Contributions
1,118 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDPrison CapacityI am grateful to my hon. Friend, who is such a champion on this issue. He is right, and to increase the number of staff we have increased pay, accepting the recommendation of the…21 Nov 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe hon. Gentleman makes a simple but incredibly important point. We want to follow the evidence so that we protect the public. We will do so, on the one hand, by locking up the…21 Nov 2023HANSARDShort Sentence Suspension: Probation ServiceThose who behave in such an appalling way should expect to feel exactly that: the full force of the law. Let me be crystal clear: those who pose a particular threat to individuals…21 Nov 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsMy hon. Friend speaks with great authority as a magistrate, and I know from my own experience as a practitioner how important stand-down reports are. They provide the bench with…21 Nov 2023HANSARDPrison CapacityI thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind words about my hon. Friend. Yes, absolutely; where the court determines that an alternative disposal is appropriate, we are keen for…21 Nov 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsNot for the first or last time, my hon. and learned Friend has got absolutely to the point. We have deliberately constructed the policy so that if an individual presents a…21 Nov 2023HANSARDPrison CapacityMy hon. Friend makes an important point. Between January 2019 and March 2023, 14,700 foreign national offenders were served with deportation orders and removed. As he has…21 Nov 2023HANSARDICC: Government SupportThe UK is one of the major funders of the International Criminal Court, and provides further practical support including sentence enforcement, pro bono expertise in victim and…21 Nov 2023HANSARDShort Sentence Suspension: Probation ServiceThe first point is not right; since 2010, the overall levels of crime have fallen by 40%. As for the second point, reoffending has dropped from about 32% to about 25%. The third…21 Nov 2023HANSARDPrison CapacityThis Government have embarked on the biggest prison building programme since the Victorian era, to create 20,000 modern, secure, rehabilitative places. To date, we have already…21 Nov 2023HANSARDNon-custodial Sentences: Public ConfidenceI am delighted to hear that from the hon. Gentleman. We have to follow the evidence, which shows that short sentences of immediate custody lead to a higher reoffending rate than…21 Nov 2023HANSARDViolence Reduction, Policing and Criminal JusticeYes, I would. I look forward to the restoration of the Assembly so that these important priorities can be pursued. Let me turn to the issue of rape, which I heard mentioned sotto…15 Nov 2023HANSARDViolence Reduction, Policing and Criminal JusticeThe hon. Lady has made a very important point. I will not bore the House with war stories, but I remember defending a young woman—17 years old. She had been abused by her…15 Nov 2023HANSARDViolence Reduction, Policing and Criminal JusticeMy right hon. Friend puts it well. Anyone who has observed what has taken place cannot fail but to be filled with anguish and distress, so of course it is the case that a nation’s…15 Nov 2023HANSARDViolence Reduction, Policing and Criminal JusticeI have been very grateful to the right hon. Lady for the care and attention that she has given to this sensitive area over many months and years. We will continue to work with her…15 Nov 2023HANSARDViolence Reduction, Policing and Criminal JusticeI thank my hon. Friend, who is absolutely right. He did extraordinarily important work on stalking. He understands, as I do, that it is a wicked crime that leaves women in…15 Nov 2023HANSARDViolence Reduction, Policing and Criminal JusticeI am delighted to debate this with the right hon. Lady. Thirteen years, and it was not on the statute book. When did it come on to the statute book? In 2012. She had 13 years, and…15 Nov 2023HANSARDViolence Reduction, Policing and Criminal JusticeI will give certainly way to the right hon. Lady in a moment, but not before paying tribute to her and, indeed, the Hillsborough families and others for campaigning for this…15 Nov 2023HANSARDViolence Reduction, Policing and Criminal JusticeI thank the hon. Lady for her question. We did indeed have a productive and non-partisan time on the Justice Committee. On the specific important point she raises, the Minister…15 Nov 2023HANSARDViolence Reduction, Policing and Criminal JusticeAs always, my right hon. Friend has made an extremely powerful point. On the basis of what he has said, that does seem troubling. I do not know all the details, of course, but the…15 Nov 2023