Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what steps she is taking to increase prosecution rates for rape.
Answered by Edward Timpson
We are united in our combined efforts across government to improve performance for victims and increase the number of successful rape cases that go through our courts.
Since we published our Rape Review action plan there has been a steady increase in the number of rape charges, prosecutions and convictions, quarter on quarter.
Prosecutions for rape offences were 29% higher in 2021 than 2019.
In 2021, 900 offenders were convicted for rape offences, 67% higher than 2020 and 27% higher than 2019.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of steps taken by the Serious Fraud Office to increase the number of cases it prosecutes.
Answered by Edward Timpson
In its role as a specialist law enforcement agency tackling the top level of serious or complex fraud, bribery and corruption, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is prosecuting seven cases this calendar year. Across these cases, 20 defendants will face trial for criminality collectively exceeding £500m in value.
Given this specialist role, as well as the scale and complexity of the cases it takes on, the focus of the SFO is less on increasing the number of cases it takes on, but rather increasing its capacity through the use of technology, reducing manual errors and delivering this year’s trials effectively.
Driving this, the SFO received a funding uplift in the 2021 Spending Review which included £4.4m over three years to invest in technology. This will complement the wider work that it is doing to reduce case lengths and ensure the tools it uses to investigate and prosecute fraudsters match the evolving methods used by these criminals.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what recent assessment she has made of the performance of the Crown Prosecution Service in Stockton South constituency.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The Stockton South constituency falls under the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) North East Area. HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) published a report on the performance of CPS North East in October 2021.
Overall, the inspection showed that the Area generally makes the right charging decisions and selects the right charges, properly reflecting the criminality and giving the court adequate sentencing powers.
The Area adds value by the appropriate use of applications to strengthen the evidence in RASSO cases and, to a lesser extent, Crown Court cases. The handling of sensitive unused and third-party material is of a high standard, adding value to the prosecution’s compliance with disclosure duties.
Added value was also demonstrated at sentencing when the prosecution in most instances (and in all casework types) sought the right orders to protect victims, witnesses, and the public.
Although inspectors highlighted where improvements could be made, there were aspects of strength across the Area, which reflects the determination of the CPS to drive improvements.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what assessment has she made of international support for Ukraine’s domestic war crimes investigations and prosecutions.
Answered by Suella Braverman
The Government stands side-by-side with Ukraine in its domestic war crimes investigations and prosecutions. I have a close relationship with Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova, and met her and her team in person in Ukraine on 9 May 2022, to better understand how the UK and the international community can support Ukraine in its search for justice and accountability for Russia’s actions in its illegal invasion.
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office has opened over 12,000 case files and has hundreds of suspects. The UK and its allies are determined to provide practical and technical expertise to support their investigations. I have appointed Sir Howard Morrison QC, one of the UK’s leading war crimes lawyers and a former judge at the International Criminal Court, as an Independent Adviser to Prosecutor General Venediktova. My visit to Ukraine was also to lead a delegation of war crimes experts, who remained in Poland to meet international partners, NGOs, and other stakeholders to scope out the assistance the UK can provide. The Government and the UK’s wider operational bodies are carefully considering what support we can provide.
I know that our allies are equally supportive. Earlier this month I convened a meeting of the Quintet of Attorneys General from the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, with Prosecutor General Venediktova. Following this meeting, we have published a joint statement which makes clear our countries’ support for Ukraine’s domestics war crimes investigations and prosecutions, and our commitment to work together with the Prosecutor General and her Office to ensure every perpetrator faces justice.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what recent assessment she has made of the performance of the Crown Prosecution Service in (a) London South, (b) London North, (c) East of England, (d) Yorkshire and Humberside and (e) Wessex.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Since February, Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) have published reports on the performance of 5 CPS Areas: London South, London North, East of England, Yorkshire and Humberside, and Wessex.
Despite the pressures of the pandemic, the reports found improvement had been made in all the Areas. In the two London Areas, increasing caseloads and challenges in recruitment were both acknowledged by HMCPSI. However, inspectors noted that both Areas added value in aspects of their work with victims and witnesses.
In East of England and Wessex, inspectors praised both Areas for their joint working with other criminal justice agencies and found quality decision-making around disclosure of unused material.
The Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) team in Yorkshire and Humberside were commended for seeking appropriate orders to protect complainants, witnesses and the public and consulting with witnesses in RASSO cases.
Although inspectors highlighted where improvements could be made, there were aspects of strength for all the Areas, which reflects the determination of the CPS to drive improvements.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what recent assessment has she made of the ability of the CPS to effectively prosecute cases of stalking and coercive behaviour.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
This Government takes stalking and coercive behaviour very seriously. Since the implementation of legislation, the number of stalking and coercive behaviour cases brought to court has increased year on year.
To further improve the handling of these important cases the CPS has committed to key actions in the VAWG strategy and has recently published an updated programme of work on Domestic Abuse to help narrow the disparity between reporting and criminal justice outcomes, helping to secure justice in every possible case.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what steps she is taking to ensure that correspondence sent by the CPS to victims of crime is suitable in tone and content.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) fully recognises the importance of clear and open explanations of its decision-making, especially to victims of crime. The CPS’ Victim Communication and Liaison scheme ensures that timely letters are sent to victims when a significant decision has been made on their case. These letters have recently been revised to increase clarity of language, empathy and to introduce signposting to sources of information on the role of the CPS within the criminal justice system and victims’ rights.
The CPS recognises that it still needs to improve in its communication with victims and commissioned last year a significant piece of research to better understand victims’ needs. It is using those findings, together with stakeholder engagement, to inform its future work on improving their communications with victims.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what steps the Government is taking to improve prosecution rates for (a) fraud and (b) other economic crime.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
In the last financial year, the Serious Fraud Office prosecuted two corporates, recovered over £45m in proceeds of crime and agreed three Deferred Prosecution Agreements. Between February 2022 and January 2023, the SFO has eight trials; 23 people have been charged with criminality worth over £550m.
The Law Officers meet regularly with senior officials at the Serious Fraud Office to discuss strategy and funding; through these meetings, as well as regular engagement between my Office and the Serious Fraud Office, I am confident that the organisation has the resource required for those trials.
The Government is committed to tackling fraud and economic crime, and the 10-year Fraud Strategy that will be published this year will set out plans to address the threat of fraud including the prosecution of fraudsters.
The majority of Serious Fraud Office cases already pass the ‘no case to answer’ stage. This is when the Judge rules that the prosecution’s evidence is sufficient, the trial will proceed to enable a jury to consider its verdict. It is not within the gift of the Serious Fraud Office, or the Government, to influence this.
In addition to the Fraud Strategy, the Serious Fraud Office received a funding uplift in the 2021 Spending Review, which included £4.4m over three years to invest in technology. This investment will complement the wider work that they are doing to reduce case lengths over the same period. This will have a positive impact on the SFO’s capacity to tackle serious economic crime.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what recent assessment has she made of the Serious Fraud Office's capacity to tackle serious economic crime in 2022-23.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
In the last financial year, the Serious Fraud Office prosecuted two corporates, recovered over £45m in proceeds of crime and agreed three Deferred Prosecution Agreements. Between February 2022 and January 2023, the SFO has eight trials; 23 people have been charged with criminality worth over £550m.
The Law Officers meet regularly with senior officials at the Serious Fraud Office to discuss strategy and funding; through these meetings, as well as regular engagement between my Office and the Serious Fraud Office, I am confident that the organisation has the resource required for those trials.
The Government is committed to tackling fraud and economic crime, and the 10-year Fraud Strategy that will be published this year will set out plans to address the threat of fraud including the prosecution of fraudsters.
The majority of Serious Fraud Office cases already pass the ‘no case to answer’ stage. This is when the Judge rules that the prosecution’s evidence is sufficient, the trial will proceed to enable a jury to consider its verdict. It is not within the gift of the Serious Fraud Office, or the Government, to influence this.
In addition to the Fraud Strategy, the Serious Fraud Office received a funding uplift in the 2021 Spending Review, which included £4.4m over three years to invest in technology. This investment will complement the wider work that they are doing to reduce case lengths over the same period. This will have a positive impact on the SFO’s capacity to tackle serious economic crime.