:00:00. > :00:00.Join me for a round-up of the day in both Houses at 11 o'clock tonight.
:00:00. > :00:09.First, we have questions to the Attorney-General, he is right. Mr
:00:10. > :00:11.Speaker, with your permission, I will answer this question along with
:00:12. > :00:16.question for. Securities can apply for special measures to allow
:00:17. > :00:19.victims and witnesses to give evidence in court and seen by the
:00:20. > :00:24.defendant, and the Government is making available the opportunity for
:00:25. > :00:32.vulnerable witnesses to give pre-recorded evidence without going
:00:33. > :00:35.into a courtroom at all. It makes clear what prosecutors can do to
:00:36. > :00:39.explain what is likely to happen at court, so that victims and witnesses
:00:40. > :00:44.can better understand the trial process and give the best evidence
:00:45. > :00:48.they can. I am encouraged, but half of all cases going through the court
:00:49. > :00:53.at the moment for sexual abuse. With police investigating no fewer than
:00:54. > :00:59.70,000 claims this year alone, that figure is likely to remain high.
:01:00. > :01:02.Given the traumatising impact on children especially, reliving their
:01:03. > :01:08.experiences in the witness box, what additional measures are being taken
:01:09. > :01:10.to make the process less intimidating, especially regarding
:01:11. > :01:16.counselling services being available? I think it is important
:01:17. > :01:19.that the system does all that it can to reduce the effect on especially
:01:20. > :01:23.vulnerable witnesses of giving evidence in these cases. That's why
:01:24. > :01:27.I'm delighted that my right honourable friend the Lord
:01:28. > :01:33.Chancellor has decided to extend what I believe was a successful
:01:34. > :01:35.pilot of cross-examination. That means that vulnerable witnesses,
:01:36. > :01:38.particularly children, can give their evidence outside of a
:01:39. > :01:42.courtroom environment, and have it all done and dusted before the trial
:01:43. > :01:46.begins, which means they're also not affected by any delays that the
:01:47. > :01:51.trial may be subject to. That is hugely important, as, as I say, is
:01:52. > :01:55.the opportunity for prosecutors to speak to witnesses and explain what
:01:56. > :01:58.is going on. That has resulted in much improved satisfaction rates
:01:59. > :02:08.among witnesses for the support they get from the CPS. Will the
:02:09. > :02:11.Attorney-General join me in thanking the work of the NSPCC and Esther
:02:12. > :02:14.Rantzen in their work on reducing the intimidating environment in
:02:15. > :02:18.courts for children and could he confirm how many children give
:02:19. > :02:21.evidence in court? Mr Speaker, I'll have to write to right honourable
:02:22. > :02:25.friends on the figure he asks for. But in relation to his comments
:02:26. > :02:30.about the NSPCC, I entirely agree with him. It is worth noting that
:02:31. > :02:32.there are a variety of organisations who assist tremendously in the work
:02:33. > :02:37.of the criminal justice system in making sure, as I say, that all
:02:38. > :02:40.witnesses can give their best evidence. That's in the interests of
:02:41. > :02:43.the whole system, and it is especially important when we are
:02:44. > :02:51.dealing with children. Ester Speaker, I've only attended one
:02:52. > :02:53.trial, a murder trial, where, in the summing up, the family of a young
:02:54. > :02:59.lady who was brutally murdered had to listen to an absolutely appalling
:03:00. > :03:02.character assassination, totally fraudulent. They have to sit there
:03:03. > :03:09.and listen to that - has anything been done to stop that horrible
:03:10. > :03:12.practice? I understand entirely the point that the honourable gentleman
:03:13. > :03:15.makes fish he will recognise that in a criminal trial, it is necessary
:03:16. > :03:19.that the defence case is put. We need that in order to make sure that
:03:20. > :03:25.the process is fair. We are doing what we can to make sure that those
:03:26. > :03:28.who are in court not of their own volition they are either a victim or
:03:29. > :03:34.a witness, that their experience is as easy as it was we can be, though
:03:35. > :03:40.we accept it will never be completely easy. Could the minister
:03:41. > :03:48.outlined what steps have been taken to address the constabulary, and the
:03:49. > :03:53.CPS report, which revealed that some honourable people are being let down
:03:54. > :03:57.by the inconsistency of approach to criminal cases, and how successful
:03:58. > :04:01.have these steps being? Yes. I recognise the point that the
:04:02. > :04:04.honourable gentleman makes. This was a troubling report in some ways. One
:04:05. > :04:08.of the most troubling aspects, I think, is the way in which those who
:04:09. > :04:12.are victims of crime in particular are communicated with by the CPS,
:04:13. > :04:17.the language that's used, and the sensitivity that is shown. And so,
:04:18. > :04:21.right honourable friends the solicitor general and myself have
:04:22. > :04:23.been keen to insure that the Crown Prosecution Service take those
:04:24. > :04:28.lessons on board and act on them. I am confident that they are doing so.
:04:29. > :04:33.What steps has the CPS taken to support victims and witnesses with
:04:34. > :04:36.mental health issues? Again, my honourable friend makes a good
:04:37. > :04:39.point, and there are many people within the system, both defendants
:04:40. > :04:43.and witnesses, who do have such mental health difficulties. It is
:04:44. > :04:46.important the system is sensitive to that. What we need to do is to
:04:47. > :04:49.understand better what the particular needs of each witness may
:04:50. > :04:53.be, and then respond to them as best we can. Their way to do that is to
:04:54. > :04:58.have the maximum number of tools available and ways in which evidence
:04:59. > :05:01.can be given, whether that is pre-recorded examination, as I have
:05:02. > :05:06.mentioned, or the assistance of others in court who can help those
:05:07. > :05:09.who give evidence. Will be Attorney-General ensure that no
:05:10. > :05:13.witness were defendant can give evidence to court whilst wearing a
:05:14. > :05:17.full face balaclava or the burqa? Well, Mr Speaker, I think what is
:05:18. > :05:22.important is that the court and the jury in particular can assess the
:05:23. > :05:27.evidence that a witness gives. So it is important that that witness is
:05:28. > :05:30.able to give evidence in a clear way, so that the jury can assess
:05:31. > :05:34.whether they think that witnesses telling the truth or not. Anything
:05:35. > :05:42.that gets in the way of that, I'm sure the court will wish to consider
:05:43. > :05:45.very carefully. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Be committed in our
:05:46. > :05:51.manifesto that we would extend the scope of the duly lenient scheme. We
:05:52. > :05:54.announced that we will be extending it so that it applies to terrorism
:05:55. > :06:00.offences, sentenced in the Crown Court. We are working with her to
:06:01. > :06:04.intimate that. I am very grateful, Mr Speaker, to my honourable friend
:06:05. > :06:07.for confirming that the manifesto commitment that we made is still on
:06:08. > :06:12.track. But I would be very grateful if he could be a little bit more
:06:13. > :06:14.specific about what dates we might be able to make some headway on.
:06:15. > :06:21.Because these reforms are long overdue? Well, my honourable friend
:06:22. > :06:24.is right to press the government as to a commitment to action. Work is
:06:25. > :06:29.being done with the Ministry of Justice. I can tell him that both
:06:30. > :06:33.the attorney and I are committed to ironing out the obvious
:06:34. > :06:35.system, which do cause system, which do cause
:06:36. > :06:43.understandable frustration amongst victims and their families. Can I
:06:44. > :06:47.ask my honourable friend, over the last 12 months, how often has he
:06:48. > :06:51.been asked to review sentences handed down by the courts? Well, the
:06:52. > :06:57.number of sentences considered continues to increase. In 2015, we
:06:58. > :07:01.considered 713 requests. It is interesting to note that of 80,000
:07:02. > :07:05.sentences passed in England and Wales in that year, only just over
:07:06. > :07:07.100 were varied by the scheme. I think that shows a vote of
:07:08. > :07:17.confidence in our judges and magistrates. Mr Speaker, the
:07:18. > :07:20.Government's working very closely with the police can CPS and
:07:21. > :07:24.community organisations to monitor any changes in hate crime levels and
:07:25. > :07:27.will continue to do so after the triggering of Article 50. It is not
:07:28. > :07:28.possible to predict prosecution trends, and the data is
:07:29. > :07:31.not disaggregated on nationalities and
:07:32. > :07:37.victims. Can I ask the solicitor general what
:07:38. > :07:41.steps are being taken to improve the conviction rate for hate crimes
:07:42. > :07:44.against disabled people, and will he confirm whether he will support the
:07:45. > :07:51.call from the shadow solicitor general for parity in the regime for
:07:52. > :07:55.all detected characteristics? Well, the honourable member will be glad
:07:56. > :08:04.to note that rates of disability hate crime plus a continued to rise.
:08:05. > :08:09.Rise last year was. The conviction rate for hate crime being just over
:08:10. > :08:14.83%. The total number of hate crimes prosecuted last year was 15,442. It
:08:15. > :08:19.is the highest number today to. I of course take very seriously the
:08:20. > :08:24.helpful and sensible suggestions by the honourable gentleman, the Shadow
:08:25. > :08:27.Solicitor General. Can my honourable friend outlined what steps his
:08:28. > :08:32.department is taking to prevent the spread of hate crime via the media?
:08:33. > :08:38.As we know, in an age of social media, it has become all too easy
:08:39. > :08:44.for perpetrators to spread hate and intimidation. The CPS take very
:08:45. > :08:50.seriously offences which crossed the line into Ruth Lea offensive
:08:51. > :08:53.communications, and prosecutions take place regularly, and we will
:08:54. > :09:02.continue to work with social media to make sure that the detection of
:09:03. > :09:06.these crimes can be improved. The case which concluded in the Supreme
:09:07. > :09:09.Court last week dealt with an important constitutional issue. It
:09:10. > :09:12.was absolutely right that the Government both defended its
:09:13. > :09:16.position and appealed the first instance judgment in England and
:09:17. > :09:19.Wales to the Supreme Court, where the case was heard alongside
:09:20. > :09:23.connected litigation from the Northern Ireland courts. The figures
:09:24. > :09:28.for the total costs of these cases will be published in due course. But
:09:29. > :09:32.I can confirm to the House that the advocate-general for Scotland and I,
:09:33. > :09:39.on behalf of the government, received no additional fee for our
:09:40. > :09:42.work on the case. I think the Attorney-General for the response.
:09:43. > :09:47.I'm not sure we got any closer to learning the figure. Given that
:09:48. > :09:51.every single legal commentator in the land said that it was deemed to
:09:52. > :09:55.fail, why was it necessary to waste taxpayers' money on funding the
:09:56. > :10:01.appeal? I'm afraid I do not agree with the honourable gentleman's
:10:02. > :10:05.promise. First of all, I think it IS the right place to decide a case of
:10:06. > :10:11.this significance, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. Secondly, if
:10:12. > :10:13.the Government's arguments were as hopeless as he suggests, three
:10:14. > :10:18.Supreme Court justices would not have agreed with them. Thirdly, as I
:10:19. > :10:22.pointed out to him, the case was in the Supreme Court partly because
:10:23. > :10:25.there were Northern Ireland cases appealed to the Supreme Court not by
:10:26. > :10:28.the Government but by the other parties to which the Government
:10:29. > :10:33.responded and on which by the way the Government was successful.
:10:34. > :10:37.Fourthly, it was also true that in the Supreme Court, they were dealing
:10:38. > :10:41.with arguments made by the devolved governments, which had to be dealt
:10:42. > :10:44.with by the Supreme Court and which, again, the Government was entirely
:10:45. > :10:51.successful. Finally, can I say this? I think it is a good thing that in a
:10:52. > :10:55.system governed by the rule of law, a government is prepared to go to
:10:56. > :10:58.court to argue its case, make use of appeal mechanisms, like any other
:10:59. > :11:02.litigator, and then abide by the final outcome. That is what has
:11:03. > :11:04.happened, and I think it is a good example of where rule of law systems
:11:05. > :11:13.should work. Does my right honourable friend
:11:14. > :11:20.agree when members of the public being cases against the government,
:11:21. > :11:25.there are conflicting decisions, our government had no alternative
:11:26. > :11:31.whatsoever but to pursue this matter to the Supreme Court? I do agree
:11:32. > :11:36.with that, Mr Speaker. I think it's important, as I say, the Supreme
:11:37. > :11:39.Court resolve this matter, gave us clarity on what should happen and
:11:40. > :11:44.it's now for Parliament to decide what to do next and I'm pleased to
:11:45. > :11:53.see Parliament began to answer the question it had been posed. When the
:11:54. > :11:58.results are published, will the government make sure the price
:11:59. > :12:04.exacted was liberty and freedom from bureaucrats of Brussels which it is
:12:05. > :12:07.difficult to attach any cause to? I take the honourable gentleman's
:12:08. > :12:13.point, this will be an expensive case but I think the answer that the
:12:14. > :12:17.British people gave it should be respected and acted upon and that,
:12:18. > :12:24.as I say, is a matter for Parliament, no longer a legal
:12:25. > :12:27.matter. The Attorney General may be needs to think again about some of
:12:28. > :12:32.the dubious shorthand that he uses in respect of the default cases. The
:12:33. > :12:37.Supreme Court really only make your judgement is in relation to two of
:12:38. > :12:40.the five matters in relation to Northern Ireland and in some of
:12:41. > :12:46.those political observations are telling in ways that the government
:12:47. > :12:48.has yet to inspect. The reason the other three issues weren't
:12:49. > :12:52.determined is that they didn't need to be because other aspect of the
:12:53. > :12:56.case were decided as they were. I'm afraid the position is very clear,
:12:57. > :12:59.in relation to the arguments made particularly by the devolved
:13:00. > :13:02.administrations that there should be the capacity but those
:13:03. > :13:06.administrations to veto the process of leaving the European Union, the
:13:07. > :13:10.Court simply didn't agree and rejected those arguments
:13:11. > :13:14.unanimously. On the subject of the cost to the public purse, rather
:13:15. > :13:15.than I'd hoped would be a rerun of the arguments which would
:13:16. > :13:19.tedious. I think the whole house tedious. I think the whole house
:13:20. > :13:23.would like to know we get value for money and that judgement and there's
:13:24. > :13:35.plenty of obligations in many acts of Parliament and that the courts
:13:36. > :13:37.placed to judge them. I think, Mr Speaker, when the honourable
:13:38. > :13:41.gentleman reads the judgement carefully as I'm sure he will, what
:13:42. > :13:47.it says is that the civil convention, whereas may be important
:13:48. > :13:49.allegedly is not a matter for the courts to enforce, that was
:13:50. > :14:01.perfectly and properly for the Supreme Court to say. The opposite
:14:02. > :14:07.words, public purse and please, can we stick to that, it would be
:14:08. > :14:13.helpful? Vista Speaker, if the government was genuinely motivated
:14:14. > :14:16.to spend this money by wanting a definitive answer from the courts on
:14:17. > :14:20.a constitutional question why did the government not thank the judges
:14:21. > :14:25.in the divisional Court in November for such a clear answer. Instead be
:14:26. > :14:30.in a position where the Justice Secretary had to be pressured into
:14:31. > :14:34.giving a lukewarm defence? No, Mr Speaker, the government has always
:14:35. > :14:37.been clear that at every level courts are entitled to consider the
:14:38. > :14:39.case is brought to them and to reach whatever judgement they think
:14:40. > :14:43.appropriate in the light of the arguments they have heard. That was
:14:44. > :14:46.true in relation to the High Court, true in relation to the Cyprian
:14:47. > :14:51.Court but he knows is an eminent lawyer himself, the appropriate
:14:52. > :14:55.thing to do if you disagree with a Court of first instance is to appeal
:14:56. > :14:58.bad judgement, that's exactly what the government did, doing exactly
:14:59. > :15:01.what any litigator would do and incidentally, exactly what some
:15:02. > :15:07.litigators in this case did in Northern Ireland. Isn't it
:15:08. > :15:11.absolutely remarkable that we have significant numbers of litigants in
:15:12. > :15:12.person in our courts because of the governments legal aid cuts and yet
:15:13. > :15:15.when the government wanted a lawyer when the government wanted a
:15:16. > :15:20.money was found? Isn't it the case money was found? Isn't it the case
:15:21. > :15:25.that in terms of access to justice, it's one route the government and
:15:26. > :15:29.one room for everybody else? I'm tempted to point out as I said
:15:30. > :15:33.earlier that when the government wanted a lawyer, two out of the
:15:34. > :15:36.three it used in the Supreme Court didn't cost the taxpayer anything
:15:37. > :15:40.but I would point out to him it's important in cases like this are
:15:41. > :15:43.brought under make no criticism of those who brought these cases so
:15:44. > :15:48.that these issues could be resolved, it's important that they are
:15:49. > :15:51.resolved through proper and full legal argument. That was done
:15:52. > :15:56.through the High Court and then the Supreme Court, but the right way to
:15:57. > :15:58.get to be answered the Supreme Court has given and as he knows I've made
:15:59. > :16:02.clear many times, the government will honour and respect the
:16:03. > :16:09.judgement of the Supreme Court. Number six, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker,
:16:10. > :16:12.UK nationals can be prosecuted in our domestic courts were genocide,
:16:13. > :16:17.crimes against humanity and war crimes that have taken place abroad.
:16:18. > :16:20.My honourable friend will know that the UK Government is also working
:16:21. > :16:23.with other governments to explore international legal mechanisms
:16:24. > :16:28.whereby Ayyash can be held to account for its crimes. As it
:16:29. > :16:36.appears no steps are currently being taken by the International Criminal
:16:37. > :16:39.Court to pursue crimes against international humanity in Syria or
:16:40. > :16:43.Iraq and the spiteful ten this is advocating is our steps being taken
:16:44. > :16:47.by the UK to use legal competencies to prosecute UK national team may be
:16:48. > :16:52.committing such crimes in Syria or Iraq? My honourable friend will know
:16:53. > :16:57.in relation to the International Criminal Court the UK Government
:16:58. > :17:01.sought to pursue a route for by the ICC would consider offences of this
:17:02. > :17:05.type in Iraq and Syria and she will know that particular approach was
:17:06. > :17:09.vetoed by the Russians and Chinese, so it's no lack of effort on the
:17:10. > :17:14.half of the UK. In relation to domestic law, we will certainly
:17:15. > :17:18.pursue these offences is and where we can, she will recognise that the
:17:19. > :17:21.primary tactical difficulties obtaining the evidence needed and
:17:22. > :17:24.one of the things we aren't looking at Adam international level is how
:17:25. > :17:29.to make sure evidence is retained and collected properly, in theatre,
:17:30. > :17:34.so it can be used for prosecutions when the time comes. Questions to
:17:35. > :17:44.the Minister for women and equality is. Question number one, Mr Speaker.
:17:45. > :17:49.Minister Justine Greening. Thank you. The government wants to ensure
:17:50. > :17:52.all schools are safe in inclusive environments where pupils can fulfil
:17:53. > :17:54.their potential and the government decide to