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760 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDVictims and Prisoners BillMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Ponsonby, and all noble Lords who have spoken to this amendment, which would place a statutory duty of candour on all public authorities,…26 Feb 2024HANSARDEmployment of People with Criminal ConvictionsMy Lords, I can give your Lordships a variety of examples. I was talking to a prisoner from HMP Winchester the other day; he was very pleased and said, “It’s been great. I’ve…26 Feb 2024HANSARDEmployment of People with Criminal ConvictionsMy Lords, the Government do recruit ex-offenders and have signed up to various programmes to do so. That is a matter for individual departments, but it is certainly part of the…26 Feb 2024HANSARDEmployment of People with Criminal ConvictionsMy Lords, as your Lordships know, under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 the Government have been progressively reducing the need to disclose previous…26 Feb 2024HANSARDEmployment of People with Criminal ConvictionsMy Lords, I am pleased to say that the rate of prison leavers in employment six months after release almost doubled in the two years to March 2023, from 14% to over 30%. New…26 Feb 2024HANSARDVictims and Prisoners BillI thank the noble Baroness for that intervention. I will continue to reflect on all the points made, including this one. The Government’s present position is that this “slap on…05 Feb 2024HANSARDVictims and Prisoners BillMy Lords, I thank noble Lords very much for their contributions to this group. I first apologise for my heavy cold and thank my noble friends Lord Roborough and Lord Howe for…05 Feb 2024HANSARDVictims and Prisoners BillMy Lords, I do not think I could have put it better than the noble Lord, Lord Ponsonby. It is a good idea, but there are lots of complexities. I am sure that noble Lords agree…05 Feb 2024HANSARDVictims and Prisoners BillI am extremely grateful for that important intervention. As a number of noble Lords pointed out, although from various quarters adults can—sometimes quite vociferously—speak for…31 Jan 2024HANSARDVictims and Prisoners BillMy Lords, I thank all speakers in this debate. Like others, I particularly salute Poppy and her story. The whole purpose and point of the Bill is that the system should function…31 Jan 2024HANSARDVictims and Prisoners BillMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, for his question. I would obviously not dream of making any procedural point, as it is a very fair question. I do not think it is…31 Jan 2024HANSARDVictims and Prisoners BillMy Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Coussins, for raising this important topic. I join in the general commendation of the way in which she presented her amendments and the…31 Jan 2024HANSARDVictims and Prisoners BillMy Lords, I may be as underinformed as anyone but my understanding is that the classic case of restorative justice is that once there has been a prosecution and a conviction,…31 Jan 2024HANSARDVictims and Prisoners BillI shall not be attempting to answer the email that has not yet come through until it does, but my general answer to the noble Baroness is that the whole thrust of the Bill is that…31 Jan 2024HANSARDVictims and Prisoners BillMy Lords, if I may say so, what one should put in the Bill and in the code are matters of judgment and balance. In relation to restorative justice, which we are on, there have…31 Jan 2024HANSARDVictims and Prisoners BillWe may slightly be dancing angels on a pin. It may well be that if a regulated professional says to an authority, “I suspect there is criminal conduct”, there is enough there to…31 Jan 2024HANSARDVictims and Prisoners BillThank you. The Sentencing Council point is an interesting one, which I will reflect on. As for the request from the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, of course I am prepared to have…31 Jan 2024HANSARDVictims and Prisoners BillI recognise the nature of the problem. The modern versions of AI, or whatever generation of technology we are talking about, have opened up recent possibilities for us. Of course,…31 Jan 2024HANSARDVictims and Prisoners BillMy Lords, it is heartening to hear a story with a happy ending in one respect, as we are generally dealing with unhappy or less happy outcomes. This Government are very much in…31 Jan 2024HANSARDVictims and Prisoners BillMy Lords, I think we will come to the “must”/“should” point a bit later when we discuss the amendments proposed by the noble Baroness, Lady Chakrabarti. If I may, I will deal with…31 Jan 2024