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456451

registered interest
date	01/03/2016
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Legal Opinion: Disclosure of Information
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, what criteria he uses when deciding whether to make public legal advice made available to Government; and on what occasions such legal advice has been made public since May 2015.
tabling member constituency	Newport West
tabling member printed	Paul Flynn
uin	29279
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2016 answer text <p>It is a longstanding constitutional convention, set out in the Cabinet Manual and the Ministerial Code, that the fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised, and the content of their advice, must not be disclosed without their authority. The convention exists for fundamental constitutional reasons and to promote the public interest in the Rule of Law. Whether the Law Officers have advised and the content of that advice is part of the collective Cabinet decision-making process. The convention reflects the public interest in collective Cabinet responsibility. It also reflects the fact that Law Officers’ advice is confidential legal advice and, as with all professional legal advice, it is subject to legal professional privilege. In addition, it acknowledges the feature of Law Officers’ advice which sets it apart from other legal advice, namely that it is sought in relation to issues of particular complexity, sensitivity and constitutional importance. It is a matter of constitutional importance that the provision of advice in these circumstances should be protected in the public interest.</p><p> </p><p>A decision to disclose would require an exceptional countervailing public interest. No such case has arisen since May 2015.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 07/03/2016 15:42:28 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
tabling member	545 label Biography information for Paul Flynn

456650

registered interest
date	01/03/2016
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Sentencing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, if he will take steps to ensure that at the point of sentencing all available information on previous offences committed by the person to be sentenced is made available to the court.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Ian Austin
uin	29046
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2016 answer text <p>It is vital that all relevant available information on previous convictions and sentences (antecedents) is made available to the court that passes sentence. This allows the court to pass a sentence commensurate with the seriousness of the offence taking account the offender’s previous convictions. There are already procedures in place to ensure this</p><p>The Crown Prosecution Service, or other prosecuting authority in the case, obtains relevant antecedents and previous convictions from the police so that it is available for service on the court, with further copies being served on the defence and Probation Services. It is the responsibility of the prosecution advocate to ensure that the information required is made available to the court at any sentencing hearing.</p><p>The Criminal Practice Directions [2013] EWCA Crim 1631 prescribe minimum standards for the provision of antecedent information in the magistrates’ and Crown Court. There is an additional requirement in the Crown Court for brief details of convictions likely to be of interest to the court to be made available prior to sentence being imposed.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 07/03/2016 15:32:29 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

455184

registered interest
date	25/02/2016
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 steps the CPS has taken to ensure that administrative errors do not prevent victims from giving evidence at trial.
tabling member constituency	Croydon North
tabling member printed	Mr Steve Reed
uin	28443
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/03/2016 answer text <p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does all that it can to make sure that administrative errors do not prevent victims from giving evidence at trial.</p><p> </p><p>The CPS introduced a national standard operating practice for magistrates’ court activity in May 2015. The process is digital and task-based and is designed to ensure consistency of approach and timing of activity in managing casework which will further reduce the risk of administrative errors being made. Testing of Crown Court standard operating practice commenced at the beginning of February 2016.</p><p> </p><p>Joint police/CPS Witness Care Units (WCUs) provide a single point of contact for victims and witnesses and ensure they have access to tailored support to make sure they are able to attend court and give their best evidence. Most WCUs use the Witness Management System (WMS) to record the contact they have with victims and witnesses. WMS is a bespoke IT system designed to support WCUs in managing their cases, thereby reducing the risk of administrative errors.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 01/03/2016 14:39:39 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

455384

registered interest
date	25/02/2016
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Elections: Tower Hamlets
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, what the deadline is for criminal prosecutions to be brought by the Metropolitan Police against people implicated in electoral fraud in Tower Hamlets as a result of the Election Court rulings against former mayor Lutfur Rahman.
tabling member constituency	Poplar and Limehouse
tabling member printed	Jim Fitzpatrick
uin	28599
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2016 answer text <p>The time limit for bringing proceedings for a criminal offence depends on the court in which the case can be heard. Proceedings for those offences which can only be tried in the magistrates court must usually be brought within 6 months of the alleged offence being committed. There is not usually a time limit for those offences which can only be prosecuted in the Crown Court or which can be prosecuted in either the magistrates or Crown Court. There are exceptions in relation to individual offences.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 07/03/2016 10:39:55 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	197 label Biography information for Jim Fitzpatrick

454680

registered interest
date	24/02/2016
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Prosecutions: Northern Ireland
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have an agreement or understanding with Sinn Fein (1) not to bring to court republicans on charges relating to tax fraud in South Armagh, or (2) to bring to court members of the Army who were on duty on Bloody Sunday and who now live in Great Britain.
tabling member printed	Lord Laird
uin	HL6430
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2016 answer text <p>The government does not have any such agreements or understandings in place with Sinn Fein.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 04/03/2016 12:11:00 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

454735

registered interest
date	24/02/2016
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Harassment: Prosecutions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, what account the CPS takes of mental health conditions when deciding whether to prosecute people under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, Wavertree
tabling member printed	Luciana Berger
uin	28427
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2016 answer text <p>The Crown Prosecution Service is committed to taking into account the mental health condition of an offender when considering bringing a prosecution. Each case is considered on its merits, taking into account all available information about any mental health issues, and their relevance to the offence, in accordance with the principles set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors (the Code).</p><p> </p><p>The Code explains that there is a balance to be struck between the public interest in diverting a defendant with significant mental illness from the criminal justice system and other public interest factors in favour of prosecution, including the need to safeguard the public.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 02/03/2016 12:37:12 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	4036 label Biography information for Luciana Berger

453536

registered interest
date	22/02/2016
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 19 February (HL5998), whether there are any circumstances under which the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) may alter the speed at which video evidence is shown in court, and if so, whether the CPS is obliged to inform the court that the speed of the video evidence has been altered.
tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
uin	HL6238
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2016 answer text <p>Video evidence is routinely examined in court during criminal trials either frame by frame or at different speeds in order to aid the court’s understanding. In the case of image stills, time stamps can be used to indicate the passage of time between images. Both defence and prosecution lawyers are under a professional duty not to mislead the court.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 04/03/2016 12:04:10 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra

453537

registered interest
date	22/02/2016
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Mark Pearson
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 19 February (HL5998) regarding the case of Mark Pearson, who in the Crown Prosecution Service made the decision to present to the court a video that was run at half the normal speed.
tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
uin	HL6239
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2016 answer text <p>In the case concerned there was no video evidence. The police created a disc containing a series of still images with gaps of around a second in time. The timing of each image was clearly shown. The disc was served on the defence but was not played in court by the prosecution. The defence adduced their own disc as part of their case. The prosecution did not rely on the still images because at the trial the identification of the defendant was not in issue.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 04/03/2016 12:04:40 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra

453622

registered interest
date	22/02/2016
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Attorney General: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many full-time equivalent staff his Department provided to assist with (a) Home Office immigration and asylum cases and (b) other Home Office legal cases in reach year since 2009-10; and how much was spent by his Department on such cases in each of those years.
tabling member constituency	Hampstead and Kilburn
tabling member printed	Tulip Siddiq
uin	27611
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/03/2016 answer text <p>The Government Legal Department (GLD) conducts litigation for most government departments. GLD charges its government department clients for the litigation services it provides on an hourly fee basis. The remaining Law Officers’ Departments do not have any notable involvement in Home Office litigation.</p><p>It is not possible to identify how many full time equivalent GLD staff were working on Home Office cases each year because this will inevitably change during the year and staff will also work on cases for other client departments.</p><p>Any spending incurred by GLD is recovered by charges received from the Home Office for litigation services provided.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 01/03/2016 14:38:02 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	4518 label Biography information for Tulip Siddiq

453623

registered interest
date	22/02/2016
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Islamic State: British Nationals Abroad
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many people have been prosecuted for going abroad to assist Daesh.
tabling member constituency	Kettering
tabling member printed	Mr Philip Hollobone
uin	27830
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2016 answer text <p>As of the end January 2016, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had successfully prosecuted and convicted 38 individuals in 27 cases where the allegations were considered to be related to the conflict in Syria.</p><p>The CPS does not hold central records for the number of people prosecuted in relation to Daesh.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 25/02/2016 10:37:41 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	1537 label Biography information for Mr Philip Hollobone