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1121968

	registered interest
	date	18/04/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Debt Collection
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the number of people who have experienced problems with bailiffs.
	tabling member constituency	Harlow
	tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
	uin	245754
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice is currently reviewing the implementation of reforms, contained in the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 and introduced in 2014, which cover how enforcement agents (formerly known as bailiffs) operate.</p><p> </p><p>We recently held a Call for Evidence to inform our review. We asked for information to help us to assess the number of people who have experienced problems with enforcement agents. The Call for Evidence closed on 17 February 2019. We are considering the responses received and plan to publish the government response in the summer.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 29/04/2019 11:11:45 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1123091

	registered interest
	date	25/04/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Sexual Offences
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to encourage victims of attempted rape to report that crime to the police.
	tabling member constituency	Harlow
	tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
	uin	247665
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/05/2019 answer text <p>Victims of sexual violence and abuse show immense bravery in coming forward, and we want them to have the confidence to report incidents knowing they will get the support they need and that everything will be done to bring offenders to justice.</p><p> </p><p>That is why we have nearly doubled funding for victim support services since 2013, as well as increasing the funding available to specialist rape and sexual abuse services by 10% - up to £24m over the next three years – to help provide advice, support and counselling to victims of these appalling crimes.</p><p> </p><p>We are also taking action through the Government’s Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, backed by £100 million of funding, to support victims and prevent these crimes from happening in the first place. As part of this work we will undertake a review of the criminal justice system’s response to rape and sexual offences to ensure we support survivors through every stage of this process.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 03/05/2019 13:20:01 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1123093

	registered interest
	date	25/04/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Sexual Offences: Victim Support Schemes
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what support is available to victims of attempted rape during the process of bringing their case to the police.
	tabling member constituency	Harlow
	tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
	uin	247666
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/05/2019 answer text <p>In accordance with the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (Victims’ Code), a person is entitled to support if they have suffered harm, including physical, mental or emotional harm or economic loss, which was directly caused by a criminal offence. They are entitled to access victim support services at any time, whether they have reported a crime or not.</p><p>This year, the Government allocated £24m over the next three years to specialist sexual violence and abuse support services across England and Wales to provide advice, support and counselling to victims of these appalling crimes to help them cope with and, as far as possible, recover from the effects of crime. Part of this funding will go towards Independent Sexual Violence Advisors to provide impartial advocacy for victims of sexual violence and abuse who have reported to the police or are considering reporting to the police.</p><p>In addition, in the cross-government Victims Strategy, which we published on 10 September 2018, we made a commitment to improve support for victims of crime, including by increasing the number of Registered Intermediaries, communication experts helping vulnerable victims and witnesses give their best evidence at police interview and at court.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 03/05/2019 13:22:19 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1133329

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2019
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Sexual Offences
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, whether he has had discussions with the CPS on removing reference to the merits-based approach from (a) guidance and (b) training materials on rape and sexual offences.
	tabling member constituency	Harlow
	tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
	uin	266818
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2019 answer text <p>Rape and serious sexual offences are horrific crimes and can have a devastating impact on victims, and the CPS will always seek to prosecute where there is sufficient evidence to do so. The Attorney General and I regularly discuss issues related to rape and sexual offences with the CPS; however, charging decisions are made independently by the CPS.</p><p> </p><p>There has been no change in policy in how the CPS makes charging decisions in rape cases. Prosecutors in the CPS follow a ‘Code’, which sets out a well-established two stage test that a case must pass before a charge can be made. The first stage of this test is the evidential stage, which considers whether there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction against each suspect on each charge. That test has remained and continues to remain the same. It applies to every single offence no matter how minor or serious.</p><p> </p><p>The Code that prosecutors follow has never included any specific reference to a merits-based assessment of the realistic prospect of conviction because it is an integral part of the evidential test. The second stage of the test is whether it is in the public interest to proceed with a prosecution, this is considered after the evidential stage is fulfilled.</p><p> </p><p>From 2009, DPP guidance included reference to a merits based approach.</p><p> </p><p>Following an inspection by HMCPSI in 2016, it became clear that including a separate reference to the merits based approach in the guidance was causing confusion leading to the incorrect application of the code test. To avoid this confusion, changes were made to the guidance provided by the DPP to prosecutors, including removing a document on the merits based approach.</p><p> </p><p>Those changes should not have, and did not have any impact on the proper application of the Code test that prosecutors follow when making a decision on whether to charge.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 28/06/2019 12:06:30 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1360657

	registered interest
	date	18/10/2021
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Energy: VAT
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to reduce VAT on energy bills for families in the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Harlow
	tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
	uin	58381
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2021 answer text <p>In recognition of the fact that families should not have to bear all the VAT costs they incur to meet their energy needs, the Government already maintains a reduced rate of 5 per cent VAT on the supply of domestic energy, at a cost of £5 billion per year to the public finances.</p><p>Going further would impose additional pressure on the public finances and that cost would have to be balanced by increased taxes elsewhere, or by reductions in Government spending.</p><p>The Government keeps all taxes under review.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 21/10/2021 14:18:42 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon