Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of children under the age of 16 who have been subject to handcuff restraint in the last 12 month period for which statistics are available.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
There are two settings in which a child aged 16 or under may be handcuffed: through interaction with the Police, or within a secure setting overseen by the Youth Custody Service.
Owing to the way in which police use of force data is collected, data is recorded on the number of times a tactic was used, not the number of unique events or people involved in incidents. 36,279 police handcuffing tactics were recorded for those aged under 18 in the year ending March 2020.
In 2019/20, in Young Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres handcuffs were applied to children under the age of 16 on 117 occasions, involving 63 different individual children.
Any use of force, including the use of handcuffs by the Police or within a secure setting, must be reasonable and necessary in the circumstances, proportionate to the threat posed and only the minimum force necessary may be used.
The College of Policing is responsible for setting the standards and training to which police operate. Guidance on the use of force and restraint by the police is set out in the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice, which includes guidance on how to deal with vulnerable people.
In Young Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres, handcuffs are one of a range of approved restraint techniques. Handcuffs are used as an ethical and safer alternative to physical restraint technique. The use of handcuffs must always be reasonable and proportionate, and with the aim of preventing harm occurring to the young person or others. A report must be made every time handcuffs are used.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the provisions of the Defamation (Operators of Websites) Regulations 2013 (1) are enforceable, and (2) have been enforced in relation to the operation of TripAdvisor in the UK.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The Defamation (Operators of Websites) Regulations 2013 set out detailed provisions regarding the operation of the defence against liability for defamation created by section 5 of the Defamation Act 2013 for website operators hosting user-generated content. It is for the parties involved to decide whether to follow the procedures specified, which are not obligatory. No information is held on how the provisions have been used in the case of individual website operators.
The Ministry of Justice intends to carry out a post-implementation review of the working of the Act and the Regulations in 2019. The Government has no plans to invite Ofcom to carry out a review of the Regulations.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will encourage Ofcom to conduct a review into the application of the Defamation (Operators of Websites) Regulations 2013 to services provided by TripAdvisor in the UK.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The Defamation (Operators of Websites) Regulations 2013 set out detailed provisions regarding the operation of the defence against liability for defamation created by section 5 of the Defamation Act 2013 for website operators hosting user-generated content. It is for the parties involved to decide whether to follow the procedures specified, which are not obligatory. No information is held on how the provisions have been used in the case of individual website operators.
The Ministry of Justice intends to carry out a post-implementation review of the working of the Act and the Regulations in 2019. The Government has no plans to invite Ofcom to carry out a review of the Regulations.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
Her Majesty's Government how many persons have been convicted of a sexual offence other than rape in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The number of offenders found guilty of sexual offences, broken down to those found guilty of rape and of other sexual offences, in England and Wales, from 2012 to 2016 can be viewed in the table below.
Offenders found guilty at all courts of sexual offences, England and Wales, 2012 to 2016 (1)(2) | |||||||||||||||||
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Offence | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | ||||||||||||
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All | 5,728 | 5,665 | 6,251 | 6,885 | 7,511 | ||||||||||||
of which |
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Rape | 1,145 | 1,121 | 1,164 | 1,297 | 1,352 | ||||||||||||
Others | 4,583 | 4,544 | 5,087 | 5,588 | 6,159 | ||||||||||||
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(1) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
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Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
Her Majesty's Government how many persons have been convicted of rape in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The number of offenders found guilty of sexual offences, broken down to those found guilty of rape and of other sexual offences, in England and Wales, from 2012 to 2016 can be viewed in the table below.
Offenders found guilty at all courts of sexual offences, England and Wales, 2012 to 2016 (1)(2) | |||||||||||||||||
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Offence | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | ||||||||||||
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All | 5,728 | 5,665 | 6,251 | 6,885 | 7,511 | ||||||||||||
of which |
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Rape | 1,145 | 1,121 | 1,164 | 1,297 | 1,352 | ||||||||||||
Others | 4,583 | 4,544 | 5,087 | 5,588 | 6,159 | ||||||||||||
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(1) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
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Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much was paid in compensation to persons subject to (1) rape, and (2) other sexual offences, by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board in each of the last five years; how many claims were made in each of those years in relation to those offences; and, of those claims, how many were successful.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Schemes contain a tariff of injuries in which payments are ascribed to particular injuries or offences. The Schemes provide that, in respect of sexual offences, the applicant may be entitled either to an award under the tariff that reflects the nature of the sexual offence or an award for the mental injury caused by the offence, whichever leads to the highest award. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) administers the Schemes.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what basis the accumulation of evidence obtained during the polygraph test of a given sex offender meets the threshold test of the repeat of criminal actions warranting the furtherance of a custodial sentence.
Answered by Lord Faulks
The purpose of the polygraph is to check the compliance of high risk sexual offenders with their licence conditions and to monitor the risk they present to the public. It is also used to improve the way in which the offender is managed during release on licence.
An offender may be recalled if they fail to comply with the polygraph examination, attempt to ‘trick’ the test or if they disclose that they have failed to comply with their licence conditions.
The legislation for imposing the polygraph test on sexual offenders is enshrined in the Offender Management Act 2007. Section 30 of the Act specifically prohibits evidence of any matter mentioned in the polygraph being used in any proceedings against a released person for an offence in a criminal court.