The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-03-31.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people with 15 or more previous convictions were not sent to prison on conviction for (a) burglary and (b) violence against the person in the latest period for which figures are available.
Jeremy Wright
It has not been possible to obtain this information. I will write to the Honourable member in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, who the members were of Sir Cyril Chantler’s Review team working as part of the Standardised Packaging for Tobacco Independent Review; and what the cost was of commissioning expert advice from (a) Dr Yanzhong Wang and (b) Professor Catherine Pope as part of this review.
Jane Ellison
The members of Sir Cyril’s team are named, and their roles noted in the acknowledgements on page 9 of Sir Cyril’s report. The costs of commissioning expert advice from Dr Wang and Professor Pope were £12,000 (plus VAT) and £3,000 (plus VAT) respectively.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 9 April 2014, Official Report, columns 244-6W, on fraud: social security benefits, how many of the convictions listed were dealt with at (a) magistrates’ courts and (b) Crown courts.
Mr Shailesh Vara
Pursuant to the answer of 9 April 2014, the number of men and women found guilty for offences relating to benefit fraud by court type in England and Wales from 2008 to2012 (latest data available) in the attached
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 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners in open prisons have previously absconded or escaped from prison.
Jeremy Wright
Keeping the public safe is our priority. That is why this Government has taken action on both releases on temporary licence (ROTL) and absconds from prison.
We commissioned a fundamental review of ROTL policy and practice last year and, in March, announced a package of measures to ensure that the public was properly protected. We have brought forward some of those measures so that they take effect immediately; particularly with more serious offenders, where the review concluded that an enhanced risk assessment approach should be taken.
Absconds have reached record lows under this Government but each incident is taken seriously. Immediate changes have already been ordered to tighten up the system as a matter of urgency. Prisoners will no longer be transferred to open conditions or allowed out on temporary release if they have previously absconded.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average cost was of an either way office case dealt with at the Crown Court where (a) a guilty plea was entered at the magistrates’ court and (b) a guilty plea was entered on the day of trial at the Crown Court in the latest period for which figures are available.
Shailesh Vara
There are a number of different ways costs of cases can be estimated, depending on how indirect costs are apportioned, resulting in a range of cost estimates for these cases. The latest period for which data is available is 2012/13 (up-rated to 2013/14 prices).
a) The cost of an either way guilty plea entered at the Magistrates Court is estimated to be between £210 and £270 (to the nearest £10).
b) A guilty plea entered on the day of a trial at the Crown court would result in a cracked trial. The cost of a cracked trial in the Crown court is estimated to be between £1,200 and £2,000 (to the nearest £100).
These figures do not include legal aid costs.
Sentencing Council Guidelines to the judiciary encourage early guilty pleas by setting out a scale of ‘credit’ for a guilty plea to be applied that varies from a reduction of one third in any sentence for an early plea, to 10% for a guilty plea entered at the point of trial.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-03-31.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish his Department’s equality impact assessment of its policy on uniforms for male and female prisoners.
Jeremy Wright
The requirement for prisoners to wear uniform is set out in the Incentives and Earned Privileges national policy framework, Prison Service Instruction 30/2013. During the review of this policy in 2013 an Equality Impact Assessment was completed and I have placed a copy in the Libraries of both Houses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish in full the economic analysis on price and illicit trade analysis conducted as part of the Standardised Packaging for Tobacco Independent Review.
Jane Ellison
The Department understands that Section 5 and Annex C of Sir Cyril’s report constitute the full and final economic analysis on price and illicit trade analysis conducted as part of the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Independent Review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 20104. Official Report, columns 130-1W, on prisons: disciplinary proceedings, what the sex was of each of the 11 employees dismissed for conducting an inappropriate relationship with a prisoner; and how many employees were disciplined but not dismissed for the same misconduct in the same period, broken down by sex.
Jeremy Wright
The vast majority of Prison Service staff are honest, hard-working professionals. When a member of staff has an inappropriate relationship with a prisoner or ex prisoner, their actions fail to meet the professional standards expected of them in the course of their duty.
Corruption is taken very seriously and there is no place for it within the Prison Service. Anyone who fails to meet these standards will be dealt with swiftly and robustly."
Of the 11 employees dismissed for conducting an inappropriate relationship with a prisoner 6 were male and 5 were female.
From 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2013 there were a total of 6 NOMS employees disciplined for having an ‘Inappropriate Relationship with a prisoner / ex prisoner’. Of these, were 3 were male and 3 were female.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the daily average (a) number and (b) proportion is of prisoners serving custodial sentences who are out of prison on temporary licence in each county.
Jeremy Wright
Temporary release can be a valuable tool in the resettlement of prisoners in the community but it must never take place at the expense of public safety. We conducted a fundamental review of the policy and practice of rerelease on temporary licence (ROTL) after serious failures last year. We are introducing a system that enhances the assessment of serious offenders and restricts access to ROTL to cases where there is a clear, legitimate reason for the release. We have already introduced some of these changes and have additionally introduced a restriction on prisoners transferring to open conditions and having ROTL if they have previously absconded from open prisons; or if they have failed to return or reoffended whilst released on temporary licence.
It has not been possible to provide an answer in the time specified, I will write to you with an answer as soon as possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-03-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much in victim surcharge has been imposed by adult courts since October 2012; and how much of that figure has been collected to date.
Shailesh Vara
The amount of victim surcharge imposed and collected from October 2012 to September 2013 (latest published period) is set out below:
|
Imposition month |
Amount imposed |
Amount collected by end of September 2013 |
|
October 2012 |
£1,253,491 |
£826,583 |
|
November 2012 |
£1,460,874 |
£941,311 |
|
December 2012 |
£1,263,756 |
£788,671 |
|
January 2013 |
£1,900,543 |
£1,158,226 |
|
February 2013 |
£1,869,900 |
£1,068,110 |
|
March 2013 |
£2,086,393 |
£1,139,143 |
|
April 2013 |
£2,424,548 |
£1,240,960 |
|
May 2013 |
£2,543,344 |
£1,201,270 |
|
June 2013 |
£2,556,998 |
£1,096,358 |
|
July 2013 |
£2,982,204 |
£1,096,130 |
|
August 2013 |
£2,707,508 |
£776,618 |
|
September 2013 |
£2,626,937 |
£357,217 |
|
Total |
£25,676,496 |
£11,690,597 |
The balance of the amount imposed that is remaining at the end of the period will include amounts that are being paid by instalments or were not due for payment by that time. The closer to the point of imposition the greater the proportion will be that remains outstanding as many offenders will be paying by instalments.
HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) takes the issue of financial penalty enforcement very seriously and is working to ensure that clamping down on defaulters is a continued priority nationwide. HMCTS actively pursues all outstanding impositions until certain they cannot be collected. Total collection reached an all time high at the end of 2012/13 and collection has continued to rise in this financial year.
HMCTS are actively seeking an external provider for the future delivery of compliance and enforcement services. This will bring the necessary investment and innovation to significantly improve the collection of criminal financial penalties and reduce the cost of the service to the taxpayer.