Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what the Law Officers' Departments' main policy priority is for 2017; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The Law Officers’ Departments will remain focused on supporting delivery of the Government’s manifesto, legislative programme and operational priorities. The Law Officers’ Departments are also working to support the delivery of a successful withdrawal from the European Union, in particular to ensure a smooth transition for public prosecutors and on legal issues arising from the existing EU relationship.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what the (a) mean and (b) median pay was for staff in the Law Officers' Departments who were (i) male, (ii) female, (iii) white, (iv) from an ethnic minority background, (v) disabled and (vi) non-disabled in the most recent year for which information is available, broken down by (A) full-time and (B) part-time workers.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The (a) mean and (b) median pay for the employees of the Law Officer’s Departments who were (i) male, (ii) female, (iii) white, (iv) from an ethnic minority background, (v) disabled and (vi) non-disabled, broken down by full time and part time workers, is as follows:
Full-time | AGO | GLD | HMCPSI | CPS | SFO | |||||
| Mean | Median | Mean | Median | Mean | Median | Mean | Median | Mean | Median |
Male | £56,239 | £61,218 | £52,276 | £50,491 | £57,848 | £63,760 | 41,635 | 38,263 | £43,976 | £36,714 |
Female | £45,223 | £34,230 | £47,700 | £48,470 | £44,742 | £48,937 | 35,512 | 27,954 | £38,788 | £33,123 |
White | £44,455 | £25,175 | £51,955 | £49,035 | £48,190 | £51,200 | 38,880 | 32,325 | £44,614 | £37,658 |
BAME | Less than 5* | £40,851 | £39,292 | Less than 5* | 36,031 | 27,954 | £36,706 | £33,024 | ||
Disabled | Less than 5* | £47,883 | £48,470 | Less than 5* | 37,496 | 31,231 | £40,874 | £34,953 | ||
Non-disabled | £48,619 | £50,948 | £48,720 | £48,470 | £52,423 | £56,952 | 37,977 | 31,244 | £43,054 | £36,556 |
Part-time | AGO | GLD | HMCPSI | CPS | SFO | |||||
| Mean | Median | Mean | Median | Mean | Median | Mean | Median | Mean | Median |
Male | Less than 5* | £62,175 | £63,361 | Less than 5* | 42,996 | 50,507 | £44,691 | £39,347 | ||
Female | Less than 5* | £56,970 | £57,818 | Less than 5* | 35,592 | 27,954 | £44,286 | £29,847 | ||
White | Less than 5* | £57,473 | £61,218 | Less than 5* | 36,281 | 27,954 | £45,375 | £39,585 | ||
BAME | Less than 5* | £52,676 | £54,750 | Less than 5* | 34,584 | 27,954 | £38,589 | £31,100 | ||
Disabled | Less than 5* | £57,673 | £57,432 | Less than 5* | 35,564 | 27,954 | £38,302 | £38,302 | ||
Non-disabled | Less than 5* | £56,401 | £57,038 | Less than 5* | 35,770 | 27,954 | £44,149 | £38,234 | ||
*means there are less than 5 people in the category and therefore figures are not shown as there is the possibility of people being identified
CPS figures are for year 2015/16 and GLD figures are calculated based on salaries on 31 January 2017
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many former prisoners have been employed by the Law Officers' Departments in each of the last five years.
Answered by Robert Buckland
No former prisoners have been employed in the past five years in the Law Officers’ Departments.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, in (a) how many and (b) what proportion of common assault cases flagged as involving domestic violence with allegations against (i) male and (ii) female defendants did the CPS oppose bail on the grounds of the associated person exception; and in what proportion of such cases was bail refused by the court in each of the last three years.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number cases where bail has been opposed. This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, if he will list by offence type the number and proportion of cases in which the Crown Prosecution Service has opposed bail on the grounds of the associated person exception for (a) male and (b) female defendants in each of the last three years.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number cases where bail has been opposed. This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many cases involving female perpetrators of domestic violence have been prosecuted in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion of people prosecuted in those cases were found guilty.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The volumes and proportions of female defendants prosecuted for domestic abuse in each of the last 10 years, together with the conviction rates, can be found within the table at Annex A.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what steps he is taking to ensure that courts receive the latest Police National Computer details for defendants when cases are being dealt with electronically.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) provides an electronic copy of the Police National Computer (PNC) details for defendants to the court and defence as part of their initial disclosure of the prosecution case. Any subsequent updated versions of the defendant’s PNC received during the course of the case are provided to the CPS by the police, either at their instigation or at the request of the CPS, for use at court.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what the average time from arrest to charge in each category of offence was in the latest year for which information is available.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold this information. Individual police forces may report on average arrest to charge statistics but this information is not held by the CPS. Furthermore, many cases are charged by the police directly or by other bodies, and never come to the CPS.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what advice is given to prosecutors about the appropriateness of applying for a witness summons in a criminal case; whether there are (a) indicators and (b) factors that would make it more or less appropriate to apply for such a summons; and what evidence prosecutors are advised to pass on to the court to enable the court to decide whether a witness summons is appropriate.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will only apply for a witness summons in order to secure the attendance of a witness where it is necessary and appropriate to do so.
A witness summons application will be based on the specific facts of the case. Prosecutors will carefully consider whether a summons is in the public interest, taking proper account of any specific vulnerability, disability or mental health issues on the part of the witness. Prosecutors seek advice from the police, and any relevant specialist support services, to assist in assessing the appropriateness of such an application to ensure that the witness and any dependents will not be endangered by the decision nor caused any unnecessary distress.
A prosecutor will submit to the Court all relevant information including any medical report, risk assessment or advice from police or specialist support services.