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385425

	registered interest
	date	24/06/2015
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Offences against Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, what recent discussions he has had with the Director of Public Prosecutions about the performance of the Crown Prosecution Service in prosecuting child sexual abuse cases.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	4111
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2015 answer text <p>I have regular discussions with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on a wide range of criminal matters, including child sexual abuse (CSA) cases. The prosecution of CSA cases were specifically discussed at a meeting in February this year and the DPP outlined to me how the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is coordinating its response with the police to the Home Office CSA Inquiry.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In October 2013 the CPS issued guidelines setting out a new approach to CSA cases. Steps to be taken include the use of specialist prosecutors, the provision of dedicated CPS units to manage such cases, and the application of a new approach to considering evidence in such cases. In 2014-15, the number of child abuse prosecutions rose by 2,047 to 10,045, the highest volume of cases ever. There were 74.4% convictions in 2014-15, falling slightly from 76.2% in 2013-14, but overall there was a rise in the volume of convictions in the child abuse cases to 7,469 in 2014-15 from 6,096 in 2013-14.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 30/06/2015 15:19:06 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

419023

	registered interest
	date	16/09/2015
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Social Media
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, what steps his Department is taking to improve public understanding of the legal framework applicable to social media.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	10455
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2015 answer text <p>Judging by the number of referrals from members of the public to my office there is clearly some awareness of the legal framework applicable to social media but I have sought to increase this awareness by, for example, issuing online warnings on social media, including Twitter, in appropriate cases.</p><p>In relation to the commission of criminal offences by social media users, the Crown Prosecution Service has also issued detailed guidelines to prosecutors on handling cases involving communications sent via social media.</p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 12/10/2015 09:21:35 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

428969

	registered interest
	date	18/11/2015
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Witnesses
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, what steps the CPS has recently taken to improve its support for (a) child witnesses and (b) people with learning disabilities who give evidence in criminal proceedings.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	16813
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2015 answer text <p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is committed to improving the ‘at court’ experience for all witnesses. The CPS works closely with the police and the voluntary sector to ensure that vulnerable witnesses such as children and people with learning disabilities are well supported through the Criminal Justice System.</p><p>Special measures such as the use of intermediaries, using screens at court and video live links help vulnerable witnesses, including children and people with learning difficulties, to give their best evidence. Recently, the CPS assisted the MoJ in recruiting an additional 105 intermediaries, who play a vital role in facilitating coherent conversations during police interviews and at court. The use of pre-recorded cross-examination has also been successfully piloted and the Lord Chancellor has committed publically to a national roll-out.</p><p>In September, following public consultation, the Director of Public Prosecutions announced the launch of new guidance for prosecutors entitled ‘Speaking to Witnesses at Court’. The aim of this guidance is to set out the role played by prosecutors at or before court in ensuring that witnesses give their best evidence. This will benefit all prosecution witnesses and will help them understand what to expect. These enhanced arrangements will be piloted over the coming months and will be rolled out nationally during 2016.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 23/11/2015 14:27:50 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

443164

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2016
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Human Trafficking: Prosecutions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, what steps the Crown Prosecution Service is taking to improve the number of successful prosecutions for human trafficking offences.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	21543
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/01/2016 answer text <p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has issued guidance to strengthen prosecutions in support of the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The CPS continues to deliver joint training with the police. The increased awareness and emphasis on working with the police to build stronger cases should lead to an improvement in the number of successful prosecutions.</p><br /><p>The Director of Public Prosecutionsis hosting a summit with the Heads of the Prosecution Services in the UK and the Lord Advocate for Scotland in February 2016 to launch joint commitments to provide a more robust UK response to human trafficking and slavery.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 13/01/2016 13:39:36 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

604691

	registered interest
	date	18/10/2016
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many people were (a) prosecuted for and (b) convicted of offences under the Wild Animals (Protection) Act 1996 in each police force area in England in 2015.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	49177
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/10/2016 answer text <p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of people who have been charged with, and prosecuted for, offences brought by way of the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996. This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>Although it is not possible to identify the number of people charged with particular offences, records are held showing the overall number of offences in which a prosecution commenced in the magistrates’ courts. In 2015 there was one offence commenced under the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 25/10/2016 09:47:22 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

857763

	registered interest
	date	08/03/2018
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Offences against Children: Prosecutions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, what steps the CPS is taking to strengthen (a) cross-agency and (b) international joint working in child abuse cases.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	131664
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2018 answer text <p>The use of technology means that there are more cases of child abuse that have an international element. Recent successful prosecutions in this field have seen early engagement between the CPS and the police, followed by close collaboration with our overseas prosecutors and international organisations, particularly the National Crime Agency.</p><p> </p><p>Cases of online abuse have highlighted the importance of using expert evidence to demonstrate the true impact on victims, which then has a direct impact on sentence.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 21/03/2018 09:19:22 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

964543

	registered interest
	date	03/09/2018
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Hate Crime: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, what steps the CPS is taking to improve the rate of prosecution of people responsible for crimes against disabled people.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	169294
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2018 answer text <p>The CPS is committed to improving prosecutions of disability hate crime. It has delivered mandated training on disability hate crime for all prosecutors, introduced a network of Hate Crime Coordinators in CPS Areas and revised its disability hate crime legal guidance. The CPS is currently working with community partners to develop further training based upon the social model of disability, aimed at removing barriers for disabled people and improving access to justice.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 10/09/2018 14:24:55 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1019908

	registered interest
	date	04/12/2018
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	Post Offices: Closures
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the (a) number and (b) percentage of main Post Office branch closure consultations that resulted in branches remaining open.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	198801
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2018 answer text <p>The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010.</p><p>While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The distribution of branches is an operational matter of commercial judgement for Post Office management team. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Group Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to you on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 10/12/2018 17:52:40 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1025304

	registered interest
	date	14/12/2018
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	Research: EU Countries
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the level of research and development expenditure in the UK and EU member states.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	202309
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2018 answer text <p>The Department regularly assesses comparative levels of R&amp;D expenditure in the UK and EU member states.</p><p> </p><p>The latest ONS data estimates that overall gross R&amp;D expenditure in the UK was £33.1bn in 2016, which was 1.7% of GDP in that year. 2017 data is due to be released in March 2019. The latest OECD international comparison of R&amp;D expenditure ranked the UK 10th among EU nations in 2016. More details can be found here <a href="http://oe.cd/msti" target="_blank">http://oe.cd/msti</a>.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 20/12/2018 10:58:58 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1051411

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2019
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	Research: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy what comparative assessment he has made of trends in the level of spending on research and development in the (a) UK and (b) EU member states.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	214535
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2019 answer text <p>The Government is increasing public R&amp;D spending by £7 billion by 2022, this is the largest increase on record.</p><p>The department regularly assesses comparative levels of R&amp;D expenditure in the UK and EU member states.</p><p>The latest ONS data estimates that overall gross R&amp;D expenditure in the UK was £33.1bn in 2016, which was 1.7% of GDP in that year. The latest OECD international comparison of R&amp;D expenditure ranked the UK 10<sup>th</sup> among EU member states, with overall gross R&amp;D expenditure in the EU28 estimated at 1.9% of GDP in 2016. More details can be found here <a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Foe.cd%2Fmsti&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C6510a2f90baf44375ded08d68cf62dab%7Ccbac700502c143ebb497e6492d1b2dd8%7C0%7C0%7C636851388031421726&amp;sdata=UcM3BPVpEoXLweRwCTbDydMMK5cPS87%2F5a3lidlxGcw%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">http://oe.cd/msti</a></p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 08/02/2019 14:44:31 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith