Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many people have been prosecuted for setting off fireworks after curfew hours in each of the last two years.
Answered by Robert Buckland
Regulation 7 of the Fireworks Regulations 2004 prohibits the use of certain fireworks at night other than on a permitted fireworks night or by a person employed by a local authority putting on a fireworks display, national public celebration or a national commemorative event. The Regulation defines ‘night hours’ as 11pm – 7am. All such offences are initially prosecuted by the police under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (Specified Proceedings) Order 1999. The CPS only prosecutes cases where the offence is contested or where the proceedings include more serious non-specified offences.
Records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) identify the number of contested offences in which a prosecution commenced and reached a first hearing in magistrates’ courts, rather than the number of successful prosecutions.
During the last two years the number of these offences, prosecuted by the CPS, was as follows:
- | 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 |
Fireworks Regulations 2004 and section 11(1) and (4) of the Fireworks Act 2003 { 7 } | 1 | 2 |
Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System |
There is no indication of the number of individual defendants prosecuted for these offences or the final outcome of the prosecution proceeding or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at the time of finalization.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
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.
Answered by Robert Buckland
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
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.
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.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, if he will estimate the costs attributed to the Department for Education for cases relating to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 by the Government Legal Department in the 2014-15 financial year.
Answered by Robert Buckland
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave to question 24782 from the Hon. Member for Coventry South (Jim Cunningham) on the 4th February 2016.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, if he will estimate the costs attributed to the Department for Education by the Government Legal Department in the 2014-15 financial year.
Answered by Robert Buckland
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave to question 24782 from the Hon. Member for Coventry South (Jim Cunningham) on the 4th February 2016.