Asked by: Nick de Bois (Conservative - Enfield North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effects on the economy of reforming the UK's civil procedure rules to clarify courts' powers to strike out cases due to exaggerated or fabricated personal injury claims; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
No figures are available for the number of victims of, or average loss incurred from, personal injury fraud. Figures for 2011 published by the Association of British Insurers describe 7% of all motor claims in 2011 - worth £441m - as fraudulent. In addition, they estimate that a further £1 billion of motor insurance fraud went undetected in 2011.
The Government is committed to turning the tide on fraudulent personal injury claims. To this end we are working closely with stakeholders across the industry to secure better data on motor accident cases, including the number of fraudulent cases.
No estimate is available of the economic effects that might accrue from clarifying the courts' powers to strike out claims that are exaggerated or fabricated. However, we are considering what reform might be appropriate to the law in this area.
Asked by: Nick de Bois (Conservative - Enfield North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people aged (a) under 18 years old and (b) 18 years and over were (i) prosecuted and (ii) received a custodial sentence for carrying a bladed or pointed article in a public place in each year since 2008.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
Since 2009 there has been an overall decline in knife crime. A higher proportion of people are going to prison for knife possession than in previous years and sentences are getting longer. However we continue to keep this area of the law under close scrutiny. We recently made it clear that cautions should no longer be used for knife possession offences for adults and are currently exploring wider changes to how we tackle knife offences.
Table 1 illustrates the number of juveniles proceeded against at magistrates' court, found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences relating to having an article with blade or point in England & Wales, from 2008 to 2012.
Table 2 illustrates the number of adults proceeded against at magistrates' court, found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences relating to having an article with blade or point, in England & Wales, from 2008 to 2012.
It is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with.
Data detailing the number of people aged (a) under 18 and (b) 18 and over, who were (i) convicted (ii) and received a custodial sentence for carrying a bladed or pointed article in a public place in each year since 2008 can be found at the following link:
The figures provided have been drawn from an extract of the Police National Computer (PNC) data held by the Department. The PNC holds details of all convictions and cautions given for recordable offences committed in England and Wales. In addition, as with any large scale recording system the PNC is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
The Department also records number of prosecutions and custodial sentences for this particular offence which can be viewed in the tables below.
Table 1
Table 1 - Juvenile proceeded against at magistrates' court, found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences relating having an article with blade or point, England & Wales, 2002-2012(1)(2)(3) | |||||||
Offence | Outcome | 2008(4) | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
Having an article with blade or point in public place | Proceeded against | 1,354 | 1,436 | 1,219 | 1,141 | 935 | |
Immediate custody | 100 | 111 | 77 | 77 | 59 | ||
Having an article with blade or point on school premises | Proceeded against | 75 | 104 | 93 | 82 | 81 | |
Immediate custody | - | - | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
Table 2
Table 2 - Adults proceeded against at magistrates' court, found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences relating to having an article with blade or point, England & Wales, 2002-2012(1)(2)(3) | |||||||
Offence | Outcome | 2008(4) | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
Having an article with blade or point in public place | Proceeded against | 6,112 | 7,696 | 6,753 | 6,646 | 5,669 | |
Immediate custody | 1,273 | 1,560 | 1,326 | 1,501 | 1,264 | ||
Having an article with blade or point on school premises | Proceeded against | 6 | 6 | 14 | 9 | 6 | |
Immediate custody | 4 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 3 | ||
(-) = Nil | |||||||
(1) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. | |||||||
(2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. | |||||||
(3) The number of offenders sentenced can differ from those found guilty as it may be the case that a defendant found guilty in a particular year, and committed for sentence at the Crown Court, may be sentenced in the following year. | |||||||
(4) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates' court for April, July and August 2008. | |||||||
(5) Excludes life and indeterminate sentences. | |||||||
Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice. | |||||||
Ref: PQ 194369 | |||||||
Asked by: Nick de Bois (Conservative - Enfield North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people aged 18 years and over convicted of the offence of threatening with article with blade or point or offensive weapon have received a sentence of (a) under six months, (b) six months and (c) over six months in each year since that offence's inception; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2013 introduced new offences of threatening with a knife or offensive weapon in a public place or school. These offences carry a mandatory minimum sentence of a four month Detention and Training Order for 16-17 year olds, and six months custody for adults.
Since the new offences came into force on 3 December 2012, 88 adult convictions have resulted in an immediate custodial sentence, of which nine received a sentence for less than six months, 12 received exactly six months and 67 received a sentence for over six months.
Since the new offences came into force on 3 December 2012, there have been 16 convictions against offenders aged 17 or under which resulted in an immediate custodial sentence. Of that number 2 resulted in a sentence of exactly four months and the remaining 14 over four months.
The latest available figures on the number of offenders by age group who were convicted or received a custodial sentence for offences involving threatening with a knife or offensive weapon are available in table 9 of the Knife Possession Sentencing Quarterly Brief October – December 2013 which was published on 13th March 2014. The quarterly bulletin is available from the Ministry of Justice website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/knife-possession-sentencing-quarterly
The figures provided have been drawn from an extract of the Police National Computer (PNC) data held by the Department. The PNC holds details of all convictions and cautions given for recordable offences committed in England and Wales. In addition, as with any large scale recording system the PNC is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Data on prosecutions for threatening with a bladed article or offensive weapon is due to be published for the first time in the Annual Criminal Justice Statistics in May 2014.
This Government is clear that people who are convicted of threatening with a knife should go to prison. Sentencing in individual cases remains a matter for the courts and they may depart from the mandatory minimum custodial sentence if there are particular circumstances which would make it unjust to do so. Parliament has provided the courts with tough sentencing options and we continue to keep this under close scrutiny.
Asked by: Nick de Bois (Conservative - Enfield North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many individuals aged under 18 years convicted of the offence of threatening with an article with blade or point or offensive weapon received a sentence of (a) under four months, (b) four months and (c) over four months in each year since the offence's inception; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2013 introduced new offences of threatening with a knife or offensive weapon in a public place or school. These offences carry a mandatory minimum sentence of a four month Detention and Training Order for 16-17 year olds, and six months custody for adults.
Since the new offences came into force on 3 December 2012, 88 adult convictions have resulted in an immediate custodial sentence, of which nine received a sentence for less than six months, 12 received exactly six months and 67 received a sentence for over six months.
Since the new offences came into force on 3 December 2012, there have been 16 convictions against offenders aged 17 or under which resulted in an immediate custodial sentence. Of that number 2 resulted in a sentence of exactly four months and the remaining 14 over four months.
The latest available figures on the number of offenders by age group who were convicted or received a custodial sentence for offences involving threatening with a knife or offensive weapon are available in table 9 of the Knife Possession Sentencing Quarterly Brief October – December 2013 which was published on 13th March 2014. The quarterly bulletin is available from the Ministry of Justice website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/knife-possession-sentencing-quarterly
The figures provided have been drawn from an extract of the Police National Computer (PNC) data held by the Department. The PNC holds details of all convictions and cautions given for recordable offences committed in England and Wales. In addition, as with any large scale recording system the PNC is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Data on prosecutions for threatening with a bladed article or offensive weapon is due to be published for the first time in the Annual Criminal Justice Statistics in May 2014.
This Government is clear that people who are convicted of threatening with a knife should go to prison. Sentencing in individual cases remains a matter for the courts and they may depart from the mandatory minimum custodial sentence if there are particular circumstances which would make it unjust to do so. Parliament has provided the courts with tough sentencing options and we continue to keep this under close scrutiny.
Asked by: Nick de Bois (Conservative - Enfield North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people aged (a) under 18 years old and (b) 18 years and over (i) were prosecuted and (ii) received a custodial sentence for the offence of threatening with article with blade or point or offensive weapon in each year since the offence's inception.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2013 introduced new offences of threatening with a knife or offensive weapon in a public place or school. These offences carry a mandatory minimum sentence of a four month Detention and Training Order for 16-17 year olds, and six months custody for adults.
Since the new offences came into force on 3 December 2012, 88 adult convictions have resulted in an immediate custodial sentence, of which nine received a sentence for less than six months, 12 received exactly six months and 67 received a sentence for over six months.
Since the new offences came into force on 3 December 2012, there have been 16 convictions against offenders aged 17 or under which resulted in an immediate custodial sentence. Of that number 2 resulted in a sentence of exactly four months and the remaining 14 over four months.
The latest available figures on the number of offenders by age group who were convicted or received a custodial sentence for offences involving threatening with a knife or offensive weapon are available in table 9 of the Knife Possession Sentencing Quarterly Brief October – December 2013 which was published on 13th March 2014. The quarterly bulletin is available from the Ministry of Justice website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/knife-possession-sentencing-quarterly
The figures provided have been drawn from an extract of the Police National Computer (PNC) data held by the Department. The PNC holds details of all convictions and cautions given for recordable offences committed in England and Wales. In addition, as with any large scale recording system the PNC is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Data on prosecutions for threatening with a bladed article or offensive weapon is due to be published for the first time in the Annual Criminal Justice Statistics in May 2014.
This Government is clear that people who are convicted of threatening with a knife should go to prison. Sentencing in individual cases remains a matter for the courts and they may depart from the mandatory minimum custodial sentence if there are particular circumstances which would make it unjust to do so. Parliament has provided the courts with tough sentencing options and we continue to keep this under close scrutiny.
Asked by: Nick de Bois (Conservative - Enfield North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) sentences and (b) other outcomes were received by people aged (i) under 18 and (ii) 18 and over who were prosecuted for carrying a bladed or pointed article in a public place in each year since 2008; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
Since 2009 there has been an overall decline in knife crime. A higher proportion of people are going to prison for knife possession than in previous years and sentences are getting longer. Whilst sentencing remains a matter for the independent judiciary we continue to keep this area of the law under close scrutiny. We have already introduced new offences of threatening with a knife in a public place or school under the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. We are currently legislating in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill to make it clear that cautions should no longer be used for knife possession offences for adults and we are exploring further changes to how we tackle knife offences.
The latest available figures on the outcomes by age group for offences involving carrying a knife or offensive weapon are available in table 2 and annex table 1 of the Knife Possession Sentencing Quarterly Brief October – December 2013 which was published on 13th March 2014. The quarterly bulletin is available from the Ministry of Justice website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/knife-possession-sentencing-quarterly
The figures provided have been drawn from an extract of the Police National Computer (PNC) data held by the Department. The PNC holds details of all convictions and cautions given for recordable offences committed in England and Wales. In addition, as with any large scale recording system the PNC is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Asked by: Nick de Bois (Conservative - Enfield North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) sentences and (b) other outcomes were received by people aged (i) under 18 and (ii) 18 and over who were prosecuted for the offence of threatening with an article with a blade or point or an offensive weapon in each year since that offence's inception; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 introduced new offences of threatening with a knife or offensive weapon in a public place or school. These offences carry a mandatory minimum sentence of a four month Detention and Training Order for 16-17 year olds, and six months custody for adults, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
The latest available figures on the outcomes by age group for offences involving threatening with a knife or offensive weapon are available in table 9 of the Knife Possession Sentencing Quarterly Brief October – December 2013 which was published on 13th March 2014. The quarterly bulletin is available from the Ministry of Justice website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/knife-possession-sentencing-quarterly
The figures provided have been drawn from an extract of the Police National Computer (PNC) data held by the Department. The PNC holds details of all convictions and cautions given for recordable offences committed in England and Wales. In addition, as with any large scale recording system the PNC is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. We do not currently have data on prosecutions for threatening with a bladed article or offensive weapon as these offences only came into force from 03 December 2012.
This Government is clear that people who are convicted of threatening with a knife should always go to prison. Sentencing in individual cases remains a matter for the courts and they may depart from the mandatory minimum custodial sentence if there are particular circumstances which would make it unjust to do so. Parliament has provided the courts with tough sentencing options and we continue to keep this under close scrutiny.
Asked by: Nick de Bois (Conservative - Enfield North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to allow mandatory sentencing in cases of carrying an article with blade or point of offensive weapon; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
Possession of an offensive weapon or bladed article is a serious offence which carries a maximum 4 year custodial sentence. This Government has already introduced new offences for threatening with a knife, which carries a minimum mandatory custodial sentence for adults and 16-17 year olds in the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2013. More recently we made it clear that cautions for adults can not be used for knife possession offences, and are legislating in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill to put statutory restrictions around their use.
Knife crime continues to fall, with a higher proportion of offenders going to prison for knife possession than in previous years and average custodial sentences getting longer.
Whilst this is encouraging, this Government continues to keep this area of the law under close scrutiny and if further action is necessary it will bring forward proposals.