Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2024 to Question 8608 on Aiding and Abetting, what consideration the Crown Prosecution Service gives to a suspect’s level of (a) intention to assist or encourage and (b) contribution to the commission of an offence when making charging decisions using joint enterprise laws.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance on secondary liability (Secondary Liability: charging decisions on principals and accessories | The Crown Prosecution Service (cps.gov.uk)) provides guidance to CPS prosecutors on what needs to be proved in respect of the secondary party’s participation in an offence.
The secondary party, by words or conduct, must encourage or assist the commission of the offence by another person, and must intend to do so.
Mere accidental presence at the scene of an offence or mere association with the principal offender or a group or gang will not alone be sufficient to prove that a secondary party participated in the offence.
If the offence requires a particular intent, the secondary party must intend to assist or encourage the other person to act with that intent.
The CPS guidance provides a number of scenarios to demonstrate the type and level of participation that may amount to assistance or encouragement.
The guidance also contains a section on intent (see “Mens rea – Intent”) that explains in detail how intent may be proved in practice, in relation to various types of scenarios.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2024 to Question 8608, Aiding and Abetting, if she will direct the Crown Prosecution Service to clarify in future guidance that joint enterprise only applies where persons intentionally assist or encourage another to commit a crime.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance is issued in accordance with the law as it currently stands.
The law on joint enterprise is a common law doctrine and is not currently governed by statute. A decision to legislate in this area (if deemed appropriate) is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Justice.
The current guidance covers the main principles of joint enterprise, as clarified in the lead case of R v Jogee. It is clearly stated in the guidance that a secondary party to an offence must intend to encourage or assist the commission of the crime by another person.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what steps she is taking to increase prosecution rates for (a) theft, (b) criminal damage and arson and (c) public order offences.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) reviews all cases received from the police, using the two-stage test (sufficient evidence for a reasonable prospect of conviction and an assessment of public interest factors) to determine suitability for prosecution. The volume of prosecutions is therefore determined by the number of cases received from the police which pass the two-stage test.
CPS data from the period April – June 2023 (our most recent available figures) shows high conviction rates for theft, criminal damage (including arson), and public order offences.
Across this period, the conviction rate for theft and handling was 91.1%. In the same quarter, the conviction rate for criminal damage (including arson) was 84.8%. The conviction rate for public order offences was 81.5%.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many prosecutions for assaults against prison officers have been dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service on the grounds of not being in the (a) public interest and (b) interests of justice in each of the last five years.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold data on the number of prosecutions for offences relating specifically to assaults on prison officers. The number of prosecutions commenced in the last five years for charges relating to assault and/or battery against emergency workers (charged by way of section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and section 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers
(Offences) Act 2018), which include prison officers, is set out below. It would not be possible to determine the outcome of these prosecutions or whether the charge related specifically to an assault on a prison officer without an examination of CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.
| 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 |
Section 39, Criminal Justice Act 1988; Section 1, Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 | 4,401 | 23,676 | 28,906 | 35,301 | 31,996 |
Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System |
|
|
|
|
|
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what assessment she has made of the impact of the unduly lenient sentencing scheme on levels of paedophile crime.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme in England and Wales permits the Court of Appeal to review a sentence, correct a sentencing error, and give guidance on how to approach some of the most serious and complex sentencing exercises.
The Court of Appeal will only grant permission to refer a sentence in exceptional circumstances: for example, if the judge has passed a sentence that falls outside the range of sentences which a judge, applying their mind to all the relevant factors before them, could properly consider appropriate, or if the judge has made some gross error in law.
The scheme is kept under constant review. In November 2019, 14 new offences were added to the scheme. These included offences relating to indecent images of children.
In 2022, the Law Officers referred 139 cases to the Court of Appeal. The Court granted leave to refer in 105 (75%) cases and the sentence was increased in 95 (68%) cases. Of the 95 cases in which the sentence was increased, 23 (24%) were sentences for child sex offences.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the Crown Prosecution Service report of 29 September 2023, Crown Prosecution Service Joint Enterprise Pilot 2023: Data Analysis, whether joint enterprise applies where persons unintentionally assist or encourage another to commit a crime.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Joint enterprise is a common law doctrine, meaning that it has developed over time through case law rather than being set out in statute.
The doctrine may apply where two or more persons are involved in committing a criminal offence.
Where joint enterprise applies, the secondary party or accessory will be liable for the offence if they encourage or assist the commission of the offence by the principal party, and they intend to encourage or assist the commission of the offence.
The secondary party will not therefore be liable if they do not intend to encourage or assist the commission of the offence.
The outcomes of the Joint Enterprise pilot were published on 29 September 2023 and will inform the Crown Prosecution Service's national monitoring scheme of joint enterprise cases.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what discussions she has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) the Scottish Government on the potential impact of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill on the Act of Union 1707.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Law Officers’ Convention prevents me from disclosing outside Government whether the Attorney General has been asked to provide advice or the contents of any such advice. This is a longstanding principle of Cabinet collective agreement. The Attorney General has not had any discussions with the Scottish Government on this topic.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, if any, with the Crown Prosecution Service on responding to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in an informative and expeditious manner.
Answered by Lord Stewart of Dirleton - Advocate General for Scotland
The Attorney General’s Office has not had any discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on responding to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000 in an informative and expeditious manner.
The CPS processes FOI requests independently and in accordance with the requirements of the FOIA 2000.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, whether her Department has (a) procedures and (b) notification systems in place for potential errors made by the Government Legal Department (GLD); whether errors by the GLD are recorded; whether financial losses arising from errors made by the GLD are recovered from the GLD; whether processes are in place to ensure that citizens receive redress when there has been a failure to process (i) applications, (ii) court orders and (iii) other maladministration by HM Courts and Tribunals Service; who in her Department is responsible for identifying and recording errors by the GLD; and what records her Department maintains of (A) apologies, (B) payments of compensation and (C) other matters relating to the GLD.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Where members of the public wish to raise a complaint about the Government Legal Department (GLD) or any of its staff, there is a relevant complaints procedure. Complaints will be investigated in accordance with the GLD complaints policy, which is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/government-legal-department/about/complaints-procedure#:~:text=Examples%20of%20maladministration-,What%20to%20do%20if%20you%20have%20a%20complaint,from%20receipt%20of%20your%20complaint.
There is then a right of appeal to the Treasury Solicitor. If the appellant is not satisfied with the department’s reply, and they feel that they have sustained injustice as a result of maladministration, they can consider bringing the matter to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (the Ombudsman).
The Ombudsman can recommend that organisations make payments if a complainant has sustained financial loss or to acknowledge the complainant’s distress. However, the Ombudsman will not investigate complaints where the complainant has the option to pursue legal action.
The Attorney General and Treasury Solicitor also meet regularly to discuss performance and serious errors can be flagged.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has an administrative complaints procedure that allows citizens to complain about administrative failures to process applications and court orders or other maladministration. If HMCTS receives a complaint then it will investigate and take steps to put things right where any administrative error has been made. More information about this complaints process is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-courts-and-tribunals-service/about/complaints-procedure.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, whether his Department has issued guidance to the (a) police and (b) Crown Prosecution Service on using existing legislation to tackle conversion practices against LGBT People.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The police are the responsibility of the Home Office.
While the Attorney General's Office superintends the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the CPS are operationally independent. The CPS bring prosecutions in line with the Code for Crown prosecutors.
The Attorney General's Office has not issued any guidance to the CPS.