The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether all people who received a Royal Prerogative of Mercy had their names listed in the London Gazette.
Damian Green
There are no statutory requirements relating to the publication of pardons granted under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy. However, by convention, the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery places a notice of such pardons granted in England and Wales in the London Gazette.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the ratio of prison officers to inmates of each gender was in each (a) prison establishment and (b) category of prison in each of the last five years.
Jeremy Wright
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on April 7th 2014, Official Report, [261W].
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of (a) men and (b) women found guilty of benefit fraud in each of the last 10 years received (i) immediate custodial sentences and (b) non-custodial sentences.
Jeremy Wright
The sentencing framework and sentencing guidelines apply equally to all offenders. Sentencing is entirely a matter for the courts, taking account of all the circumstances of each case. This will include the seriousness of the offence, including all aggravating and mitigating factors, and a guilty plea.
Fraud has a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment and there are various other offences which are specific to benefit fraud, with maximum penalties of up to seven years’ imprisonment. The courts must follow the relevant sentencing guideline in their approach to sentencing. Last year, the Sentencing Council conducted a public consultation on a new draft guideline for fraud and a new definitive guideline, informed by the responses received, will apply in due course.
In addition to criminal penalties, those convicted of benefit fraud also face a restriction on their benefits for an extended period.
The number of men and women sentenced at all courts for offences relating to benefit fraud in England and Wales from 2002 to2012 (latest data available) can be viewed in the table.
Please note that court proceedings statistics for the year 2013 are planned to be published by the Ministry of Justice on 15th May 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many serving prisoners received driving lessons in the latest period for which figures are available.
Jeremy Wright
In 2013, the latest year for which data are available, 190 prisoners were recorded as taking car driving lessons/tests.
All prisoners are thoroughly risk-assessed before being allowed to take these lessons and are only permitted to do so if the licence is required to help their rehabilitation, for example improving future employment prospects, thus reducing their likelihood of re-offending.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of magistrates’ use of two year sentencing powers; and if he will make a statement.
Jeremy Wright
A Detention and Training Order, the main custodial sentence for children and young people, can be up to 24 months in length and is available to magistrates sitting in the Youth Court. The Government has not made an assessment of magistrates’ use of this order.
There are a range of disposals available to magistrates when dealing with children and young people which are designed to address offending behaviour. Through our reforms this Government has taken steps to improve the youth sentencing framework.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been given more than one life sentence on separate sentencing occasions in the last 30 years; and for what offences each person received each such life sentence.
Jeremy Wright
A life sentence is mandatory for murder and discretionary life sentences are available for other very serious offences. This Government has introduced an automatic life sentence for a second very serious violent or sexual offence.
Under a life sentence, the court determines the minimum period to be served in prison for the purposes of punishment and deterrence. Once that period has been served it is for the Parole Board to determine if and when the offender may be released from prison on life licence and subject to recall for the rest of their life.
Table 1 shows the number of offenders who have been sentenced to life in the 12 months ending September 2013 who previously had one or more previous life sentence on a separate sentencing occasion within the last 30 years, in England and Wales. The table also shows details of their latest and previous offences for which they received a life sentence.
Reoffending rates for life sentenced prisoners are very low. A small number of life sentence prisoners commit offences in prison which result in a second life sentence. Some life sentence prisoners can also receive a second life sentence on conviction for offences committed prior to being imprisoned (e.g. a previous murder or rape).
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.
Detailed information on the length of time served by individual life sentence prisoners, and offence information is not readily available, so I will write to the Honourable Member.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what average period of time is spent on bail by an offender whose case is dealt with in a (a) magistrates’ court and (b) Crown court where the offender (i) pleads guilty at the outset, (ii) changes their plea to guilty during the course of the proceedings and (iii) pleads not guilty.
Mr Shailesh Vara
Information on bail and remand collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice and held on the Court Proceedings Database does not include any information on the length of time defendants were held on bail or remand. This information could only be ascertained by reference to individual court files which could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders were bailed under an electronic curfew and went on to receive a custodial sentence in the latest period for which figures are available.
Jeremy Wright
Information on bail and remand collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice and held on the Court Proceedings Database does not record whether conditions (including the use of electronic monitoring) were attached to bail. To answer this Question would require a data matching exercise between data held by the electronic monitoring contractors and sentencing data held by the Ministry of Justice, which could be done only at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) court possession orders and (b) interim possession orders in relation to squatting in non-residential buildings have been made since the introduction of the criminal offence of squatting in a residential building; and how many such orders were made in the equivalent period preceding this law being implemented.
Mr Shailesh Vara
While we hold records on the total number of possession orders and interim possession orders applied for and granted by the civil courts, our databases do not show what proportion of these related to non-residential buildings or, in the case of possession orders, actions against trespassers. Such information could only be obtained by manually checking court case files at a disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, if she will place in the Library a copy of the guidance currently issued to managers at the Equality and Human Rights Commission on managing a diverse workforce.
Mrs Helen Grant
The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an independent body and is responsible for its own staff management, including diversity training. The guidance papers requested are internal documents that were not intended for wider publication. However, I have asked the EHRC to send copies to the Hon Member.