Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many and what proportion of defendants who were (a) arrested and (b) charged with the murder of a (i) male and (ii) female victim were eventually convicted of manslaughter in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The Home Office holds the data on the number of arrests for specific offences.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is responsible for data on charges, including data for murder and manslaughter. No information is held regarding the number of murder charges which resulted in manslaughter convictions.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many staff were employed in rape and serious sexual offences units in each (a) CPS area and (b) year since 2010.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Each of the 14 CPS Areas has a dedicated RASSO Unit, staffed by specially trained prosecutors and other operational delivery staff, equipped to deal with the complexities of rape cases. The below data shows the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff employed in each CPS RASSO Unit, which were established in 2016, as of 31 March for each year from 2017. The figures are set out in decimals as there are many part-time members of staff who work in RASSO Units.
CPS Areas are not uniform in size and as such there is a disparity in the staffing levels between each Area. Furthermore, case numbers and types of case in RASSO Units may vary from year to year and across Areas.
It is also important to note that CPS Areas have the flexibility to move staff between teams to support local needs. While the below figures show the number of FTE staff employed in each CPS RASSO Unit in each year, they do not include members of staff who have been moved to teams in other Areas to support local needs
CPS Area | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Cymru Wales | 27.01 | 24.64 | 21.64 | 20.06 | 18.97 |
East Midlands | 20.02 | 20.54 | 22.19 | 20.14 | 23.95 |
East of England | 22.29 | 23.85 | 23.70 | 19.19 | 19.65 |
London North | * | 31.76 | 31.75 | 24.76 | 26.11 |
London South | * | 38.02 | 36.33 | 33.01 | 34.14 |
Merseyside and Cheshire | 19.98 | 21.80 | 20.94 | 19.95 | 19.48 |
North East | 27.00 | 28.31 | 28.68 | 26.70 | 24.49 |
North West | 44.57 | 50.53 | 47.87 | 45.82 | 42.26 |
South East | 27.96 | 25.15 | 24..64 | 20.91 | 19.21 |
South West | 23.29 | 21.90 | 20.02 | 18.08 | 16.68 |
Thames and Chiltern | 19.80 | 21.82 | 20.02 | 27.33 | 24.14 |
Wessex | 26.26 | 21.30 | 22.52 | 18.98 | 19.33 |
West Midlands | 34.38 | 33.69 | 35.74 | 36.51 | 34.05 |
Yorkshire and Humberside | 37.45 | 34.80 | 35.06 | 32.48 | 35.95 |
*Prior to 2017, London South and London North operated as a single CPS Area, and the combined number of FTE staff in the pan-London RASSO Unit for 2017 was 66.23.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, whether a risk assessment has been carried out on the secure holding of CCTV footage within his Department.
Answered by Michael Ellis
As has been the case under successive Administrations, it is not government policy to comment on security procedures in government buildings.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, whether any Departmental business has been conducted on private email addresses; and what mechanisms are in place to ensure that full records are kept of that business.
Answered by Michael Ellis
As has been the case under successive Administrations, it is not government policy to comment on security procedures in government buildings.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, whether his Department has referred any Freedom of Information requests received by his Department to the central Cabinet Office Clearing House on Freedom of Information requests for advice on handling, in the last two years.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
FOI requests are referred to the Clearing House in line with the published criteria available on gov.uk. The Clearing House, which has been in existence since 2004, provides advice to ensure a consistent approach across government to requests for information.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many CPS prosecutors have been in employment in (a) 2018, (b) 2019, (c) 2020 and (d) 2021.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The number of CPS prosecutors who have been in employment in (a) 2018, (b) 2019, (c) 2020 and (d) 2021 is as follows:
(a) 2485 (31 March 2018)
(b) 2579 (31 March 2019)
(c) 2692 (31 March 2020)
(d) 2943 (31 March 2021)
Source Data: Trent and Oracle HR Database
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what mandatory training on domestic abuse CPS prosecutors have received in the last 12 months; what proportion of prosecutors have completed that training; and what evaluation has been undertaken on effectiveness of that training.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Crown Prosecution Service takes cases of domestic abuse extremely seriously. CPS prosecutors undertake specific e-learning modules with domestic abuse training delivered to all new lawyers joining CPS Areas. In the past 12 months, 349 staff have completed evidence led prosecution e-learning and 303 advocates have completed the domestic abuse drills course (an advocacy-based course supporting prosecutors dealing with domestic abuse cases, which covers issues around bail, guilty pleas, special measures, and case management). In addition to these mandatory modules, wider training on domestic abuse is also available to prosecutors.
As part of an ambitious domestic abuse programme launched in January 2021, the CPS is working with sector experts to review the current e-learning modules, to create additional learning opportunities and share messages with staff. The recent Domestic Abuse Best Practice Framework Conference demonstrates how key information can be shared virtually with prosecutors.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, whether officials in his Department have received remuneration for paid work for organisations or companies outside of Government in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
On 23 April, the Cabinet Secretary wrote to the Chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on the management of outside interests in the Civil Service.
The Committee published this letter on 26 April. It can be found here:
https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/5623/documents/55584/default/
The Cabinet Secretary’s letter sets out a series of steps to improve processes. This programme of work will also take account of any recommendations that emerge from Nigel Boardman’s review.
The Civil Service Management Code sets out, at paragraph 4.3.4, the requirement that civil servants must seek permission before accepting any outside employment which might affect their work either directly or indirectly. The applicable principles are those set out in the Business Appointment Rules. The Civil Service Management Code is published here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-servants-terms-and-conditions
Where the civil servant is a member of the departmental board any outside employment, as well as other relevant interests will be published as part of the Annual Report and Accounts or other transparency publication.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the interim charging protocol introduced in March 2020 for cases relating to domestic violence, (a) when it will cease to operate and (b) what assessment has been made of the efficiency of the protocol.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Crown Prosecution Service (‘CPS’) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (‘NPCC’) introduced an interim charging protocol in response to the Coronavirus pandemic on 1 April 2020 to identify and prioritise the highest risk cases. This includes those that involve domestic abuse.
The Charging Board, chaired jointly by the CPS and the NPCC, oversees and monitors arrangements for charging at a national level, including the interim charging protocol. Local police forces and CPS Areas (including CPS Direct that covers charging outside usual working hours) monitor local arrangements for charging through local Prosecution Team Performance Management meetings.
The interim charging protocol continues to operate and is the subject of ongoing discussion between the CPS and the police. No end date has been set.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the CPS annual report 2019-20, how many (a) additional prosecutors have been recruited, (b) operational delivery staff have been recruited and (c) offers of employment have been made to new lawyers since 2019.
Answered by Michael Ellis
As of 2nd February 2021, the CPS has recruited:
(Source data – CPS HR Recruitment records)