Contributions
1,309 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDFemale Offenders: Short SentencesMinisters engage regularly with colleagues in the Welsh Government, including discussions on female offenders and alternatives to custody. Both Governments work closely on…12 Sept 2023HANSARDFemale Offenders: Short SentencesThe women’s population in prison has come down, and sentencing is a matter for the judiciary and not something in which the Government intervene. It is important that suitable…12 Sept 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsI have been asked to reply on behalf of the Lord Chancellor, who has been in Riga attending a Council of Europe meeting, where a political declaration was signed on support for…12 Sept 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsWe are putting more money into legal aid and criminal legal aid following the independent review. Specifically on housing, which the hon. Lady mentioned, we are injecting an…12 Sept 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsWe take these matters extremely seriously. The independent investigation will of course look at the question the hon. Lady raised specifically about the 2019 incident to ensure…12 Sept 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsIt is. The hon. Lady would not expect me to get into a running commentary on transfer arrangements when we are talking about security. I want to reassure her, the House and the…12 Sept 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsI think the hon. Gentleman has achieved his objective: to get something on the record. I will not comment on ongoing cases, but, speaking more generally, access to justice is at…12 Sept 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsI can confirm that the Lord Chancellor and I—and us all—are very conscious of the difficulties around IPP sentences, which would not be introduced today. We abolished them, as the…12 Sept 2023HANSARDProbation ServiceProbation professionals perform a critical and invaluable role for our society. We are injecting an additional £155 million a year to recruit more staff, reduce case loads and…12 Sept 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsMy hon Friend is so right. In topical questions, I do not have the time to start to unpack all the different things I would like say, so I will not. Suffice it to say that…12 Sept 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsWe are seeing progress. It is a combined approach of drug recovery wings and incentivised subsidised free living, and ensuring that security is able to stop drugs getting into…12 Sept 2023HANSARDPrison Release: EmploymentWe continue to develop opportunities for work and training, both during custody and on release. I am pleased to say that the proportion of prison leavers employed six months after…12 Sept 2023HANSARDPrison Release: EmploymentMy hon. Friend raises an important point. Going to where the job opportunities are is incredibly important; I would mention to her opportunities such as the Jobcentre Plus…12 Sept 2023HANSARDProbation ServiceFirst, may I join you, Mr Speaker, in welcoming the hon. Lady to her place? I look forward to working constructively with her. She raises an important point about the protection…12 Sept 2023HANSARDPrison Release: EmploymentI join you, Mr Speaker, in welcoming the hon. Lady to her place and similarly look forward to working with her. I can bring her good news. First, there is an education service…12 Sept 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsMy hon. Friend is exactly right. He has a long history with this issue since before he reached this House. It is, ultimately, all about rehabilitation, reducing reoffending and…12 Sept 2023HANSARDHis Majesty’s Prison and Probation ServiceI am sorry, but I think that I might be starting to stretch Mr Deputy Speaker’s patience. I will be happy to follow up with the hon. Gentleman separately if he would like to do so…04 Jul 2023HANSARDHis Majesty’s Prison and Probation ServiceOf course, I will be delighted to correspond in that way with my hon. Friend. We are also rolling out 1,000 rapid deployment cells across the estate. The first three sites, HMPs…04 Jul 2023HANSARDHis Majesty’s Prison and Probation ServiceAs my hon. Friend well knows—he was previously a leading light in ministerial office, dealing with local government—we do not control the planning process. I am therefore not in a…04 Jul 2023HANSARDHis Majesty’s Prison and Probation ServiceI thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Sir Robert Neill), the Chair of the Justice Committee, for his opening remarks and, more broadly, for securing this…04 Jul 2023