Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 30 November 2015 (HL3712), whether, in the interests of transparency, they will arrange for police forces to collate and publicise the occasions on which persons arrested but not charged have had their names disclosed.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Home Office currently has no plans to arrange for police forces to collate and publish data in relation to the occasions on which persons arrested but not charged have had their names disclosed.
Police are guided in making such decisions by the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice (APP) Guidance on ‘Relationships with the media’.
There are clearly great risks in naming suspects and the College of Policing guidance makes clear that decisions should only be made on a case-by-case basis, and that the police should not release the names of those who are arrested or suspected of a crime unless they have clearly identified circumstances to justify disclosure.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Home Secretary will discuss with the police whether a protocol should be agreed to rationalise and improve on the present system of names of persons interviewed by the police but not charged being made public on a case by case basis.
Answered by Lord Bates
The decision to release the name or details of a suspect in an investigation is an operational one for the police to take.
The College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice (APP) ‘Guidance on ‘Relationships with the Media’, which was developed in full consultation with the police, makes clear that decisions on releasing the names of those who are arrested or suspected of a crime should be made on a case by case basis and that the police should not do so unless there are clearly identified circumstances to justify it, such as threat to life or the prevention or detection of crime. This guidance will be reviewed by the College early in the New Year.
It is the Government’s position that, in general, there should be a right to anonymity before the point of charge. However, there are circumstances where the police decide it is in the public interest that an arrested suspect should be named.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many persons interviewed by police, but not charged, have had their names released on the decision of a senior police officer because of the threat to life, detection of further crime, or because of public interest or confidence, in the last period for which figures are available.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Home Office does not hold this information. However, the decision to release names and/or details of suspects in a criminal investigation are decisions for the police, which are guided in making such decisions by the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice (APP) Guidance on ‘Relationships with the media’.
A key principle of the guidance is that the police have a duty to safeguard the confidentiality and integrity of information (including personal data) which must be balanced against the duty to be open and transparent whenever possible.
There are clearly great risks in naming suspects and the guidance makes clear that decisions should only be made on a case-by-case basis, and that the police should not release the names of those who are arrested or suspected of a crime unless they have clearly identified circumstances to justify disclosure.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the terms of reference of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse have been settled; whether the Inquiry will take place under the Inquiries Act 2005; and whether any time limits have been determined for the Inquiry to produce a report.
Answered by Lord Bates
On Thursday 12 March 2015, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse was set up with statutory powers under the 2005 Inquiries Act. The Terms of Reference were published on the same date and are attached.
The Terms of Reference set out that the Inquiry must produce regular reports and an interim report by the end of 2018.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the cost of the proposed inquiry by the independent panel into Child Sexual Abuses; and whether the cost will come from the Home Office budget as currently published.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Independent Panel Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse is of the highest priority for the Home Secretary. We will ensure appropriate funding is made available for the Inquiry to carry out its functions as part of a cost-sharing arrangement across Government.