Contributions
179 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Eighth sitting)I remind the hon. Member that magistrates in the youth court are able to impose sentences of up to two years, and that in its written evidence, the Magistrates’ Association states…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Eighth sitting)The Minister mentions charging decisions. As it stands, the amendment would suggest absolutely nonsensical charging decisions. Prosecuting somebody for all the offences listed in…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Seventh sitting)No. I will make some progress; we need to make progress today. The researchers found that more than 90% of respondents in the survey they conducted believed that discrimination on…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Seventh sitting)I do apologise, Ms Jardine. The report by the Deputy Prime Minister, as he is now, was conducted almost a decade ago. It highlighted concern about the sentencing decisions of…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Seventh sitting)I am about to conclude, so I will not. I support new clause 29, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Erdington, but I submit that the change and modernisation that…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Seventh sitting)It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Erdington for tabling new clause 29, which I support. It is a…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Fifth sitting)District judges in the magistrates courts sit alone every sitting day and hear cases and trials. They then go on to sentence if that person is convicted, or to release them if…16 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Sixth sitting)The magistrates court goes through that process. The process of allocation to the Crown court bench division essentially mirrors what already happens in the magistrates court, and…16 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Fifth sitting)But the hon. Member is happy that youths are treated fairly in the criminal justice system, even if a single judge hears their case.16 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Sixth sitting)This is a decision that magistrates make every day. Every sitting day, they look at allocation, and they do not put their finger in the air to decide what the sentence might be.…16 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Fifth sitting)I think the hon. Member is saying this is a balancing exercise. It is about having a fair trial, but one that is equipped within our criminal justice system. That is exactly what…16 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Sixth sitting)It is true that the case has to go up to the Crown court, but it is not for the purposes that the hon. Member would like, as it were. It is because the magistrates’ maximum…16 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Fifth sitting)I am afraid I have to disagree with the hon. Member, because the youth court has powers to sentence people for up to two years, so it already has higher sentencing powers than…16 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Fifth sitting)My point follows on from the powerful point the hon. Member is making about the need to look at good practice, which is something we should all get behind. Over my many years of…16 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Sixth sitting)Please allow me to finish. It is because barristers have a duty not to mislead the court. If they are saying to the judge, “I know my client is not really going to get more than…16 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Fifth sitting)No, but it could very well come down to credibility. My hon. Friend is suggesting that no offences in the magistrates court would come down to credibility, or am I…16 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Sixth sitting)On that point, what are the hon. Member’s thoughts in relation to a magistrates court where a magistrate has made a decision that a case is suitable for summary trial but then…16 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Sixth sitting)Can I also just mention Newton hearings? A defendant has pleaded guilty but does not accept all the allegations that the prosecution’s case sets out—perhaps the most serious…16 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Fifth sitting)Common assault, for example—16 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Sixth sitting)I know that that would absolutely not happen—16 Apr 2026