Contributions
2,978 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Code of Conduct and Modernisation CommitteeCongratulations on your election, Madam Deputy Speaker. I congratulated one of your colleagues at the beginning, so let me add my congratulations to you on your election to the…25 Jul 2024HANSARDBusiness of the HouseWill the Leader of the House update us on forthcoming business?18 Jul 2024HANSARDBusiness of the HouseFirst, I congratulate you, Mr Speaker, on your unanimous re-election to the Chair and your triumphant victory in Chorley with 75% of the vote. Clearly we can all learn a great…18 Jul 2024HANSARD Licences and LicensingI thank the shadow Minister for his support. I am not sure that it was enthusiastic support—22 May 2024HANSARD Licences and LicensingYes, for a while. I know that Barnsley Central is close to the top of our target list. I am ever the optimist. The shadow Minister asked one or two questions about the…22 May 2024HANSARDArrests and Prison CapacityCrime is taken very seriously, which why it has fallen by 6% in the past year and 55% since 2010. The right hon. Gentleman referred to a period of just eight days when a…22 May 2024HANSARDArrests and Prison CapacityThat is a completely inaccurate characterisation of the situation. The eight-day period provided for a contingency that was not required. I have read to the House an assurance…22 May 2024HANSARD Licences and LicensingI beg to move, That the draft Licensing Act 2003 (UEFA European Football Championship Licensing Hours) Order 2024, which was laid before this House on 8 May, be approved. It is a…22 May 2024HANSARDArrests and Prison CapacityMy hon. Friend is right to raise the question of police numbers in London. Whereas across England and Wales as a whole we have record police numbers and 42 of the 43 police forces…22 May 2024HANSARD Licences and LicensingWell, we have to strike the right balance. These types of orders can be used only for events of exceptional significance, and we have chosen to draw the line at the semi-finals…22 May 2024HANSARDArrests and Prison CapacityThe Justice Secretary has assured me that Dartmoor is a well-run and well-regarded prison. One of the reasons why my colleagues in the Ministry of Justice, here on the Benches,…22 May 2024HANSARD Licences and LicensingI certainly take that in the spirit in which it was intended. Who knows, perhaps this is the last time we will face each other over the Dispatch Box.22 May 2024HANSARDForensic Information Databases Strategy Board: Annual Report 2022-23I am pleased to announce that I am today publishing the annual report of the forensic information databases strategy board for 2022-23. This report covers the national DNA…22 May 2024HANSARDArrests and Prison CapacityFirst, I pay tribute to the hon. Lady’s local police for the work they have done. I gently refer her to my previous answers: there have been no arrests that ought to have taken…22 May 2024HANSARDArrests and Prison CapacityThe Justice Secretary and the Prisons Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Charnwood (Edward Argar), who is also here, are building prison capacity rapidly. By the end of…22 May 2024HANSARDArrests and Prison CapacityFirst, prison places have not collapsed; I think there are more prison places now than in the recent past. I congratulate North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire police on that…22 May 2024HANSARDArrests and Prison CapacityI am happy to confirm that the Criminal Justice Board, chaired by my right hon. and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor, meets very frequently. Indeed, I attended its most recent…22 May 2024HANSARDArrests and Prison CapacityI may have got worked up, because the allegations being made were, in my view, unfounded and unsupported by the facts. I was simply trying to put across the facts—both the numbers…22 May 2024HANSARDArrests and Prison CapacityThe right hon. Lady is right to say that arrests of offenders of the kinds she describes are extremely important, and at no point would I ever expect, even in the contingency…22 May 2024HANSARDArrests and Prison CapacityAs a former Home Office Minister, my hon. Friend has a great deal of experience in this area. The police are operationally independent, but we liaise closely with them and the…22 May 2024