Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Crown Prosecution Services 6th Edition of the Directors Guidance on Charging on the moral and wellbeing of Police Detectives.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
As set out in the Crown Prosecution Service’s 6th Edition of the Director’s Guidance on Charging, establishing high-quality disclosure is essential to an effective Criminal Justice System, ensuring the process is fair, efficient and effective. The police play a crucial role in effective casefile preparation, including disclosure, to bring criminals to justice.
In March 2021, the CPS, NPCC and College of Policing published a joint National Case Progression Commitment which builds on work conducted by all three organisations under the National Disclosure Improvement Plan (NDIP), and under which they will jointly tackle barriers to effective case management and case progression.
This Government has given the police the resources they need to cut crime and put offenders behind bars, with an increase in total police funding by £1.1b compared to 2021/22, and over 11,000 extra officers hired as part of the Police Uplift Programme (as of 31 December 2021) to bring crime down and keep our neighbourhoods safe.
The wellbeing of police officers and staff is vitally important. It is the duty of senior leaders to ensure that officers and staff have the right support to help them carry out their important work to the standard expected by the public. Each Chief Constable has a duty to manage and support their workforce effectively, ensuring the welfare of all officers and staff. They are held to account on behalf of the public by elected police and crime commissioners.
The Home Office, Attorney General’s Office, and Ministry of Justice are working closely together, along with the National Police Chiefs Council and CPS, to tackle delays and improve timeliness at every stage of the Criminal Justice System. The Government has recently launched Criminal Justice Scorecards at a local and national level, which bring together data from across the CJS to provide a view of cross system performance. The scorecards measure progress against the key criminal justice priority areas: improving timeliness, increasing victim engagement and improving quality of justice.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has she made of the impact of the Crown Prosecution Service's 6th Edition of the Directors Guidance on Charging workloads of Police Detectives.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
As set out in the Crown Prosecution Service’s 6th Edition of the Director’s Guidance on Charging, establishing high-quality disclosure is essential to an effective Criminal Justice System, ensuring the process is fair, efficient and effective. The police play a crucial role in effective casefile preparation, including disclosure, to bring criminals to justice.
In March 2021, the CPS, NPCC and College of Policing published a joint National Case Progression Commitment which builds on work conducted by all three organisations under the National Disclosure Improvement Plan (NDIP), and under which they will jointly tackle barriers to effective case management and case progression.
This Government has given the police the resources they need to cut crime and put offenders behind bars, with an increase in total police funding by £1.1b compared to 2021/22, and over 11,000 extra officers hired as part of the Police Uplift Programme (as of 31 December 2021) to bring crime down and keep our neighbourhoods safe.
The wellbeing of police officers and staff is vitally important. It is the duty of senior leaders to ensure that officers and staff have the right support to help them carry out their important work to the standard expected by the public. Each Chief Constable has a duty to manage and support their workforce effectively, ensuring the welfare of all officers and staff. They are held to account on behalf of the public by elected police and crime commissioners.
The Home Office, Attorney General’s Office, and Ministry of Justice are working closely together, along with the National Police Chiefs Council and CPS, to tackle delays and improve timeliness at every stage of the Criminal Justice System. The Government has recently launched Criminal Justice Scorecards at a local and national level, which bring together data from across the CJS to provide a view of cross system performance. The scorecards measure progress against the key criminal justice priority areas: improving timeliness, increasing victim engagement and improving quality of justice.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with representatives of animal rights charities on the potential impact on animal welfare of the proposed changes set out in the Animals in Science Regulation Unit’s Change Programme.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The Animals in Science Regulation Unit public engagement framework ensures balanced representation and input. The regulator has engaged in stakeholder meetings with animal rights charities, among others, on four occasions since October 2021. Each of the four meetings were held to specifically describe and discuss the regulator’s change programme.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and (b) mobile communication companies on the use of the Emergency Services Network mast at Rhandirmwyn, Carmarthenshire for commercial 4G and 5G purposes.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
There are regular meetings between the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Home Office about the Emergency Service Network’s Extended Area Services (EAS) sites being used for the Shared Rural Network (SRN). The two departments discuss EAS site suitability, deployment and activation timelines. There has been no specific meeting in relation to sites in Rhandirmwyn.
All (Extended Area Services) sites are available for SRN in principle, where site conditions, planning legislation and a willing site provider align and where they meet the DCMS viability criteria. SRN have provisionally carried out a strategic evaluation of each proposed site. DCMS’s current approach is where site conditions allow, all 292 EAS sites are under consideration for SRN .
There are 2 EAS sites in the Rhandirmwyn area and these are both being considered for commercial connectivity via the SRN. We are currently working with the DCMS and Mobile Network Operators to facilitate sharing of the EAS sites as quickly as possible.
The SRN Programme also has regular monthly updates with the Devolved Administrations, where regular updates are given on the progress of the programme. In addition, DCMS regularly keep the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales updated on the progress of the SRN EAS program with regular stocktakes.
There have been no discussion on 5G deployment with DCMS as SRN is providing 4G services.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the High Court ruling of 16 November 2021 that Saleh Ibrahim Mabrouk was jointly liable for the killing of WPC Yvonne Fletcher on 17 April 1984, if the Government will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing release of evidence relevant to a potential criminal prosecution for that killing, previously withheld on grounds of national security, to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Answered by Damian Hinds
WPC Fletcher’s death remains as shocking and senseless today as the day it occurred, and I understand that the decision not to prosecute remains disappointing and frustrating for all her family, friends and colleagues.
The Government cannot comment on the details of this case. This is one of the most notorious crimes of the last forty years, representing an act of state-sponsored terrorism which resulted in the murder of a serving police officer on the streets of London. I would like to acknowledge the hard work and commitment the Metropolitan Police have shown over a prolonged period of time to bring to justice those involved in the murder of PC Fletcher.
In any case referred to the CPS by the police, a decision to prosecute is made in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, and a case must meet the evidential and public interest stages of the Full Code Test. Ultimately, the difficult decision was taken that a prosecution could not proceed.
As I am sure that the Honourable Member will understand, I am unable to confirm or deny the existence of national security material.
In accordance with the Code, the CPS will consider any new information that is referred to them by the police in relation to this case and will continue to bring justice to offenders wherever possible.