Tag: Emily Thornberry

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Attorney General, how many (a) barristers, (b) solicitors and (c) witness care staff were employed by the Crown Prosecution Service at the end of (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2009-10.

    Oliver Heald

    The information requested is contained in the following table.

    Barristers

    Solicitors

    Witness Care

    2009-10

    853

    2,353

    228

    2012-13

    677

    1,867

    131

    2013-14

    645

    1,771

    100

    Notes:Data extracted from the CPS HR Database iTrent as at the 31st March in each year
    Data may be subject to change due to retrospective changes in the HR database
    Data may differ from previously published data due to differing specifications

    .

    Notwithstanding the staff reductions, conviction rates have remained broadly unchanged since 2009/10.

    Witness attendance remains constant over the last two financial years (to February 2014).

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Attorney General, what discussions the Director of Public Prosecutions has had with the Association of Chief Police Officers about implementing the recommendations in HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspector report on the disclosure of medical records and counselling notes; and if he will make a statement.

    Oliver Heald

    There have been no discussions between the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) about implementing the recommendations in HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate report on the disclosure of medical records and counselling notes. The recommendations of the report were that Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) legal guidance on Rape and Sexual Offences was updated and that CPS Headquarters may wish to liaise with ACPO about such disclosure to develop a national police form for use when the police consult complainants. The guidance was updated on 12 December 2013 and the capture of information in a national police form is being considered as part of the work on digitisation of cases files and has been discussed with ACPO.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Attorney General, how much money subject to a Crown Prosecution Service restraining or confiscation order has been diverted to meet the costs of a private-sector receiver in each of the last three financial years; and what proportion that amount was of all assets subject to such orders.

    Oliver Heald

    The following table contains data from the last 3 financial years on the total amount restrained under restraint orders, the total fees paid to management receivers, and the percentage of receivership fees as a proportion of the restrained amount:

    Management Receiverships:

    Financial Year

    Fees Paid to Management

    Receivers

    *Total Amount Restrained Under

    Restraint Order Amount

    % of Receivership Fees as a Proportion

    of the Amount Restrained

    2011 – 2012

    £1,677,316.04

    £ 142,861,002.70

    1.17%

    2012 – 2013

    £ 995,667.35

    £ 142,878,474.31

    0.70%

    2013 – 2014

    £ 1,168,938.64

    £ 145,485,882.31

    0.80%

    It should be noted that the amount restrained is constantly fluctuating due to a number of factors including payment of reasonable living expenses from restrained funds and the changing values of real property. Accordingly, it is difficult to get an accurate value as to the amount restrained at any one time.

    *It should further be noted that the amount shown represents the entirety of restrained funds. However, in many cases, the receiver is appointed to manage carefully selected assets and not all of the funds restrained. Accordingly, the receiver’s fees as a proportion of the amount of restrained funds he manages could be considerably higher than the figures shown above.

    The following table contains data from the last 3 financial years on the total confiscation order amount (i.e. the sum of all assets included in confiscation orders), total fees paid to enforcement receivers, and the percentage of receivership fees as a proportion of the confiscation order amount:

    Enforcement Receivers:

    Financial Year

    Fees Paid to Enforcement

    Receivers

    *Total Confiscation Order Amount

    (including any variations)

    % of Receivership Fees as a Proportion

    of the Confiscation Order Amount

    2011 – 2012

    £2,716,436.53

    £109,684,469.49

    2.48%

    2012 – 2013

    £2,982,980.41

    £140,752,428.67

    2.12%

    2013 – 2014

    £1,413,235.87

    £138,249,651.38

    1.02%

    *It should further be noted that the amount shown represents the total sum of assets available for confiscation. However, in many cases, the receiver is appointed to realise carefully selected assets and not all assets listed in the confiscation order. Accordingly, the receiver’s fees as a proportion of the assets he is appointed to realise could be considerably higher than the figures shown above.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Attorney General, if he will place in the Library the numbers of cases of (a) rape, (b) domestic violence, (c) child abuse and (d) human trafficking referred by each police force in England and Wales to each regional division of the Crown Prosecution Service in 2013.

    Oliver Heald

    Tables have been deposited in the Library of the House showing the number of requests for a charging decision referred to the CPS from each police force split by the categories requested.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-04-30.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) inspections, (b) findings of non-compliance, (c) prosecutions and (d) convictions have been handled by HM Revenue and Customs to non-payment of the minimum wage in each region in each year since 2008.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government take the enforcement of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) very seriously and HMRC reviews every complaint that is referred to it, investigating the complaint and, in addition, carrying out targeted enforcement where we identify a high risk of non-payment of NMW.

    The information for the time period requested is detailed in the table below. HMRC does not keep statistics at regional level for the purposes of completed inspections and non-compliance. However, the location of the employers prosecuted is included.

    Financial

    Year

    Completed

    Inspections

    Non-

    Compliance

    Prosecutions

    Employer

    Location

    2009-10

    3643

    1256

    0

    2010-11

    2904

    1140

    1

    Liverpool

    2011-12

    2534

    968

    0

    2012-13

    1693

    736

    1

    London

    2013-14

    1455

    680

    0

    The majority of employers identified as paying below the NMW will pay arrears on receipt of a formal Notice of Underpayment. Where they don’t, HMRC will pursue recovery through the civil courts. For deliberate non-compliance or obstructive behaviour, HMRC operates a policy of selective and exemplary criminal investigation action to bolster our overall enforcement strategy. Criminal investigations rarely result in arrears being paid to workers and are reserved only for the most serious cases. All of the prosecutions noted in the table above were successful.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many cases of (a) rape, (b) sexual assault and (c) domestic violence were (i) reported to the Royal Military Police, (ii) referred by the Royal Military Police to prosecutors and (iii) directed for trial in each year since 2009.

    Anna Soubry

    The table below shows the number of cases of rape and sexual assault reported to the Royal Military Police, which of those were referred by the Royal Military Police to prosecutors and which were directed for trial since 2009.

    These represent any case worldwide where the Royal Military Police has jurisdiction. Decisions to direct cases for trial are taken by the independent Service Prosecuting Authority.

    Year

    Number of rape cases reported to the Royal Military Police

    Number of rape cases referred by the Royal Military Police to prosecutors

    Number of rape cases directed for trial[1]

    2009

    20

    15

    10

    2010

    20

    10

    10

    2011

    20

    15

    5

    2012

    20

    15

    10

    2013

    20

    5

    10

    Year

    Number of sexual assault cases reported to the Royal Military Police

    Number of sexual assault cases referred by the Royal Military Police to prosecutors

    Number of sexual assault cases directed for trial1

    2009

    60

    30

    10

    2010

    65

    45

    30

    2011

    50

    30

    40

    2012

    35

    25

    25

    2013

    45

    30

    25

    The figures have been rounded to the nearest five.The specific figure has not been disclosed to ensure that the alleged victim(s) cannot be identified. This is in line with the Sexual Offences (Amendments) Act 1976 and 1992.

    Because of the way domestic violence statistics are recorded it is taking some time to collate the information. I will write to the hon. Member with an answer shortly.

    [1] The figures relating to referrals and directions for trial use the date of referral receipt as the base line. The Service Prosecuting Authority often receive referrals in one year and the cases are directed, disposed and/or tried in the following year. As such there is no direct correlation to the number of cases brought in any one year. Over a period of time the figures may well fluctuate as additional referrals are either directed or non-instituted.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Attorney General, how many cases of non-payment of the minimum wage were (a) referred to the Crown Prosecution Service from HM Revenue and Customs, (b) prosecuted and (c) prosecuted successfully in 2013-14 and each of the preceding three financial years.

    Oliver Heald

    Based on data held centrally by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) together with information provided by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which has responsibility for enforcing the law in relation to the National Minimum Wage, I have established (a) three referrals were made to the CPS from HMRC in 2010-2011. No referrals were made in the financial years 2011-2012, 2012-2013 or 2013-2014. (b) One prosecution commenced in 2011-2012 from the three cases referred in 2010-2011. (c) One conviction is recorded in 2010-2011 (referred in 2009/10) and one conviction in 2012-2013 (referred in 2010/11). This information represents the period of 2013-14 and the preceding three financial years.

    HMRC also has civil enforcement powers to secure and punish in cases of non-compliance.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Attorney General, whether the Serious Fraud Office has applied to HM Treasury for additional funding for its investigation into the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation.

    Oliver Heald

    The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has a core budget to investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute the most serious and complex cases of fraud, bribery and corruption and some exceptionally large cases will arise that require additional resources. However it is not in the public interest to specify in detail what resources the SFO intends to dedicate to each case.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with which countries the UK has asset sharing agreements for the purposes of freezing, confiscating and repatriating the proceeds of crime; and how many such agreements have been reached since 2010-11.

    Karen Bradley

    he UK is party to a number of multilateral international agreements that
    contain asset recovery and asset sharing provisions. These include the Council
    of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the
    Proceeds from Crime, the UN Convention Against Corruption and the UN Convention
    Against Transnational Organised Crime. The UK does not require a formal
    international agreement to be able to cooperate with another country in respect
    of freezing, confiscating and sharing or repatriating the proceeds of crime but
    does have 37 bilateral mutual legal assistance agreements with other countries
    including such provisions. These are –

    1. Algeria
    2. Antigua and Barbuda
    3. Argentina
    4. Australia
    5. Bahamas
    6. Bahrain
    7. Barbados
    8. Brazil
    9. Canada
    10. Chile
    11. Colombia
    12. Ecuador
    13. Grenada
    14. Guyana
    15. Hong Kong SAR
    16. India
    17. Ireland
    18. Italy
    19. Jordan
    20. Libya
    21. Malaysia
    22. Mexico
    23. Netherlands
    24. Nigeria
    25. Panama
    26. Paraguay
    27. Philippines
    28. Romania
    29. Saudi Arabia
    30. Spain
    31. Sweden
    32. Thailand
    33. UAE
    34. Ukraine
    35. Uruguay
    36. USA
    37. Vietnam

    The agreements with Jordan and Malaysia have been concluded since 2010.

    There are a further six bilateral agreements limited to the issue of asset
    sharing. These are –

    1. Canada
    2. Jersey
    3. Hong Kong SAR
    4. Ireland
    5. Jamaica
    6. Netherlands

    These were all concluded prior to 2010.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many investigations of allegations of (a) rape, (b) sexual assault and (c) domestic violence where the alleged offending took place in the UK were investigated by the Royal Military Police in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

    Anna Soubry

    The table below shows the number of recorded investigations by the Royal Military Police for rape, sexual assault and domestic violence where the alleged offending took place in the UK in the years 2010, 2011 and 2012.

    Year Rape Sexual Assault
    2010 ~ 25
    2011 5 20
    2012 5 15

    The figures have been rounded to the nearest five. The figure “~” represents a sample of less than five. The specific figure has not been disclosed to ensure that the alleged victim(s) cannot be identified. This is in line with the Sexual Offences (Amendments) Act 1976 and 1992.

    Because of the way domestic violence statistics are recorded it is taking some time to collate the information. I will write to the hon. Member with an answer shortly.

    The Royal Military Police is the Army’s police force and together with its Royal Navy and Royal Air Force counterparts, are collectively known as the Service Police. Under Home Office Circular 028/2008, which defines investigative jurisdiction in the UK, primacy generally rests with the civilian police, although the Service Police may take the lead in an investigation if both the suspect and the victim in a particular case are serving members of the Armed Forces.