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Written Question
Sexting
Wednesday 9th June 2021

Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the Law Commission plans to publish its report on Taking, Making and Sharing intimate images without consent; and what the Government's timescale is for taking forward the recommendations of that report.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Activities involving the taking and sharing of intimate images are captured by existing offences, for example those tackling revenge pornography, voyeurism, harassment, malicious communications, blackmail, and coercive or controlling behaviour.

To strengthen further the law in this area, the Government recently announced that the “revenge porn” offence will be extended to capture those who threaten to disclose such material. Provisions to extend the parameters of the offence in this manner were introduced in the Domestic Abuse Act.

The provisions will come into force two months after Royal Assent: on 29 June this year.

However, the Government recognises that there is concern over the growth of new technology and the impact on the law in this area.

We have asked the Law Commission to review the law in this area to ensure victims are properly protected. The Law Commission published a public consultation to this review on 26 February this year.

The consultation period ended on 27 May and I understand the Law Commission intends to publish its findings by Spring 2022.

The Government awaits the Law Commission’s findings with interest and shall consider them carefully.


Written Question
Courts: Domestic Abuse
Monday 27th April 2020

Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

What plans he has to ensure that courts are able to respond to increases in domestic abuse cases (a) during and (b) after the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

Domestic abuse cases are amongst the highest priority work being dealt with by the courts. Domestic Violence Protection Orders and Non-Molestation orders have been placed in the highest category of work in the magistrates’ and family courts, and they continue to be listed for urgent hearings despite the current restrictions.

The magistrates’ courts have been focusing on cases where the defendant is being held in custody, but their work is now being extended to include bail cases where there is a vulnerable victim, such as domestic abuse cases, and these cases are being reviewed by the judiciary.

Domestic abuse cases will continue to be afforded a higher priority as social distancing restrictions are eased after the Covid-19 outbreak.


Written Question
Sexual Offences: Internet
Friday 20th July 2018

Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2018 to Question 155217, if he will place details of the consultation with victims referred to in the Library.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The offence at Section 33 of the Criminal Justice Act 2015 was introduced after engagement with interested persons, including victims and key stakeholders. This was swiftly conducted and a formal document was not produced or published. Feedback was used to inform the policy making process.


Written Question
Voyeurism
Tuesday 3rd July 2018

Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason the Government classified up-skirting as a sex offence.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The Government’s Bill inserts new provisions into the Sexual Offences Act 2003. This enables the most serious offenders who commit the crime for sexual motives to be placed on the Sex Offenders Register.


Written Question
Sexual Offences: Internet
Monday 25th June 2018

Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if the Government will make an assessment of the potential merits of reclassifying the offence of posting explicit or sexual images online without permission as a sex offence; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The offence at Section 33 of the Criminal Justice Act 2015 criminalises the disclosure of private sexual photographs or films without the consent of an individual who appears in them and with the intent to cause that individual distress.

Such behaviour is a terrible abuse of trust which can leave victims feeling humiliated and degraded.

I am glad to see people are being prosecuted under this new offence which carries a maximum sentence of two years behind bars.

At the time the offence was brought in it was deliberately designed to strengthen existing law by targeting the malicious non-consensual sharing of private sexual images, a motive more akin to the offence of blackmail. This decision was taken after consultation with victims who strongly supported the focus on the malicious nature of this behaviour.


Written Question
Ministry of Justice: Disclosure of Information
Monday 15th January 2018

Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the extent to which non-disclosure agreements are being used to conceal actions that are against civil or criminal law.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

Non-disclosure agreements are used in a wide range of commercial and non-commercial situations. They do not override the criminal law. I would encourage anyone who believes that a criminal offence has been committed to report the matter to the police.

In view of concerns about non-disclosure agreements the Government has committed to look at the structures around them and the evidence that is coming forward about how they are being used.


Written Question
Gender Recognition: Prosecutions
Monday 12th December 2016

Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to page 12 of the Government response to the First Report from the Women and Equalities Committee, Session 2015-16, on Transgender Equality, cm 9301, published in July 2016, what progress her Department has made on ascertaining why there have not been any prosecutions under section 22 of the Gender Recognition Act 2014.

Answered by Phillip Lee

The Crown Prosecution Service and National Police Chiefs’ Council are currently looking into the handling of complaints arising from section 22 of the Gender Recognition Act, and will provide an update in due course.


Written Question
Offenders: Gender Recognition
Tuesday 6th December 2016

Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to page 24 of the Government response to the First Report from the Women and Equalities Committee, Session 2015-16, on Transgender Equality, cm 9301, published in July 2016, what progress her Department has made in establishing an advisory group on transgender people in custody or subject to community supervision.

Answered by Phillip Lee

The NOMS Advisory Board for transgender offenders has been established following the recent publication of the conclusion of the review. The Board will monitor the implementation of the updated National Offender Management Service policy on the care and management of transgender offenders, which includes transgender and non-binary offenders in prison custody and those subject to statutory supervision in the community. The Board will report annually to Ministers on progress with implementing the up-dated policy.


Written Question
Offenders: Gender Recognition
Tuesday 6th December 2016

Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to page 24 of the Government response to the First Report from the Women and Equalities Committee, Session 2015-16, on Transgender Equality, cm 9301, published in July 2016, and page 3 of the Review on the care and management of transgender offenders, published in November 2016, what the timescale is for the introduction of a new NOMS-wide instruction on the management of transgender offenders.

Answered by Phillip Lee

The National Offender Management Service’s instruction ‘The Care and Management of Transgender Offenders’ was released, alongside a wider Review completed by the Ministry of Justice and official statistics on Wednesday 9 November 2016. This is a NOMS-wide policy which covers prisoners serving custodial sentences and those offenders subject to statutory supervision in the community. The Instruction comes into operation on the 1 January 2017.


Written Question
Gender Recognition
Thursday 1st December 2016

Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to page 11 of the Government response to the First Report from the Women and Equalities Committee, Session 2015-16, on Transgender Equality, column 9301, published in July 2016, what steps the Government has taken since the publication of that response to monitor the possibility and incidence of victimisation of transgender people arising from the spousal consent provision of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013.

Answered by Phillip Lee

The Government has always been clear, that no-one has the right to prevent their wife or husband from obtaining a legal gender change. We will continue to monitor this issue. Statistics now show that 90 married transgender people have successfully gained a Gender Recognition Certificate since provisions under the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 were commenced.