Contributions
411 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe hon. Gentleman is absolutely right; when we are building new prisons, we have to think about the local area and ensure that we listen to local people’s views. I would gently…03 Feb 2026HANSARDPrison Capacity: Annual StatementToday, I am publishing the second annual statement on prison capacity. This marks the second annual statement delivering the Government commitment to transparency and…29 Jan 2026HANSARD Prison Capacity: Annual StatementI am very happy to come and speak to the Justice Committee as and when invited. The hon. Member raises an important point about fire safety; I do not have the exact figures to…29 Jan 2026HANSARD Prison Capacity: Annual StatementI was going to say that I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question, but he sort of ruined it at the end. Shoplifting is a crime, and the Home Secretary made an announcement…29 Jan 2026HANSARD Prison Capacity: Annual StatementMy hon. Friend has been a champion on this issue for a long time. I am very happy to meet with her and the group to discuss the complexities of the issue, because it is very…29 Jan 2026HANSARD Prison Capacity: Annual StatementI am very grateful, Madam Deputy Speaker. We cannot just build our way out of this problem. Without further reform, the prison population is projected to rise by around 3,000…29 Jan 2026HANSARD Prison Capacity: Annual StatementWith your permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to make a statement on prison capacity. Today, the Government are publishing the second annual statement on prison…29 Jan 2026HANSARD Prison Capacity: Annual StatementI am grateful to my hon. Friend for his question. Let me deal with the education point up front. There has not been a cut to the overall education budget, but it is right to say…29 Jan 2026HANSARD Prison Capacity: Annual StatementI welcome the hon. Member’s questions. As I set out in the statement, the issue of short-term sentences disproportionately affects female prisoners. As I recall, the average…29 Jan 2026HANSARD Prison Capacity: Annual StatementI thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. He said that there was a rush to free up space —that was because we absolutely had to. If we had not freed up space in our prison…29 Jan 2026HANSARD Prison Capacity: Annual StatementI welcome the new shadow Justice Secretary to his place; I hope he can do a better job than his predecessor. Let me deal with his last question first. If he had read what I said…29 Jan 2026HANSARD Prison Capacity: Annual StatementMy hon. Friend is a brilliant champion for his constituency, and in particular for its cafés, including this one—he has been telling me all about how important it is to the local…29 Jan 2026HANSARD Prison Capacity: Annual StatementThe hon. Member will know that decisions on individual cases about remand and bail are for our independent judiciary. She is right that fundamentally this is about the backlog in…29 Jan 2026HANSARD Prison Capacity: Annual StatementI will write to the hon. Gentleman on his last question—I just do not have the details, and I do not want to mislead him or the House on that particular case. As for high-security…29 Jan 2026HANSARD Prison Capacity: Annual StatementI always welcome my hon. Friend’s contributions on this issue. I gently say to Conservative Members that perhaps when a former prison officer, who has worked on the frontline, is…29 Jan 2026HANSARD Prison Capacity: Annual StatementI am sympathetic to the argument that the hon. Member makes. We need to look at how we involve third sector and private sector organisations wherever possible, and we are looking…29 Jan 2026HANSARD Prison Capacity: Annual Statementindicated dissent .29 Jan 2026HANSARDSentencing BillI always welcome an intervention from the Chair of the Justice Committee. As I said following an intervention from my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester (Pam Cox), the work on…20 Jan 2026HANSARDSentencing BillI begin by putting on record the Government’s welcoming of the new shadow Justice Secretary, the hon. Member for West Suffolk (Nick Timothy), to his job. We look forward to…20 Jan 2026HANSARDSentencing BillI beg to move, That this House disagrees with Lords amendment 7.20 Jan 2026