Contributions
399 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDImprisonment for Public ProtectionIn the two years since being in government, we have made significant progress to support IPP prisoners. We have reduced the number of never-released IPP prisoners by 21% and the…16 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public ProtectionThe noble Baroness will not be surprised that everybody I meet in prisons and probation, and around the whole justice sector, is ambitious for IPP prisoners. We are committed to…16 Jul 2026HANSARDEarly Release Prisoners: Preventing Homelessness and Rough SleepingMy Lords, I begin by thanking the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, for his Question, and for the opportunity to discuss these critical issues that are close to his and all our hearts. The…16 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public ProtectionIt is possible that some of these offenders may have been given a discretionary life sentence and therefore would still be subject to the parole process and therefore still in…16 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public ProtectionThe noble and learned Lord is incorrect: 896 IPP prisoners have never been released; that is 11% down on last year. My view is that we need to get them into the right prison. Two…16 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public ProtectionI am glad the noble Baroness thinks that the new Prime Minister will be perfect. I was pleased to see the noble Baroness yesterday outside the Ministry of Justice with a number of…16 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public ProtectionI thank my noble friend for his kind words, and I look forward to seeing a number of noble Lords at the IPP Peers meeting on Monday. I will take away the point on the progression…16 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public ProtectionThe last IPP prisoner I met was in HMP Birmingham—I think I was there three weeks ago. He was back on recall and facing further charges. The nature of the conversation was quite…16 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public ProtectionThe noble and learned Lord is right to bring this up because they are often the most complex individuals in our whole prison estate. The level of self-harm among this cohort can…16 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public Protection PrisonersThe IPP sentence is a stain on our justice system. I believe the best way to support IPP prisoners towards a safe and sustainable release is via the IPP action plan, well-run and…06 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public Protection PrisonersI thank my noble friend for all his continued support in this difficult area and for sending me a lot of cases that I can look at. The good news is that recall is down by 31%.…06 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public Protection PrisonersI am a big fan of open prisons. That is where the best recruitment is and that is where people reintegrate into society a lot more. I was in HMP Birmingham three weeks ago, where…06 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public Protection PrisonersFrom March 2025 to March 2026, there was an 11% reduction in the number of never-released IPP prisoners, but I want to get more men and women out for the first time and post…06 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public Protection PrisonersIt was important two years ago to get the IPP prisoners in the right prison so that they could get the support they needed. We have gone from the 70% range to now 95% of IPP…06 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public Protection PrisonersIt is very important that we safely release people and that they are safe when they are in our care. That is especially so for IPP prisoners—as well as their families who are also…06 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public Protection PrisonersThe noble and learned Lord is exactly right: families play a huge role—it is employment, it is housing and it is families. One important thing about open prisons, for example, is…06 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public Protection PrisonersNoble Lords who know me will know that I do not lack ambition. Although I cannot put any figures on it, I can say that we are doing all that we can. I work with incredibly…06 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public Protection PrisonersRelease is never risk-free, but we need to balance the opportunity and the risk. I am seeing a much more stable Prison and Probation Service. By that, I mean that we have the…06 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public Protection PrisonersI thank the noble Lord for that question and for the work that he does. Some 80% of offending is reoffending, so something is going wrong when so many people just go round in a…06 Jul 2026HANSARDPrisoner Early ReleaseWhat I can tell the noble Baroness is that all our sympathies are for the victims of these shocking crimes. It is absolutely terrible what happened. By law, tomorrow this this…01 Jul 2026