Joint Enterprise Under-18s 2023-03-28
2023-03-28
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
The number of young people in custody is declining, but there are concerns about the accuracy and completeness of conviction data.
If he will make an estimate of the number of people under the age of 18 serving custodial sentences who were convicted under joint enterprise. The number of young people in custody is at an historic low, with the number of under-18s in custody having fallen by 77% over the past decade.
The Ministry of Justice does not collate information on whether a prosecution or conviction for any crime was one of joint enterprise. We are considering whether such data could be collected as part of the Common Platform programme.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not provide an estimate, instead stated they do not collate this data and are considering future collection methods.
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
The JENGbA campaign group estimates hundreds or thousands of young people under 18 in prison under parasitic accessorial liability, a form of joint enterprise overturned in 2016 but lacking an appeal route due to the Court of Appeal's high bar.
People convicted under parasitic accessorial liability have no true route to appeal because of the high bar used by the Court of Appeal. Will the Minister consider my Criminal Appeal (Amendment) Bill, which is going through the House of Commons at the moment? It is desperately needed for those young people, who should not be in prison.
I am aware of the court case to which the hon. Gentleman refers, and I am always happy to engage with him on his private Member's Bill.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not commit to considering or supporting the Criminal Appeal (Amendment) Bill.
Response accuracy