UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Criminal Justice

  • Lucy Frazer – 2022 Statement on VAT Penalty Reform

    Lucy Frazer – 2022 Statement on VAT Penalty Reform

    The statement made by Lucy Frazer, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, in the House of Commons on 13 January 2022.

    In the Finance Act 2021, the Government legislated to reform penalties for late submission and late payment of tax, initially from 1 April 2022, and to align interest charges for VAT with other major taxes.

    Today, I am announcing that these changes for VAT businesses will now be introduced nine months later, on 1 January 2023.

    HMRC is committed to becoming one of the most digitally advanced tax authorities in the world. The ambition and pace of change needs to be balanced with well-tested systems and good customer service, particularly when businesses are facing additional challenges and uncertainty.

    This extra time allows HMRC to ensure that the IT changes necessary for the new penalties and interest charges can be introduced as effectively as possible, ensuring a high standard of service to customers.

  • Dominic Raab – 2022 Comments on Family Mediation

    Dominic Raab – 2022 Comments on Family Mediation

    The comments made by Dominic Raab, the Deputy Prime Minister, on 17 January 2022.

    I want to see children and their parents spared the stress and conflict of the courtroom as much as possible, and I’m delighted that thousands more will now have the opportunity to resolve their disputes in less combative way.

    At the same time, it will free up vital capacity in the family courts to ensure the system can recover quickly from the pandemic.

  • Priti Patel – 2022 Statement on Assessing Age of Asylum Seekers

    Priti Patel – 2022 Statement on Assessing Age of Asylum Seekers

    The statement made by Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, on 5 January 2022.

    The Nationality and Borders Bill will end many of the blatant abuses that have led to our immigration and asylum system being abused by those with no right to be in our country.

    The practice of single grown adult men, masquerading as children claiming asylum is an appalling abuse of our system which we will end. By posing as children, these adult men go on to access children’s services and schools through deception and deceit; putting children and young adults in school and care at risk.

    It is a fact that two thirds of age dispute cases have found that the individual claiming to be a child is actually over the age of 18. I have given more resources and support to local councils to ensure that they apply vigorous and robust tests to check the ages of migrants to stop adult men being automatically classified as children.

    I am changing UK laws to introduce new scientific methods for assessing the age of asylum seekers to stop these abuses and to give the British public confidence that we will end the overt exploitation of our laws and UK taxpayers.

  • Yvette Cooper – 2022 Comments on Domestic Abuse

    Yvette Cooper – 2022 Comments on Domestic Abuse

    The comments made by Yvette Cooper, the Shadow Home Secretary, on 5 January 2022.

    We’ve been putting huge pressure on the Government to lift the time limit so I’m glad they have now accepted our proposal to stop victims of domestic abuse being timed out of justice.

    We will keep up the pressure for more action. This is one of many measures Labour is pushing for to tackle violence against women and girls. Over the last five years prosecutions for rape and domestic abuse have plummeted. Too many perpetrators are being let off, too many victims are being let down and the Conservative Government isn’t doing enough to turn that around.

    Labour has a serious and workable plan to tackle the epidemic of Violence Against Women and Girls. Thank you to everyone who backed the campaign for this change and we will keep pushing for further action.

  • Priti Patel – 2022 Comments on Illegal Hare Coursing

    Priti Patel – 2022 Comments on Illegal Hare Coursing

    The comments made by Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, on 4 January 2022.

    Illegal hare coursing has blighted rural communities for too long, resulting in criminal damage, threatening violence and intimidation against farmers and landowners.

    Those responsible are often involved in other criminal activities – including drugs and firearms offences. I have been a longstanding supporter for essential reforms to our laws to stop hare coursing which is why we will act to prevent more people from suffering as a result of the actions of a law-breaking minority.

    We are introducing new measures in the Policing, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill to empower and equip the police and courts with the powers they need to combat this crime. They will deter those breaking the law, and send a clear message that we will do all we can to keep our rural communities safe.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2022 Statement on Murder of Teenagers in London

    Sadiq Khan – 2022 Statement on Murder of Teenagers in London

    The statement made by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 1 January 2022.

    I am truly devastated by the deaths of a 15-year-old boy in Croydon and a 16-year-old boy in Hillingdon. Senseless violence has once again resulted in the loss of two young men with their lives in front of them and my thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families, friends and communities at this awful time.

    I continue to remain in close contact with the Met Police who are doing everything possible to bring those responsible for these killings to justice. Anyone with information should contact the police or Crimestoppers anonymously. There is absolutely no honour in staying silent.

    The safety of Londoners will always be my number one priority. That is why I’m determined to continue leading from the front by being tough on crime – investing record amounts in policing to put more officers on the streets – and tough on its complex causes, with plans in place to deliver positive opportunities to almost 100,000 young Londoners over the course of the next year, helping to divert them away from violence by providing them with tailored support at key moments in their lives.

    Since before the pandemic, the level of knife crime and youth violence in London has been decreasing meaning fewer violent attacks, fewer victims in hospital and fewer young offenders. Sadly, due to the increasing ferocity of the attacks, this hasn’t yet translated to fewer teenage homicides. I refuse to accept that the loss of young lives is inevitable and will continue to be relentless in taking the bold action needed to put an end to violence in our city.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2021 Comments on Reducing Crime in London

    Sadiq Khan – 2021 Comments on Reducing Crime in London

    The comments made by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 29 December 2021.

    Tackling violence and making our communities safer is my top priority. Over the past four years and before the pandemic we’ve seen youth violence, knife crime and gun crime come down, but it’s clear that there is much more to do. Every death from violent crime is heart-breaking, devastating families and communities.

    We know the challenges of the pandemic have exacerbated the causes of crime and violence and that’s why this investment is so important and so timely. This new funding package of almost £50 million will provide dedicated funding for local authorities now and allow them to work together to tackle complex problems across borough boundaries and support local communities to tackle violence and reduce offending where they are.

    I am more determined than ever to be tough on crime by investing in our police – ensuring record numbers of officers on our streets, as well as being tough on the causes of crime by providing sustained investment to deliver positive opportunities for young Londoners who need it most.

  • Kit Malthouse – 2021 Comments on Sobriety Tags

    Kit Malthouse – 2021 Comments on Sobriety Tags

    The comments made by Kit Malthouse, the Crime, Policing and Probation Minister, on 20 December 2021.

    Alcohol-fuelled violence ruins too many lives and families and creates mayhem in our town centres. It is a sad reality that over Christmas we see a worrying spike in domestic abuse and crimes fuelled by drink.

    Sobriety tags have already brought enormous benefit helping offenders change their ways and the Probation Service to clamp down on this behaviour and protect victims from further violence.

  • Steve Reed – 2021 Comments on Dominic Raab Defending Rule Breaking

    Steve Reed – 2021 Comments on Dominic Raab Defending Rule Breaking

    The comments made by Steve Reed, the Shadow Justice Secretary, on 21 December 2021.

    Dominic Raab has spent hours this month taking the public for fools instead of dealing with the massive problems the Conservatives have created in the justice system.

    Raab and this high-tax, soft-on-crime Conservative Government should be tackling the courts backlog and raising the pitifully low conviction rate for rape in this country.

    It is yet another slap in the face of the British public, who will rightly think that it is one rule for Boris Johnson and this Government, and another rule for everyone else.

    Raab needs to stop wasting time defending the indefensible and start doing his job.

  • Dominic Raab – 2021 Statement on the Department of Justice

    Dominic Raab – 2021 Statement on the Department of Justice

    The statement made by Dominic Raab, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, in the House of Commons on 15 December 2021.

    I am today announcing the publication of Sir Christopher Bellamy’s “Independent Review of Criminal Legal Aid” report.

    Since his appointment as chair of the review at the end of last year, Sir Christopher has undertaken a “whole-system” review of criminal legal aid fee schemes and the market of providers in England and Wales, considering its role as an enabler of many functions of the criminal justice system. Throughout his review, Sir Christopher has been supported by a dedicated expert advisory panel including legal practitioners, academics and members of the judiciary. Evidence to the review has been wide-ranging, reflecting the experiences of the legal profession, victims, witnesses, and defendants. I would like to thank Sir Christopher for his dedication in undertaking this important review and members of the expert advisory panel and other contributors for their comprehensive work.

    I am extremely grateful to members of the Bar, the solicitor profession and chartered legal executives for their continued professionalism, dedication, and adaptability in delivering vital public services, particularly against the challenges of the pandemic, including their commitment to reducing court backlogs.

    Sir Christopher has set out his vision for the role of legal aid in an efficient and effective criminal justice system. I recognise the importance of remuneration in delivering long-term sustainability of the market and I will consider his recommendations on this matter very carefully.

    Beyond the important issue of funding, I welcome many of the principles underpinning his vision for the role of legal aid in an efficient and effective criminal justice system. I agree that data-sharing and transparency can enable us to make a better assessment of the efficiency, incentives, costs and effectiveness of criminal legal aid. My Department is continuing to explore ways to improve the availability and accessibility of data across the criminal justice system. Alongside the review, the Government have supported greater transparency by launching criminal justice system scorecards, which bring together data on a range of performance measures.

    I am committed to ensuring defendants and other users of criminal legal aid services have access to high-quality advice from a diverse range of practitioners. I will carefully review Sir Christopher’s findings and consider where there are opportunities for the Government and the legal professions to work together to improve diversity to achieve a more equal gender and ethnicity balance within the profession and to support young barristers after pupillage.

    I also recognise the importance of ensuring suitably experienced advice is available as early in a case as possible, so that cases are resolved at the earliest opportunity, increasing efficiency and improving outcomes in the criminal justice system. Sir Christopher makes specific recommendations on pre-charge engagement, which I will consider carefully.

    It is important that the provision of criminal legal aid services meets the needs of its users, which may differ between regions. We will carefully examine the findings in the review around the potential for improving local outcomes, and in particular the potential future role of local criminal justice boards.

    Beyond Sir Christopher’s review, the Government continue to support the defence profession and the wider criminal justice system. The Government have committed to invest £2.2 billion between 2022-23 and 2024-25 to meet increased demand on the criminal justice system from the additional 20,000 police officers and to fund the system’s recovery from covid-19. As part of the latest spending review, the Government have also committed over £200 million across the spending review period to complete the £1.3 billion court reform programme by the end of 2023. The court reform programme is an important step towards digitising court and tribunal services and enhancing the experience of their users.

    In his review, Sir Christopher notes that listing decisions are for the judiciary. He also notes that how cases are listed is important to efficiency and to the experience of victims, witnesses and practitioners. We will consider Sir Christopher’s analysis to see where we can support further improvements.

    My Department will continue to work with legal professionals and the judiciary on the future of remote hearings. As with listing, while the format of hearings is a judicial function, there are issues to consider around consistency.

    We will consider Sir Christopher’s findings fully, and consult before taking decisions regarding his specific recommendations. It is right that such a detailed report receives the thorough consideration that it deserves, while giving the legal profession an indicative timeline. Therefore, I intend to publish a full response no later than the end of March 2022 alongside a consultation on all policy proposals.

    Sir Christopher’s report can be found on gov.uk and I have placed copies in the Libraries of both Houses.