Contributions
1,528 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDCommunity PaybackThese are operational matters for the police, who are independent of Government. The point I am making is that the Opposition could have chosen to support those many measures. If…28 Jun 2022HANSARDCommunity PaybackI am pleased to confirm to the hon. Lady, because it comes back to the speech of the hon. Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen), who said that we were somehow legalising rape, that…28 Jun 2022HANSARDCommunity PaybackI am glad to hear that. My hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Rob Butler) speaks with great expertise. He made the important point that the motion criticises us for what…28 Jun 2022HANSARDCommunity Paybackindicated dissent.28 Jun 2022HANSARDCommunity PaybackIt was a pandemic!28 Jun 2022HANSARDCommunity PaybackI will take one more intervention, from the hon. Member for West Ham (Ms Brown).28 Jun 2022HANSARDCommunity PaybackLet me start by saying how grateful I am to all those who have contributed to this important debate today. In particular, I join the hon. Member for Cardiff North (Anna McMorrin),…28 Jun 2022HANSARDCommunity PaybackThe hon. Lady just said that rape has been legalised under this Government. That is a shameful thing to say. Whatever differences we have about the detail of waiting times and so…28 Jun 2022HANSARD Sentencing: Repeat OffendersIt is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship for the first time, Sir Gary. I note your background as a solicitor, albeit not a criminal one, and that you served as a…21 Jun 2022HANSARD Sentencing: Repeat OffendersMy hon. Friend makes an excellent point, and he is absolutely right about the impact of the changes. He will be aware that our hon. Friend the Member for Workington (Mark…21 Jun 2022HANSARDCourt Backlog: Sexual and Violent Crime VictimsThe hon. Lady asks about what supports are in place; I am grateful to hear from her police and crime commissioner about the role that independent sexual violence advisers are…24 May 2022HANSARDAccess to Legal AidThat is a fair question, but I do not accept that there are areas of the country where people are denied access to justice because there are no legal aid providers. The Legal Aid…24 May 2022HANSARDAccess to Legal AidMy hon. Friend, who is a champion for his constituents, makes the important point that these are increasingly important matters in the current economic context. That is why we…24 May 2022HANSARDAccess to Legal AidLast year, to ensure accessibility to vital support, we spent £1.7 billion on legal aid. We are consulting on changes that will result in an additional 2 million people in England…24 May 2022HANSARDCourt Delays: AttritionThese are, as I said, important points. I am glad the hon. Gentleman recognises that we have committed the funding. Where is it going? For the second year on the trot, we have…24 May 2022HANSARDCourt Delays: AttritionI look forward to responding to it. My hon. Friend is absolutely right about resources, and that is why we had almost £0.5 billion of funding in the spending review settlement,…24 May 2022HANSARDCourt Delays: AttritionThese are important points. Attrition is most important with regard to rape. As the Deputy Prime Minister has said, the total number of rape convictions was up 67% last year, and…24 May 2022HANSARDCourt Delays: AttritionI am pleased to report that we are making progress on court delays in the Crown court. As of the end of March 2022, the outstanding backlog was 57,800, which is 5% lower than the…24 May 2022HANSARDCourt Backlog: Sexual and Violent Crime VictimsMy hon. Friend makes a very good point. As he will know, this is primarily a matter for the Home Office, but the roll-out of section 28 will support those cases. As we have…24 May 2022HANSARDCourt Backlog: Sexual and Violent Crime VictimsI am coming to those. Of course we want to reduce delays as far as possible, but, to give a sense of the progress that we are making, I should say that in March there were 124,000…24 May 2022