Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Joint Enterprise: Under-18s

Tuesday 28 March 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Barry Sheerman asked about estimating the number of people under 18 serving custodial sentences for joint enterprise convictions.
  • The Ministry of Justice does not track whether a conviction was under joint enterprise but is considering data collection.
  • Sheerman inquired about the Criminal Appeal (Amendment) Bill for those convicted under parasitic accessorial liability.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Barry Sheerman Lab
Justice & Courts
Context

The number of young people in custody is declining, but there are concerns about the accuracy and completeness of conviction data.

Question

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.

Answer from Mike Freer

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.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide an estimate, instead stated they do not collate this data and are considering future collection methods.

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Q2 Barry Sheerman Lab
Justice & Courts
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.

Question

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.

Answer from Mike Freer

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.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not commit to considering or supporting the Criminal Appeal (Amendment) Bill.

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