early enough on the day to be actioned. An unduly lenient sentence case can only be taken forward if either myself or the Attorney General has approved action (on the basis of a complete prosecution file and proper legal advice) and an application has been filed with the Court of Appeal before the expiry of the statutory 28 day deadline. None of the above cases were accepted as being within time by my office as they were received too late to be actioned and consequently they were all marked as out of time.</p><p> </p><p>A referral to the Court of Appeal for consideration of a sentence as unduly lenient must be made within 28 days of the date of the sentence as set out in Schedule 3, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. The 28 day statutory time limit is absolute; the statute provides no power to extend the time limit or to apply for leave to refer out of time.</p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 02/03/2020 14:09:29 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

1178316

registered interest
date	13/02/2020
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Prosecutions: Leicestershire
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, what steps her Department is taking to (a) review and (b) reduce the backlog of cases in Leicestershire awaiting assessment by the CPS for more than 28 days.
tabling member constituency	Loughborough
tabling member printed	Jane Hunt
uin	2009
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/02/2020 answer text <p>The Government is committed to swifter justice.</p><p> </p><p>In Leicestershire during 2019, the average number of calendar days between first submission of a case to the last decision made to charge was under 26 days. This includes cases where the police were required to submit further evidence prior to a decision to charge.</p><p> </p><p>The senior management of CPS East Midlands meet weekly to consider cases awaiting charge, prioritising the most sensitive and serious cases and ensuring Prosecutors have sufficient capacity to provide charging advice to police on a daily basis. At weekends, CPS Direct support CPS East Midlands by providing charging advice. Furthermore, Crown Advocates can be diverted from other work to complete charging cases as required.</p><p>The national CPS recruitment campaign will increase prosecutorial capacity significantly. .</p><p> </p><p>Work with the police to improve police file quality is ongoing, with the aim of reducing the number of submissions rejected at basic administrative triage and requiring action plans.</p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 24/02/2020 15:02:21 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
tabling member	4839 label Biography information for Jane Hunt

1177622

registered interest
date	11/02/2020
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Sentencing: Appeals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, whether there is a legislative basis for the 28-day limit on appealing an unduly lenient sentence meaning something other than 28 days.
tabling member constituency	Shipley
tabling member printed	Philip Davies
uin	526
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/02/2020 answer text <p>A referral to the Court of Appeal for consideration of a sentence as unduly lenient must be made within 28 days of the date of the sentence as set out in Schedule 3, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. The 28 day statutory time limit is absolute; the statute provides no power to extend the time limit or to apply for leave to refer out of time.</p><p> </p><p>An unduly lenient sentence case can only be taken forward if either myself or the Attorney General has approved action (on the basis of a complete prosecution file and proper legal advice) and an application has been filed with the Court of Appeal before the expiry of the statutory 28 day deadline. Tracey Hanson emailed the Attorney General’s office, requesting a review of a potentially unduly lenient sentence. The email was received by my office at 8.41pm on the 28<sup>th</sup> day and therefore was received after the close of court business. By the time my office received the email it was impossible to act on it and it was too late to file a referral with The Court of Appeal.</p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 24/02/2020 10:45:46 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

1177623

registered interest
date	11/02/2020
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Tracey Hanson
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, what the basis was for his authority to refuse the application of Tracey Hanson in relation to a potentially unduly lenient sentence; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Shipley
tabling member printed	Philip Davies
uin	527
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/02/2020 answer text <p>A referral to the Court of Appeal for consideration of a sentence as unduly lenient must be made within 28 days of the date of the sentence as set out in Schedule 3, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. The 28 day statutory time limit is absolute; the statute provides no power to extend the time limit or to apply for leave to refer out of time.</p><p> </p><p>An unduly lenient sentence case can only be taken forward if either myself or the Attorney General has approved action (on the basis of a complete prosecution file and proper legal advice) and an application has been filed with the Court of Appeal before the expiry of the statutory 28 day deadline. Tracey Hanson emailed the Attorney General’s office, requesting a review of a potentially unduly lenient sentence. The email was received by my office at 8.41pm on the 28<sup>th</sup> day and therefore was received after the close of court business. By the time my office received the email it was impossible to act on it and it was too late to file a referral with The Court of Appeal.</p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 24/02/2020 10:45:25 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

1177786

registered interest
date	11/02/2020
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Attorney General: Work Experience
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many people aged (a) 16 and under and (b) over 16 years old undertook work experience in his Department in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
uin	714
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2020 answer text <p>The Civil Service aims to increase opportunities for people of all backgrounds and create a Civil Service fit for 21st century Britain through work experience, internships and apprenticeship schemes. However, the confidentially of work undertaken at the Attorney General’s Office makes offering work experience opportunities difficult.</p><p> </p><p>For people aged 16 and under there was the following number of work experience placements:</p><p> </p><p>2017: 0</p><p>2018: 0</p><p>2019: 0</p><p> </p><p>For people over 16 years old there was the following number of work experience placements:</p><p> </p><p>2017: 0</p><p>2018: 0</p><p>2019: 0</p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 13/02/2020 17:39:01 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1177850

registered interest
date	11/02/2020
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Slavery: Prosecutions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many prosecutions there have been under the Modern Slavery Act since 2015 for cases involving child victims.
tabling member constituency	Croydon North
tabling member printed	Steve Reed
uin	757
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/02/2020 answer text <p>The CPS records all offences charged under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and within those, the offences that involve child abuse are flagged. Since the Act came into force and up to the end of September 2019, the CPS has prosecuted 59 Modern Slavery Act offences involving child abuse.</p><p> </p><p>Cases referred to the CPS by the police as modern slavery are often prosecuted under other legislation. The CPS has prosecuted 209 defendants for human trafficking offences involving child abuse, from 2015/16 to September 2019.</p><p> </p><p>There is no indication of the number of individual defendants prosecuted for these offences or the final outcome of the prosecution proceeding or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at the time of finalisation. It is often the case that defendants will be prosecuted for more than one offence in the same set of proceedings.</p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 24/02/2020 10:43:29 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed