Every parliamentary written question tabled by Charlotte Nichols this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–10 of 10 · Ministry of Justice
Pursuant to his answer of 18 March to question 120027, whether he will publish the results of his department's engagement with the judiciary about their personal safety and security associated with the Courts and Tribunals Bill.
We engage regularly with judicial leaders on all matters including security. It is standard practice not to publish or comment on the specifics of discussions between Ministers and the judiciary.
Whether judges have been consulted about possible increased personal risks of replacing some jury trials with named judge trials as proposed in the Courts and Tribunals Bill.
The safety and security, welfare, and independence of the judiciary remain paramount. Engagement with the judiciary on the court reform measures in the Courts and Tribunals Bill included consideration of personal safety and security. We will continue to work with the judiciary as the Courts and Tribunals Bill progresses and these measures are implemented.When implemented, judge‑only trials will operate within the existing robust HMCTS security framework. This already includes a range of judicial security policies and procedures, such as the Judicial Harassment Protocol, designed to protect judicial office holders in court, outside of court, and online as a result of their judicial role.Last year, the Department invested over £20 million extra funding in judicial security, and HMCTS is continuing to improve its security procedures. We stand ready to do more if required.
What assessment his Department has made of the level of risk to named judges who replace juries in trials.
The safety and security, welfare, and independence of the judiciary remain paramount. Engagement with the judiciary on the court reform measures in the Courts and Tribunals Bill included consideration of personal safety and security. We will continue to work with the judiciary as the Courts and Tribunals Bill progresses and these measures are implemented.When implemented, judge‑only trials will operate within the existing robust HMCTS security framework. This already includes a range of judicial security policies and procedures, such as the Judicial Harassment Protocol, designed to protect judicial office holders in court, outside of court, and online as a result of their judicial role.Last year, the Department invested over £20 million extra funding in judicial security, and HMCTS is continuing to improve its security procedures. We stand ready to do more if required.
How many people have been convicted for (a) knowing or suspecting and (b) having reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaging in money laundering and failing to make a disclosure as soon as practicable to the bank’s nominated officer in each of the last 15 years.
The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on those convicted of “knowing or suspecting” or “having reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaging in money laundering and failing to make a disclosure as soon as practicable”.The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of convictions each year for offences as listed in the Offence Group Classification - this includes those related to money laundering. This information is available in the "Outcomes by offence" tool which is available here: Criminal justice statistics quarterly - GOV.UK". This link also contains the Offence Group Classification.
What the average price quoted was for court transcripts for victims in each of the last five years.
Management information held about transcript requests is limited, and the information requested is not held centrally.Victims usually request the judge’s sentencing remarks, which summarise the case against the defendant made at trial, the impact on victims and families and outline how the judge has come to a conclusion about the sentence handed down. This typically costs around £45 to £50.However, bereaved families of victims of murder, manslaughter and fatal road offences can request a free transcript of the judge’s sentencing remarks. On 22 May we announced that, following the conclusion of a one-year pilot at the end of May, we are continuing the scheme that enables victims of rape and other sexual offences to apply for a free copy of the judge’s sentencing remarks.
What progress her Department is making on reducing the (a) cost and (b) time to taken to produce court transcripts for victims who request them.
Bereaved families of victims of murder, manslaughter and fatal road offences can request a free transcript of the judge’s sentencing remarks. On 22 May we announced that, following the conclusion of a one-year pilot at the end of May, we are continuing the scheme that enables victims of rape and other sexual offences to apply for a free copy of the judge’s sentencing remarks.More widely, we are actively considering how to make court transcripts more accessible, and we continue to explore the potential for using AI to produce transcripts more quickly and cost effectively.
How much income her Department has received from the sale of court transcripts to victims in each of the last five years.
HM Courts and Tribunals Service receives no income from the sale of court transcripts to victims. The service is provided under contract and suppliers provide court transcripts for a fee.
What the average processing time was for applications to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme by people resident in Warrington in each of the last five years.
The table below shows the average time for decisions to be made on applications* for criminal injuries compensation by people resident in Warrington**.Calendar Year Average time (days) 20202792021423202234020233522024317 *The table does not include archived bereavement applications because the address of the applicant is not retained. In most cases, applications are archived three years after the case has been closed.**The above table includes all awards where the applicant named Warrington as the town in their home address in their application. Over the last three years, we have seen continued growth in people coming forward to claim compensation. To help meet this rising demand and to boost our capacity to assess claims, we continue to uplift staff numbers in line with funding. We are working to identify efficiencies in the way we work led by an in-house continuous improvement team.We have sponsored work to explore and implement helpful case management system changes and the potential for Artificial Intelligence applications to deliver further efficiencies by assisting our claims officers as they identify key information relevant to the assessment process.
How many people received awards under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in Warrington in each of the last five years or which figures are available; and what the value of those awards was.
The table below provides the number of compensation awards paid in each of the last five calendar years to applicants living in Warrington.Number of compensation awards paid to applicants living in Warrington* ** Calendar Year Number of awards paid Total value of those awards 202079£955,381202165£685,608202261£684,051202392£701,724202452£702,440*The above table includes all awards where the applicant named Warrington as the town in their home address in their application.**The table does not include archived bereavement applications because the address of the applicant is not retained. In most cases, applications are archived three years after the case has been closed.
How many people were prosecuted for (a) killing and (b) taking certain species of wild birds (i) in (A) 2021, (B) 2022 and (C) 2023 and (ii) since general license 42 was updated on 1 January 2024.
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions at criminal courts in England and Wales between January 2021 and June 2024 in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics. The offence ‘Prohibition of certain methods of killing or taking wild birds (Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981)' can be found using the following HO code; 19006. This can be accessed by navigating to the ‘Prosecutions and convictions’ tab and using the HO Offence Code filter to select the above offence in the Outcomes by Offence data tool.Between January 2021 and June 2024 there have been 6 prosecutions for the offence 'Prohibition of certain methods of killing or taking wild birds (Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981)'. However, it is not possible to separately identify killing or taking wild birds from the offence within the court proceedings database held centrally by the Ministry of Justice.