Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of giving extended sentencing powers for magistrates on a permanent basis.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has always been clear that we needed flexibility to vary Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Powers, and that is why it took the power to do so last year in the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022.
Since extending Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Powers in May 2022, we have been monitoring data to identify the impacts of the policy change, including increases in election and appeal rates.
We are currently experiencing downstream pressures in the criminal justice system, as manifested in Operation Safeguard, and it is important that the government ensures a cohesive cross-system response to this growing pressure. Whilst the increase to magistrates’ court sentencing powers is not the only factor behind this pressure, and our data on the impact is still limited, we believe it is safest to temporarily reduce magistrates’ court sentencing powers to 6 months so that the Crown Court retains power over decisions in respect of longer sentences.
It is nearly one year on from the implementation of the extended powers, and this pause gives us time to review the measure, taking into account how it is being used and assessing relevant data across the criminal justice system, with a view to reinstating the powers should this be supported by the evidence.
This change is no reflection on the magistracy or their use of the extended powers: the Government places immense value on the continuing and outstanding contribution of Magistrates to the justice system.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the extended sentencing powers for Magistrates.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has always been clear that we needed flexibility to vary Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Powers, and that is why it took the power to do so last year in the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022.
Since extending Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Powers in May 2022, we have been monitoring data to identify the impacts of the policy change, including increases in election and appeal rates.
We are currently experiencing downstream pressures in the criminal justice system, as manifested in Operation Safeguard, and it is important that the government ensures a cohesive cross-system response to this growing pressure. Whilst the increase to magistrates’ court sentencing powers is not the only factor behind this pressure, and our data on the impact is still limited, we believe it is safest to temporarily reduce magistrates’ court sentencing powers to 6 months so that the Crown Court retains power over decisions in respect of longer sentences.
It is nearly one year on from the implementation of the extended powers, and this pause gives us time to review the measure, taking into account how it is being used and assessing relevant data across the criminal justice system, with a view to reinstating the powers should this be supported by the evidence.
This change is no reflection on the magistracy or their use of the extended powers: the Government places immense value on the continuing and outstanding contribution of Magistrates to the justice system.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that police forces in England are following guidance on the processing of shotgun licence applications.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
We keep our controls on firearms under constant review to safeguard against abuse by criminals and terrorists and to minimise the risk to public safety.
The Coroner at the Inquest into the fatal shootings at Keyham issued Prevention of Future Deaths Reports on 8 March with recommendations for the Government to consider in relation to firearms licensing legislation. In addition, we are also considering recommendations from the Independent Office for Police Conduct, in relation to their investigation in respect of the Keyham shootings, and recommendations from the Scottish Affairs Select Committee in respect of their inquiry following the fatal shooting on the Isle of Skye.
On 1 November 2021, we published new Statutory Guidance for Chief Officers of Police on firearms licensing. Police forces have a legal duty to have regard to this guidance when carrying out their firearms licensing function. The Statutory Guidance provides guidance to the police on assessing the suitability of applicants to possess firearms, including applications made for shotgun certificates, and is helping to improve the quality of police firearms licensing procedures and achieve greater consistency across police forces.
A refreshed version of the Statutory Guidance was reissued in February this year. This followed a first-year review of the guidance.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of legislation on the ownership of firearms.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
We keep our controls on firearms under constant review to safeguard against abuse by criminals and terrorists and to minimise the risk to public safety.
The Coroner at the Inquest into the fatal shootings at Keyham issued Prevention of Future Deaths Reports on 8 March with recommendations for the Government to consider in relation to firearms licensing legislation. In addition, we are also considering recommendations from the Independent Office for Police Conduct, in relation to their investigation in respect of the Keyham shootings, and recommendations from the Scottish Affairs Select Committee in respect of their inquiry following the fatal shooting on the Isle of Skye.
On 1 November 2021, we published new Statutory Guidance for Chief Officers of Police on firearms licensing. Police forces have a legal duty to have regard to this guidance when carrying out their firearms licensing function. The Statutory Guidance provides guidance to the police on assessing the suitability of applicants to possess firearms, including applications made for shotgun certificates, and is helping to improve the quality of police firearms licensing procedures and achieve greater consistency across police forces.
A refreshed version of the Statutory Guidance was reissued in February this year. This followed a first-year review of the guidance.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support rural bus routes.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Government provides Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) with £42 million annually through the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) for the purpose of subsidising socially necessary services that would otherwise be commercially unviable. The Government also provides over £200 million directly to bus operators every year through the BSOG to keep fares down and help them maintain an extensive network.
The Government initially provided £60 million to help bus operators cap single fares at £2 on services in England outside London from 1 January to 31 March 2023. In addition to this, we will provide up to £75 million to continue to cap single bus fares at £2 in England outside London for a further three months until end June 2023. Over 140 operators covering more than 4,600 routes throughout England are participating in the scheme, including in rural areas, which will help increase patronage on buses and help millions save on their regular travel costs.
Our £20 million Rural Mobility Fund (RMF) is supporting 17 innovative, demand-led minibus trials in rural and suburban areas across 15 local authorities in England. These pilots are exploring whether Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) can serve these communities more effectively than traditional public transport solutions alone.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department are taking to support local authorities with tackling homelessness.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer my Hon. Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 158774 on 9 March 2023.
The Government is spending £2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the next three years and the vast majority of this funding is being provided to local authorities.
This includes £366 million in funding in 2022/23 through the Homelessness Prevention Grant to help local authorities prevent homelessness and provide temporary accommodation.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support his Department is providing to National Highways to tackle littering near major roads and motorways.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department for Transport supports National Highways to deliver the Road Investment Strategy, and operate, maintain, renew and enhance the Strategic Road Network. The Department provides funding to National Highways for operations and maintenance (opex) funding, which includes litter picking and clearance. As part of the second Road Investment Strategy, National Highways is committed to reporting a litter performance indicator. This metric measures the percentage of the Strategic Road Network, on which National Highways is responsible for litter clearance, that is clear of litter and refuse, or predominantly clear of litter and refuse apart from some small items. The Department holds National Highways’ performance against this metric to account and assists the Office of Rail and Road to monitor National Highways.
The Department provides a link with wider Government to influence littering behaviour in a number of ways including through Government’s and National Highways’ Litter Strategies, supporting National Highways’ policymaking, anti-littering campaigns, enforcement, and improvements to operational effectiveness and partnership working.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to bring forward the Kept Animals Bill.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The remaining stages of the Kept Animals Bill will continue its passage when parliamentary time allows. The dates for the remaining Commons stages will be announced in the usual way.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Litter Strategy for England.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Annual reports of progress with delivery of the Litter Strategy can be found at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/litter-strategy-for-england-progress-reports.
We also publish a data dashboard to understand the extent of litter and littering in England. Further updates to the dashboard will be available in due course. The dashboard can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/litter-and-littering-in-england-data-dashboard.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data his Department holds on the number of (a) slight collisions, (b) serious collisions and (c) fatalities which have been recorded on the section of the A5 between the junctions located at Junction 1 of the M69 and at the A4304 in each year since 2020.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The number of collisions on the A5 between the junctions located at Junction 1 of the M69 and at the A4304 as reported by the police via the STATS19 system is shown in the table.
Year | Slight collisions | Serious collisions | Fatalities |
2010 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
2011 | 9 | 2 | 1 |
2012 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
2013 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
2014 | 7 | 3 | 2 |
2015 | 8 | 2 | 3 |
2016 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
2017 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
2018 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
2019 | 11 | 2 | 2 |
2020 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
2021 | 5 | 2 | 1 |