Contributions
1,309 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTopical QuestionsI am grateful to my hon. Friend, both for the particular interest he takes in his local prison and for using his much broader experience across the system. He is right to identify…27 Jun 2023HANSARDPrison Officer NumbersWe are committed to recruiting 5,000 additional prison officers across the public and private estate by the mid-2020s. We have seen recent improvements in recruitment, with 655…27 Jun 2023HANSARDImprisonment for Public Protection SentencesI am grateful to the hon. Lady for the tone in which she asks about this issue. Obviously, the role of the Parole Board and the probation service is vital, and the Parole Board is…27 Jun 2023HANSARDImprisonment for Public Protection SentencesThe number of IPP offenders in custody has fallen from 6,000 in 2012 to 2,916 at the end of March this year. That includes 1,561 who had been released but were then recalled. The…27 Jun 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsI am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his question. He and I have met, along with the other MP for Reading, my right hon. Friend the Member for Reading West (Sir Alok Sharma).…27 Jun 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsWhat the hon. Gentleman said is just not the case. He is absolutely right that securing accommodation on release is incredibly important—we have just had a similar conversation…27 Jun 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe work that our probation service does is incredibly important and, like the work of prison officers, it often goes unseen. There have been recruitment challenges throughout…27 Jun 2023HANSARDPrison Officer NumbersI have spoken to the POA about recruitment and retention, as the hon. Gentleman would expect. We have recently seen about a 1 percentage point improvement in the resignation rate,…27 Jun 2023HANSARDPrison Officer NumbersMy hon. Friend is right about the paramountcy of safety for our brave staff, which is why we have been investing in security, body-worn cameras, PAVA spray and so on. He is also…27 Jun 2023HANSARDUN Convention against Torture: ComplianceI am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his question, though I know that you would not want me to stray too far into matters that are for other Government Departments, Mr Speaker.…16 May 2023HANSARDAlcohol and Drug-related CrimeOffenders who get off drugs are some 19% less likely to slip back into a life of crime, so the Ministry of Justice is investing strongly across security, testing, treatment and…16 May 2023HANSARDAlcohol and Drug-related CrimeI certainly appreciate the link that my hon. Friend mentions. The MOJ has worked closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Home Office on the…16 May 2023HANSARDUN Convention against Torture: ComplianceThe Government have received a pre-reporting list of issues from the UN Committee against Torture, as is routine. We are finalising our response.16 May 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsAs my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State explained earlier, getting offenders and ex-offenders into work has a material impact on the odds against their returning to a life…16 May 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsIf I may, I offer to meet the hon. Gentleman to talk through that detailed case.16 May 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsI think that any such review and analysis would be led by the Government Equalities Office, but I can of course speak with reference to the prison system. On the particular issue…16 May 2023HANSARD Prison Officers: Pension AgeIt is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mrs Cummins. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey (Gordon Henderson) for securing this important debate, as it…10 May 2023HANSARD Prison Officers: Pension AgeIt certainly deserves a response, and I am grateful to the right hon. Lady for the points she has made. We want attractive career paths to be available to everybody who works in…10 May 2023HANSARD Prison Officers: Pension AgeI am grateful to the hon. Lady for that intervention. I take both recruitment and retention extremely seriously. I was just saying that there is a particular value to experience…10 May 2023HANSARD Prison Officers: Pension AgeThe hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that constructive discussion is always good; that is why we meet here in Westminster Hall and have these debates, and why my hon. Friend the…10 May 2023