Contributions
1,118 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDHMPPS UpdateThank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. With your permission, I would like to make a statement on the escape from HMP Wandsworth yesterday morning, Wednesday 6 September, of a prisoner…07 Sept 2023HANSARDHMPPS UpdateThe hon. Gentleman asks a really probing question and makes an important point, if I may say so. The decision about where he was held was based on an assessment of the…07 Sept 2023HANSARDHMPPS UpdateI begin by welcoming the hon. Lady to her place, and I will try to address the points she raises. I was pleased to hear her remarks about not wanting to prejudice a future trial,…07 Sept 2023HANSARDDomestic Homicide Sentencing Review by Clare Wade KC: Government ResponseI am pleased to publish today the Government’s full response to the recommendations made by Clare Wade KC in the independent Domestic Homicide Sentencing Review. This builds on…20 Jul 2023HANSARDPrison Staff and Judiciary Pay AwardsI am today confirming the Government decision on pay awards for both prison staff and the judiciary. Prison staff pay award 2023-24 Having carefully considered the Prison Service…13 Jul 2023HANSARDRape Review Action Plan and Operation SoteriaMy right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department (Suella Braverman) and I are pleased to announce that the Government are today publishing a…10 Jul 2023HANSARDSentencing Hearings: Offenders’ AttendanceI thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this case and for rightly identifying the anguish, pain and insult that families feel when a cowardly defendant refuses to attend court. On…27 Jun 2023HANSARDViolence against Women and GirlsTackling violence against women and girls is a driving mission of this Government, and we are delivering on it in three ways. First, we have created and are creating new offences,…27 Jun 2023HANSARDPrisoner Transfers: AlbaniaLet me begin by saying that I know the hon. Lady is standing in for the hon. Member for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East (Stuart C. McDonald), and we wish him an early…27 Jun 2023HANSARDPrisoner Transfers: AlbaniaI thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue consistently—he was raising it when I first came to the House in 2015, and he is absolutely right to do so. Yes, we will continue to…27 Jun 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsYes, that is correct. Having carefully considered the Government’s legislative programme in the round, I can inform the House that we have decided not to proceed with the Bill of…27 Jun 2023HANSARDPrisoner Transfers: AlbaniaThe hon. Gentleman is right to raise this matter. Yes, we will be robust, but we will also be fair, and being fair means ensuring that basic standards relating to human behaviour…27 Jun 2023HANSARDAsylum Seekers’ Access to Justice: Illegal Migration BillThis is a fair country and we will always take what proper steps we should to ensure that individuals’ rights are upheld. I respectfully say this: as well as considering those…27 Jun 2023HANSARDPrison OvercrowdingI am grateful to the hon. Lady. It is worth reflecting that the second biggest programme in Government after High Speed 2 is in prison building. I invite her to go and look at…27 Jun 2023HANSARDPrison OvercrowdingThose are excellent points. Let me begin by joining my hon. Friend in welcoming Dame Sue Carr, whose appointment has been hugely welcomed across the political spectrum, across the…27 Jun 2023HANSARDSentencing Hearings: Offenders’ AttendanceI am pleased to be able to say that we are committed to bringing forward legislation to enable offenders to be compelled to attend their sentencing hearing. Offenders who rob…27 Jun 2023HANSARDLegal Aid Means Test Review: Domestic Abuse VictimsI am delighted to say that we are expanding access to legal aid to more than 6 million more people in total. Let me pay tribute to legal aid lawyers, who have an exceptionally…27 Jun 2023HANSARDPrisoner Transfers: AlbaniaOur prisoner transfer agreement with Albania came into force in May 2022. To build on that, as I have mentioned before, we announced a new arrangement with the Albanian Government…27 Jun 2023HANSARDLegal Aid Means Test Review: Domestic Abuse VictimsI agree wholeheartedly. My hon. Friend puts it well. Disputed assets such as the family home are by their nature illiquid and inaccessible. Worse still, they may be controlled by…27 Jun 2023HANSARDPrison OvercrowdingI am grateful to the hon. Gentleman and will be happy to meet him to discuss that. I am glad that he paid tribute to prison officers, who do spectacularly important work. One…27 Jun 2023