Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring that non-molestation orders as result of domestic abuse should apply automatically to any children of the parent who has been abused.
Answered by Edward Argar
The Government has not made an assessment of the merits of requiring that non-molestation orders as result of domestic abuse should apply automatically to any children of the parent who has been abused and has no current plans to do so.
Non-molestation orders can be extended to protect relevant children where this is considered necessary. Section 1 of the Children Act 1989 requires that the child’s welfare shall be the court’s paramount consideration in all decisions made about them. An automatic provision, which would give no opportunity for this consideration, would risk undermining this principle.
As well as non-molestation orders, the family court can make a range of orders to protect children and further their best interests. These include section 8 orders under the Children Act 1989 including prohibited steps order, specific issues orders and child arrangement orders.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what date will section 65 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 commence.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Section 65 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 is due to come into force later this spring. This important measure will ensure that no victim of domestic abuse has to endure the trauma of being cross-examined in person by, or cross-examining, their abuser in specified circumstances in family proceedings.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions his Department has had with representatives of the Sentencing Council on guidance for magistrates on dealing with illegal hare coursing offences prosecuted under the Game Act 1831.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Ministers meet the Chairman of the Sentencing Council regularly to discuss a range of issues related to sentencing. The Sentencing Council meets on a monthly basis to discuss matters relating to sentencing and guidelines and a representative of the Lord Chancellor attends those meetings. Officials in the MoJ also meet regularly with members of the Office of the Sentencing Council and discuss a wide range of issues.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department will set out clear guidance for prosecutors and magistrates on the use of Community Impact Statements and of expert witnesses in cases of illegal hare coursing prosecuted under the Game Act 1831.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Guidance for prosecutors on hare coursing and community impact statements is issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions under the superintendence of the Attorney General.
There is guidance for courts on community impact statements at paragraph VII H of the Criminal Practice Directions issued by the Lord Chief Justice.
The Criminal Procedure Rules about introducing expert evidence in criminal cases are in CrimPR Part 19 and there is guidance for courts at paragraph V 19A of the Lord Chief Justice’s Criminal Practice Directions.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were (a) proceeded against and (b) convicted of an offence under the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 in each police force area in (i) 2018 and (ii) 2019.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Throughout England and Wales, in 2018, there were 13 prosecutions and 8 convictions for offences under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992. In 2019, there were 18 prosecutions and 14 convictions for offences under this Act. Throughout England and Wales, in 2018, there was 1 prosecution and 1 conviction for offences under the Wild Animals (Protection) Act 1996. In 2019, there were 3 prosecutions and 3 convictions under this Act.
The Ministry of Justice has published data on the number of people prosecuted and convicted in England and Wales, by police force area, up to the year ending December 2019 for offences under both the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 and the Wild Animals (Protection) Act 1996, available at the link below:
Filter ‘Offence Code’ by:
Using the Pivot Table Fields, drag the ‘Police Force Area’ variable into the ‘Rows’ field and remove the ‘Values’ variable. Then, drag the ‘Prosecuted’ and ‘Convicted’ variables into the ‘Values’ field. They will become ‘Sum of Prosecuted’ and ‘Sum of Convicted’.
The resulting table will then display the figures for those prosecuted and convicted for the above offences over the 2013-2019 period, in each Police Force Area.
Alternatively, simply filter by ‘Police Force Area’ to provide figures on each, individually.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were (a) proceeded against and (b) convicted of an offence under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 in each police force area in (i) 2018 and (ii) 2019.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Throughout England and Wales, in 2018, there were 13 prosecutions and 8 convictions for offences under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992. In 2019, there were 18 prosecutions and 14 convictions for offences under this Act. Throughout England and Wales, in 2018, there was 1 prosecution and 1 conviction for offences under the Wild Animals (Protection) Act 1996. In 2019, there were 3 prosecutions and 3 convictions under this Act.
The Ministry of Justice has published data on the number of people prosecuted and convicted in England and Wales, by police force area, up to the year ending December 2019 for offences under both the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 and the Wild Animals (Protection) Act 1996, available at the link below:
Filter ‘Offence Code’ by:
Using the Pivot Table Fields, drag the ‘Police Force Area’ variable into the ‘Rows’ field and remove the ‘Values’ variable. Then, drag the ‘Prosecuted’ and ‘Convicted’ variables into the ‘Values’ field. They will become ‘Sum of Prosecuted’ and ‘Sum of Convicted’.
The resulting table will then display the figures for those prosecuted and convicted for the above offences over the 2013-2019 period, in each Police Force Area.
Alternatively, simply filter by ‘Police Force Area’ to provide figures on each, individually.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many property possession orders are (a) suspended and (b) pending in Cambridge due to the implementation of the eviction ban during the covid-19 outbreak in March 2020.
Answered by Alex Chalk
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many section 21 notices are pending in Cambridge due to the implementation of the eviction ban during the covid-19 outbreak in March 2020.
Answered by Alex Chalk
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether local authorities plan to (a) provide extensions to notice of marriages that have expired and (b) waive fees for replacement applications for expired notices as a result of covid-19.
Answered by Alex Chalk
We understand the frustration couples who have had to postpone their wedding or civil partnership must be feeling.
The requirement to solemnize a marriage within twelve months of giving notice to marry is set out in primary legislation, which does not provide for extending this period. It would require primary legislation to change this. We are exploring what changes might be possible in relation to the law at this time.
The fees charged by local authorities for giving notice can be reduced, waived or refunded on compassionate grounds or in cases of hardship. It is for each local authority to determine when this can be applied.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans the Government has to tackle the backlog of trials as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
COVID-19 has been an unprecedented challenge for the criminal justice system, but we have kept courts open and cases flowing through the system throughout. The UK has been a global leader and we are ahead of comparable systems.
The most time-critical hearings have continued to take place in the Magistrates’ Courts, including hearings where the defendant is in custody or there is a risk to the public, as well as dealing with applications to extend custody time limits. In Crown Courts, jury trials were restarted on the 18 May and I am pleased to say that we will have reopened all courts by mid-July.
HMCTS has now published a Court Recovery Plan, which sets out that court operating hours will be extended, alternative venues will be used as courts to increase capacity and the use of the Cloud Video Platform (CVP) will be rolled out into all Magistrates’ and Crown Courts. Further measures to increase jury trial capacity are also being explored. The Court Recovery Plan can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/court-and-tribunal-recovery-update-in-response-to-coronavirus