Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has plans to bring forward legislative proposals to increase the maximum sentence for child cruelty to life imprisonment.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The Government keeps the maximum penalties for child cruelty offences under review and will act to increase them if there is evidence that the courts are constrained by their existing sentencing powers.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the common law defence of insanity; and what steps the Government plans to take to improve the law on criminal insanity.
Answered by Alex Chalk
The Government has considered the proposals in the Law Commission’s 2013 discussion paper.
Whilst we note the Law Commission’s proposals on the potential to update the law in this area, we have no current plans to bring forward legislative proposals in relation to this rarely used defence. However, we continue to keep this, and the wider and related law on unfitness to plead, under review.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the recommendation made by the Law Commission as part of its project on Insanity and automatism in 2013, what steps the Government is taking to bring forward legislative proposals to replace the common law defence of insanity with a new defence of being not criminally responsible by reason of recognised medical condition.
Answered by Alex Chalk
The Government has considered the proposals in the Law Commission’s 2013 discussion paper.
Whilst we note the Law Commission’s proposals on the potential to update the law in this area, we have no current plans to bring forward legislative proposals in relation to this rarely used defence. However, we continue to keep this, and the wider and related law on unfitness to plead, under review.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to consult on the effectiveness of the (a) law and (b) sentencing guidelines in relation to shoplifting following recent attacks on shop workers which have been linked to shoplifting offences.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The Government recognises that the violence and abuse shop workers face can have a significant impact, not only physically but mentally and emotionally. Everyone has the right to feel safe at work and assaults on shop workers are unacceptable.
The Government has no current plans to introduce legislation as there is already a wide range of offences and sentencing guidelines which cover the type of crime faced by shop workers. The current sentencing guidelines for assault offences specify that it is an aggravating factor for an offence to be committed against a person who works in the public sector or who is providing a service to the public, such as a shop worker.
In April 2019, the Home Office launched a call for evidence on violence and abuse toward shop workers to help gather evidence to strengthen their understanding of the scale and extent of such abuse against retail workers. The Government’s response to that call for evidence was published in July 2020. Specifically on shoplifting, respondents to the call for evidence highlighted concern about the effectiveness of section 176 of the Anti-social, Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (the 2014 Act), suggesting that it may have given the impression to some offenders that where the value of goods stolen was less than £200, this would not be dealt with by the police. Some respondents suggested this was a contributory factor to the more brazen stance being taken by such offenders.
The Government is clear that shoplifting offences involving the theft of goods up to the value of £200 can, and should, be pursued as a criminal offence by the police. Section 176 of the 2014 Act should have no bearing on the ability of the CPS to prosecute a person for theft from a shop, or on the courts’ powers to punish offenders. An offender convicted of theft in the magistrates’ court can still face a penalty of up to six months imprisonment for a single offence.
The Government has taken steps to ensure this is clearly understood and has written to the Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables across England and Wales setting out that the theft of goods valued up to £200 from a shop should still be prosecuted as a criminal offence and does not constrain the ability of the police to arrest or prosecute someone in the way they feel is most appropriate. The Government is due to undertake a post-legislative review of the 2014 Act and as part of this will look at the effectiveness of section 176.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of automatically providing legal aid funding for (a) coroner's inquests and (b) other legal proceedings for British citizens who are victims of terrorist attacks.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Legal aid can be provided if the matter or issue in question is within scope of the legal aid scheme, as defined in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO).
Legal aid is available for advice and assistance for all inquests, subject to a means and merits test. Legal aid funding for legal representation for a family, during an inquest hearing, is not in scope of LASPO. However, families are supported by coroners who can ask questions on their behalf to help them get the answers they need and we are developing a range of measures to improve this service further.
The Government recognises that for certain inquests, bereaved people may require representation; legal aid may therefore be available, through the Exceptional Case Funding scheme, if certain criteria are met:
(a) if a failure to provide such representation would breach, or likely risk a breach of, the government’s obligations under the European Convention of Human Rights; or
(b) where the Director of Legal Aid Casework (DLAC) makes a determination that there is a ‘wider public interest’ in legal representation being granted.
All individual case funding decisions are taken by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA). It is important that these decisions are, and are seen to be, free from political and Government influence.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to include sports coaches in the Position of Trust law.
Answered by Paul Maynard
Any sexual activity with a child under 16 is a criminal offence, regardless of whether consent is given. Any non-consensual sexual activity is also a crime, whatever the age of the victim and whatever the relationship between the victim and perpetrator.
I do recognise that there are concerns about those who might abuse their position of power over a 16 or 17-year-old to pressure them into engaging in a sexual relationship. Such behaviour is very likely to be caught by the robust laws we already have in place.
However, we remain absolutely committed to protecting children and young people from sexual abuse and we want to ensure that existing offences are being used effectively to tackle this behaviour, and that those working with young people understand their responsibilities and act appropriately.
My department, working closely with colleagues across government, is taking forward an internal review of the existing law, to check that that it is working effectively and ensuring young people are protected.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government has taken to legally recognise humanist marriages in England and Wales.
Answered by Paul Maynard
The Government announced in last year’s Budget that it would to ask the Law Commission to undertake a wider review of marriage ceremonies. We want to make marriage more accessible and meaningful and give couples greater choice in how they can celebrate their commitment. This includes greater flexibility for different faiths and for non-religious belief organisations.
We have been finalising the terms of reference for the review and will announce these shortly.