Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much her Department spent on communications in the last 12 months for which data is available.
Answered by Heidi Alexander - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The spend in 2023/24 for the Ministry of Justice’s Core Communications team 2023/24 was £8,903,437. This spend covers the staff and non-staff costs for internal communications, strategic communications, campaigns, marketing, external affairs, insight & evaluation, digital communications and our press office. It is worth noting that 2023/24 accounts are still to be audited, so may be subject to change.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people who were given an immediate custodial sentence of a year or less had (a) no, (b) one, (c) two, (d) three, (e) four, (f) five, (g) six, (h) seven, (i) eight, (j) nine, (k) 10 to 19, (l) 20 to 29, (m) 30 to 39 and (n) 40 or more previous convictions and cautions in each year since 2007.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The information requested is provided in the table attached with this answer. This table includes data, covering the period 2007 – 2023, on the number of offenders with a specified number of previous cautions and convictions who were sentenced to immediate custody for a year or less.
This data is not regularly published or held in an easily accessible format. The information supplied has been sourced from a complicated retrieval from the Police National Computer database.
It should be noted that sentencing decisions in individual cases are for the independent judiciary.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average sentence length in months was for people who received an immediate custodial sentence and had (a) zero, (b) between one and four, (c) between five and nine, (d) between 10 and 15, (e) between 16 and 25, (f) between 26 and 50, (g) between 51 and 75, (h) between 76 and 100 and (i) 101 or more previous convictions in each year since 2007.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The information requested is provided in the table attached with this answer. These tables include data covering 2007 to 2023, on the average custodial sentence length of offenders with a specified number of previous convictions who were sentenced to immediate custody.
This data is not regularly published or held in an easily accessible format. The information supplied has been sourced from a complicated retrieval from the Police National Computer database.
It should be noted that sentencing decisions in individual cases are for the independent judiciary.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the highest number of previous community orders issued to an offender sentenced to immediate custody was in each year since 2007.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Information on the highest number of previous community sentences received by an offender sentenced to immediate custody, covering the period 2007 – 2023, can be viewed in the attached table.
It is worth noting that the same individuals may appear in more than one year. This data is not regularly published or held in an easily accessible format. The information supplied has been sourced from a complicated retrieval from the Police National Computer database.
It should be noted that sentencing decisions in individual cases are for the independent judiciary.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people received a (a) custodial and (b) non-custodial sentence for assault on a (i) police and (ii) prison officer in each year since 2007; and what the average custodial sentence for those offences was in each of those years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of offenders sentenced for offences relating to assaults on police officers and prison officers, from 2010 to 2023, in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2023, using the following HO offence codes:
The number of offenders sentenced for offences relating to assaults on police officers and prison officers, from 2007 to 2009, is provided in Table 1.
The assault of a police officer can be prosecuted under both ‘Assault on a constable’ and ‘Assault or assault by beating of an emergency worker’ offences since the enactment of Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018.
The assault of a prison officer can be prosecuted under both ‘Assaulting a prisoner custody officer or custody officer’ and ‘Assault or assault by beating of an emergency worker’ offences since the enactment of Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018.
However, whether the offences under the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 relate to assaults specifically on police officers or prison officers is not held centrally in the Court Proceedings database. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would incur disproportionate costs.
It should be noted that sentencing decisions in individual cases are for the independent judiciary.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of offenders sentenced to immediate custody had (a) zero, (b) between one and four, (c) between five and nine, (d) between 10 and 15, (e) between 16 and 25, (f) between 26 and 50 and (g) more than 50 previous (i) community orders and (ii) suspended sentences in each year since 2007.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The information requested is provided in the table attached with this answer. The table includes data covering the period 2007 – 2023, on:
It is worth noting that an offender may have had previous custodial sentences as well as previous community or suspended sentences. This data is not regularly published or held in an easily accessible format. The information supplied has been sourced from a complicated retrieval from the Police National Computer database.
It should be noted that sentencing decisions in individual cases are for the independent judiciary.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people who previously had (a) no and (b) between (i) one and four, (ii) five and nine, (iii) 10 and 15, (iv) 16 and 25, (v) 26 and 50, (vi) 51 and 75, (vii) 76 and 100 and (viii) 101 or more convictions were convicted and did not receive an immediate custodial sentence in each year since 2007.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The information requested is provided in the table attached with this answer. The table includes data covering the period 2007 to 2023, on the number of offenders convicted but did not receive an immediate custodial sentence by number of previous convictions. That is not to say that the offender did not receive a sentence of immediate custody at any point, but rather that their latest offence was not one of immediate custody.
This data is not regularly published or held in an easily accessible format. The information supplied has been sourced from a complicated retrieval from the Police National Computer database.
It should be noted that sentencing decisions in individual cases are for the independent judiciary.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people who were convicted of a violent offence and did not receive a custodial sentence had (a) zero, (b) between one and four, (c) between five and nine, (d) between 10 and 15, (e) between 16 and 25, (f) between 26 and 50, (g) between 51 and 75, (h) between 76 and 100 and (i) 101 or more (A) convictions and (B) cautions for previous offences of any type in each year since 2007.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The information requested is provided in the tables attached with this answer. These tables include data, covering the period 2007 – 2023, on the number of offenders convicted of a ‘violence against the person’ crime but did not receive a custodial sentence, by a) number of previous convictions and b) number of previous cautions.
This data is not regularly published or held in an easily accessible format. The information supplied has been sourced from a complicated retrieval from the Police National Computer database.
It should be noted that sentencing decisions in individual cases are for the independent judiciary.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people sentenced to an immediate custodial sentence for (a) possession of a blade or point, (b) possession of an offensive weapon, (c) common assault, (d) assaulting a police officer, (e) sexual assault, (f) a public order offence, (g) theft, (h) robbery, (i) burglary, (j) a drug-related offence, (k) criminal damage, (l) breach of an anti-social behaviour order, (m) fraud and (n) vehicle taking in each year since 2007 had (i) no and (ii) between (A) one and four, (B) five and nine, (C) 10 and 15, (D) 16 and 25, (E) 26 and 50, (F) 51 and 75, (G) 76 and 100 and (H) 101 or more convictions and cautions for an offence.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The information requested is provided in the table attached with this answer. This table includes data, covering the period 2007 – 2023, on the number of offenders with a specified number of previous cautions and convictions who were sentenced to immediate custody for a specified offence.
This data is not regularly published or held in an easily accessible format. The information supplied has been sourced from a complicated retrieval from the Police National Computer database.
It should be noted that sentencing decisions in individual cases are for the independent judiciary.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average number of previous (a) cautions and (b) convictions was for offenders who were sentenced to an immediate custodial sentence for (i) possession of a blade or point, (ii) possession of an offensive weapon, (iii) common assault, (iv) assaulting a police officer, (v) sexual assault, (vi) a public order offence, (vii) theft, (viii) robbery, (ix) burglary, (x) a drug-related offence, (xi) criminal damage, (xii) breach of an anti-social behaviour order, (xiii) fraud and (xiv) vehicle taking in each year since 2007.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The information requested is provided in the table attached with this answer. The table includes data covering the period 2007 – 2023, on the average number of a) previous convictions and b) previous cautions of offenders who were given an immediate custodial sentence when convicted for a specified offence. That is not to say that the offender was not sentenced to immediate custody for another offence prior to this conviction.
This data is not regularly published or held in an easily accessible format. The information supplied has been sourced from a complicated retrieval from the Police National Computer database.
It should be noted that sentencing decisions in individual cases are for the independent judiciary.