Steve McCabe

Firearms, firearms component parts and ammunition are the only items of military equipment subject to import licensing controls.

In 2013, BIS Import Licensing Branch issued 5 import licences for imports from Israel of 250 firearms and 70 firearms component parts. In 2014, BIS Import Licensing Branch issued 10 import licences for imports from Israel of 240 firearms and 2760 firearms component parts.

The Export Control Organisation (ECO) only holds data on licences issued, refused or revoked that fall within strategic export controls. They are available to view on the GOV.UK website.

Support for low carbon development is provided mainly through the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) and the Levy Control Framework (LCF).

The RHI budget for 2015-16 is £430m. Budgets for future years are the subject of the Spending Review.

Details of the LCF forecast for each year to 2020-21 can be found in table 2.7 of the Fiscal Supplementary Tables, which are located at the following link: http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/economic-fiscal-outlook-july-2015/

The Government fully recognises the need for long term certainty on the low carbon transition as this will give businesses and investors confidence, helping to ensure the most cost effective climate action and the development and deployment of new innovation and technology and help to reduce costs for us all and secure growth and jobs.

This is why my rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister, along with other G7 Leaders, emphasised at the G7 Summit in June that “deep cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions are required with a decarbonisation of the global economy over the course of this century”, including “striving for a transformation of the energy sectors by 2050”.

For the UK, our policy on this is already clear and certain, through the legal commitment set out in our Climate Change Act – reducing UK emissions by at least 80% by 2050 compared to 1990 levels. The G7 commitment shows other big economies are also acting alongside us us.

The EU-US FTA is expected to be a mixed agreement to which the UK is individually a party. As such, it would be subject to agreement by each Member State (including the UK), the EU Council (representing governments of the EU countries) and the European Parliament. As part of this process, the UK Parliament would receive the complete draft text of the agreement in order to scrutinise it through debates in both Houses.

Ofgem has a number of tools to protect consumers, including enforcement powers against a breach in licence conditions such as, SLC 26 (services for specific domestic customers), SLC 27 (payments, security deposits and disconnections) SLC 28 (prepayment meters), and has prioritised its work to protect consumers in vulnerable situations. It has published a Consumer Vulnerability Strategy which sets out its approach to identifying and tackling consumer vulnerability in the energy market. Ofgem is due to publish a report on progress against the strategy later this summer.

Ofgem has been clear to suppliers that customers in vulnerable situations should not have to pay a standing charge if they are not consuming any gas. It is for Ofgem, as the independent regulator, to decide whether further action is necessary.

The standing charge element of the bill is commonly associated with covering the costs of, amongst other things, metering and billing as these are costs which the supplier will incur regardless of if any gas is consumed. These costs include the administrative costs of maintaining a customer account and providing bills and the cost of reading the meter and undertaking a periodic safety check. A supplier will also still be required to pay charges to the local gas network company for maintaining the connection and the distribution network which enables supply.

If a customer does not wish to pay a standing charge they can switch to a supplier with a tariff which features a standing charge set at zero.

Ofgem has been clear that consumers in vulnerable situations should not have to pay a standing charge if they are not consuming gas at all and should not have to pay for the removal of their meter, should this be appropriate, and has written to suppliers confirming this.

Metering and billing are essential activities in the supply of electricity and gas to domestic customers and it is reasonable to expect suppliers to seek to recover the costs associated with them.

In my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State’s most recent meeting with Ofgem, they discussed a range of issues relating to the energy market including the Market Investigation Reference being carried out by the Competition and Markets Authority. Competition in the market is crucial to ensuring fair tariffs for consumers.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave today to Questions 906709, 906716, 906719, 906724 and 906725:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmhansrd/cm141218/debtext/141218-0001.htm#14121837000006

I have met Ofgem recently to discuss a range of issues related to energy markets.

The Government does not have any role in Royal Mail’s operational decisions. Providing Royal Mail operate their services in compliance with the existing regulatory framework, as set down by Ofcom, decisions relating to their services can be made on operational grounds.

Royal Mail points out that the new arrangements relating to collections are needed in response to declining letter volumes which has left many post-boxes no longer covering their costs. Rather than decommission uneconomic post-boxes, the company is committed to ensuring their viability by improving the efficiency of collections arrangements.

Royal Mail have said that the majority of post-boxes will retain a 4pm or later final collection, as they have now, and they will ensure that there is a late-posting box within half a mile of each post-box that is restricted to earlier collections. The company is also aiming to boost public access to post-boxes in those areas around the country currently underserved with the addition of 2,000 new post-boxes. These will be targeted at rural areas, with a particular focus on Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as to areas of new development that are currently not served by a post-box. Some will be added in high footfall areas such as train stations and shopping centres. More information about Royal Mail’s post box network can be found on its website

(http://www.royalmail.com/personal/help-and-support/postboxes-faqs).

Information on students awarded and paid Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) is published annually by Student Loans Company (SLC) in the Statistical First Release ‘Student Support for Higher Education England'. The latest statistics are available at the following link: http://www.slc.co.uk/media/694170/slcsfr052013.pdf

A further breakdown for Birmingham, Selly Oak constituency has been provided in the table for the academic year 2012/13. Equivalent figures for the academic year 2013/14 will be available from November 2014.

Current DSA recipients and disabled students applying for DSAs in 2014/15 will not be affected by these changes in 2015/16.

We are currently consulting with a wide range of stakeholders and are working through the detail of how the changes will work in practice, including the number of students affected.

Students in receipt of Disabled Students Allowance^[1] from Birmingham, Selly Oak constituency

Academic Year 2012/13

Effective date: 13/11/2013

Notes:

[1] Disabled Student Allowance may be paid to the Student or to a Supplier on the student's behalf.

[2] Figures are derived from the Post Code of the applicant's home address.

[3] The effective date is that of the November 2013 Awards Statistical First Release. The figures are therefore provisional and do not include students who were awarded DSA after November 2013.

[4] DSA Payments may be made at any point during the Academic Year or after the end of the Academic Year.

[5] Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. Totals may not add to the sum of the components due to rounding.

Winter fuel payments is a DWP policy.

However, people with disabilities may be able to access the Warm Home Discount Scheme and receive a rebate off their electricity bill. They may also be able to access the Energy Companies Obligation through which they can get help with insulation and heating measures.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Harborough on 26 February 2014, Official Report, Column 416W.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of prosecuted defendants by twelve Principal Offence Categories, including the category of Motoring Offences.

The table below shows the number of summary-only prosecutions at magistrates’ courts allocated to the Motoring Offences category during each available year from 2010-11 to 2017-18 and the change in both volume and percent.

It is not possible to disaggregate figures to show separately the volume and outcome of proceedings for individual offences within the Motoring Offences category.

The number of staff employed by the Crown Prosecution Service in each Region and in CPS Direct in each year from 2010 (As at 31 December of each year) is listed in the table below:

*Note: Following an organisational restructure in 2011 some CPS commands were changed from Groups to single Areas under the leadership of a single Chief Crown Prosecutor.

Data Source: Trent HR Database February 2019.

The number of cases which did not result in a trial can be broken down into a number of categories. Guilty pleas and Proved in Absence prosecutions result in a conviction while Dropped and Administratively Finalised prosecutions result in a non-conviction. The four tables in Annex A provide the Guilty pleas and Proved in Absence prosecutions together with the Dropped and Administratively Finalised prosecutions for both England and CPS West Midlands.

The definition for each category of prosecution is provided in the notes in Annex A. The notes provide an explanation as to why these case types did not proceed to trial.

The tables below show the number of finalised prosecution outcomes with the Principal Offence Category of Motoring and the Mode of Trial recorded as Summary-Only during each year from 2010-11 to 2017-18 in the West Midlands CPS Area and in England.

During the period in question, the percentage reduction in caseload was 67.4% in the West Midlands and 67.1% in England.

The table below provides a breakdown of the funding at regional level and for CPS Direct from 2010 to 2018.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of offences recorded against crime types. However, the CPS does collect data which reports the number of prosecuted defendants allocated to twelve Principal Offence Categories which is collated in financial years.

The tables in Annex A show the number of finalised prosecution outcomes by Principal Offence during each year from 2010-11 to 2017-18 in the West Midlands CPS Area and in England.

During the 8 year period reported in the table, magistrates’ courts caseload has fallen by 31% and Crown Court caseload by 23% in the West Midlands Area, compared to falls of 47% and 34% respectively across England as a whole.

Despite the falling caseload it is important to be aware that the types of cases prosecuted in the West Midlands and England have changed significantly in the period between 2010 and 2018. The CPS is prosecuting more serious and complex cases in the West Midlands Area as evidenced by a 46% rise in homicide (35% in England), a 34% increase in fraud and forgery (compared to a fall of 17% in England) and a 55% increase in sexual offences cases (26% in England). During this period, minor motoring cases have fallen by 67% in the Area with a similar fall reflected across England. This followed changes to the list of specified offences made in 2012 which transferred responsibility for prosecuting many low level motoring offences back to the police

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of offences recorded against crime types. However, the CPS does collect data which reports the number of prosecuted defendants allocated to twelve Principal Offence Categories which is collated in financial years.

The tables in Annex A show the number of finalised prosecution outcomes by Principal Offence during each year from 2010-11 to 2017-18 in the West Midlands CPS Area and in England.

During the 8 year period reported in the table, magistrates’ courts caseload has fallen by 31% and Crown Court caseload by 23% in the West Midlands Area, compared to falls of 47% and 34% respectively across England as a whole.

Despite the falling caseload it is important to be aware that the types of cases prosecuted in the West Midlands and England have changed significantly in the period between 2010 and 2018. The CPS is prosecuting more serious and complex cases in the West Midlands Area as evidenced by a 46% rise in homicide (35% in England), a 34% increase in fraud and forgery (compared to a fall of 17% in England) and a 55% increase in sexual offences cases (26% in England). During this period, minor motoring cases have fallen by 67% in the Area with a similar fall reflected across England. This followed changes to the list of specified offences made in 2012 which transferred responsibility for prosecuting many low level motoring offences back to the police

(a) As of 30 June 2010* a total of 794 staff were employed within what was the Crown Prosecution Service West Midlands Group.

Note: * CPS HR management information in relation to staff in post is only available from June 2010. (Data Source Trent HR Database as at 31.01.2019)

Following an organisational restructure in 2011, the separate Areas of Crown Prosecution Service Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Mercia and West Midlands combined under a single Chief Crown Prosecutor leadership to form the Area of Crown Prosecution Service West Midlands.

(a) As of 30 June 2010*, the Crown Prosecution Service employed a total of 8,569 staff across its Area/Regional and HQ functions:

Note: *CPS HR management information in relation to staff in post is only available from June 2010. (Data Source Trent HR Database as at 31.01.2019)

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the volumes of completed prosecutions, or caseload, as a count of the number of defendants and collates the data collected in financial years.

The table below shows the number of finalised prosecution outcomes during each year from 2010-11 to 2017-18 and the year on year change in both volume and percent.

Data Source: CPS Management Information System

It is important to be aware that the types of cases prosecuted have changed significantly in the period between 2010 and 2018. The CPS is prosecuting more serious and complex cases as evidenced by a 38% increase in homicide, a 26% increase in fraud and forgery and a 26% increase in sexual offences cases. During this period, minor motoring cases have fallen by 67% across England and Wales. This followed changes to the list of specified offences made in 2012 which transferred responsibility for prosecuting many low level motoring offences back to the police.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the volumes of completed prosecutions, or caseload, as a count of the number of defendants and collates the data collected in financial years.

The table below shows the number of finalised prosecution outcomes during each year from 2010-11 to 2017-18 and the year on year change in both volume and percent.

Data Source: CPS Management Information System

It is important to be aware that the types of cases prosecuted have changed significantly in the period between 2010 and 2018. The CPS is prosecuting more serious and complex cases as evidenced by a 38% increase in homicide, a 26% increase in fraud and forgery and a 26% increase in sexual offences cases. During this period, minor motoring cases have fallen by 67% across England and Wales. This followed changes to the list of specified offences made in 2012 which transferred responsibility for prosecuting many low level motoring offences back to the police.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the volumes of completed prosecutions, or caseload, as a count of the number of defendants and collates the data collected in financial years.

The table below shows the number of finalised prosecution outcomes in the West Midlands CPS Area during each year from 2010-11 to 2017-18 and the year on year change in both volume and percent.

Data Source: CPS Management Information System

It is important to be aware that the types of cases prosecuted by West Midlands CPS have changed significantly in the period between 2010 and 2018. The Area is prosecuting more serious and complex cases as evidenced by a 46% increase in homicide (38% nationally), a 34% increase in fraud and forgery (26% nationally) and a 55% increase in sexual offences cases (26% nationally). During this period, minor motoring cases have fallen by 67% in both the Area and across England and Wales as a result of the transfer of responsibility for the prosecution of these offences back to the police.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the volumes of completed prosecutions, or caseload, as a count of the number of defendants and collates the data collected in financial years.

The table below shows the number of finalised prosecution outcomes in the West Midlands CPS Area during each year from 2010-11 to 2017-18 and the year on year change in both volume and percent.

Data Source: CPS Management Information System

It is important to be aware that the types of cases prosecuted by West Midlands CPS have changed significantly in the period between 2010 and 2018. The Area is prosecuting more serious and complex cases as evidenced by a 46% increase in homicide (38% nationally), a 34% increase in fraud and forgery (26% nationally) and a 55% increase in sexual offences cases (26% nationally). During this period, minor motoring cases have fallen by 67% in both the Area and across England and Wales as a result of the transfer of responsibility for the prosecution of these offences back to the police.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of prosecuted defendants by twelve Principal Offence Categories, including the category of Motoring Offences.

The table below shows the number of summary-only prosecutions at magistrates’ courts allocated to the Motoring Offences category for both the 12 months ending September 2008 and September 2018 and the change in both volume and percent.

Data Source: Case Management Information System

It is not possible to disaggregate figures to show separately the volume and outcome of proceedings for individual offences within the Motoring Offences category.

While the number of overall prosecutions has decreased during the period, the highest fall in caseload has been in magistrates’ courts, where volumes reduced by 54.1%. This followed changes to the list of specified offences made in 2012 which transferred responsibility for prosecuting many low level motoring offences back to the police.

The Crown Prosecution Service employed 5,946 staff at 31 December 2018 and 8,569 staff at 30 June 2010. CPS HR management information in relation to staff in post is only available from June 2010.

The Crown Prosecution Service maintains a list of motoring offences available for prosecution. This is set out as Annex 1.

Offences that are specified by The Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (Specified Proceedings) Order 1999 have been highlighted within Annex 1. They are commenced by the police in accordance with Section 12 Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980. The DPP has a duty, in accordance with section 3(2)(a) Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, to take over the conduct of proceedings including proceedings for offences that are no longer specified. An offence ceases to be specified if the accused does not plead guilty.

The Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (the 1985 Act) provides that the DPP had a duty to take over the conduct of all criminal proceedings, save for specified proceedings.

Specified proceedings are designated by Section 3(3) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 and the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (Specified Proceedings) Order 1999 (the 1999 order) and include most motoring offences which are commenced by the police in accordance with Section 12 Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980.

In 2012, the following motoring offences were added to the list of specified proceedings:

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) holds no record of the number of these motoring cases that were prosecuted by the police.

The CPS does however maintain a central record of the volumes of completed prosecutions, assigned the Principal Offence Category ‘Motoring Offences’, as a count of the number of defendants.

The table below shows that the number of these prosecutions has fallen between 2008 and 2018 as a likely result of the additional motoring offences having been added to the list of specified proceedings.

The Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (the 1985 Act) provides that the DPP had a duty to take over the conduct of all criminal proceedings, save for specified proceedings.

Specified proceedings are designated by Section 3(3) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 and the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (Specified Proceedings) Order 1999 (the 1999 order) and include most motoring offences which are commenced by the police in accordance with Section 12 Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 by serving with the summons either a statement of facts about the offence or a copy of the written statements.

The 1999 order also provides that proceedings cease to be specified when a court begins to receive evidence. At that stage the duty for a prosecutor to conduct the proceedings engages.

Annex 1 provides the full list of offences falling within The Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (specified proceedings) Order 1999) and including all amendments to date.

During the 2008 – 2018 period the following offences were added to the list of specified proceedings as follows:

Offences added in 2012:

Offences added in 2014:

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the volumes of completed prosecutions, or caseload, as a count of the number of defendants. The table below shows the number of prosecutions for both the 12 months ending September 2008 and September 2018 and the change in both volume and percent.

(Data Source: Case Management Information System)

The types of cases prosecuted by the CPS have changed significantly in the period between 2008 and 2018. Prosecutions for more serious and complex cases have risen, including a 5% increase in homicide, a 17% increase in fraud and forgery and a 28% increase in sexual offences cases. During the same period, minor motoring cases have fallen by 74% as responsibility for prosecuting some of these cases has transferred to the police.

As of 30 September 2018, the CPS employed a total of 5,936 staff across its Area/Regional and HQ functions. A breakdown is provided in the following table:

As of 30 September 2008, the CPS employed a total of 8,768 staff across its Area/Regional and HQ functions. A breakdown is provided in the following table:

(Data Source Trent HR Database as at 22/11/2018)

Between January 2010 and September 2018 the CPS has closed 66 offices. During the same period the CPS has opened 13 new offices.

The CPS Estates Strategy has to be, and is, in line with the Government’s strategy, namely to achieve best value from buildings on the civil estate. In accordance with the Government’s strategy, departments are required to vacate current office space when there is a lease break or expiry, and relocate staff to alternative buildings on the civil estate.

In September 2018 the CPS completed work to relocate its London offices to an existing shared government building in Westminster. Since 2010 the CPS has reduced cost of its estate by approximately 30% resulting in annual running cost savings of £20m.

The Crown Prosecution Service employed 5,936 staff at 30 September 2018 and 8,768 staff at 30 September 2008.