Contributions
399 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDSentencing Council GuidelinesI thank the noble Lord for his second question. As I have said previously, the Lord Chancellor is committed to doing a full review of policies to ensure that none of them…02 Apr 2025HANSARDSentencing Council GuidelinesWe believe that the guidelines represent a differential treatment before the law and that is why we oppose them. We asked the Sentencing Council to revise them and, as I said, it…02 Apr 2025HANSARDMental Health Bill [HL]I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Bradley for bringing this discussion before the House today and his commitment to improving outcomes for patients since the publication in…31 Mar 2025HANSARDMental Health Bill [HL]The noble Baroness has visited many prisons, as I have, and knows how complex they can often be. One of the main points of the Bill is to make sure that our partners—because we…31 Mar 2025HANSARDSentences of Imprisonment for Public ProtectionOn 31 December 2024, 695 unreleased IPP prisoners were 10 years or more over tariff, representing 67% of this population. Data on the number of recalled IPP offenders who have…24 Mar 2025HANSARDSentences of Imprisonment for Public ProtectionThe noble Baroness will be pleased to know that I raised this when we had the Peers round table a few months ago—I am hoping to have another one in May—when we talked about the…24 Mar 2025HANSARDSentences of Imprisonment for Public ProtectionThere are 241 IPP prisoners in secure mental health settings as of the last figures published. It is those who are of real concern to me, because they are so far away from being…24 Mar 2025HANSARDSentences of Imprisonment for Public ProtectionI agree with the noble Baroness that it is a terrible stain on our justice system. In the job that I am doing, it is my job to make sure that as many IPP-sentenced prisoners…24 Mar 2025HANSARDSentences of Imprisonment for Public ProtectionThe Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, which I have mentioned, introduced a new power to enable the Secretary of State to release recalled IPP and DPP prisoners using a risk-assessed…24 Mar 2025HANSARDSentences of Imprisonment for Public ProtectionI thank the right reverend Prelate for her question, and I agree with her. I have met IPP prisoners, both in prison and in the community, who are not fully aware of the situation…24 Mar 2025HANSARDSentences of Imprisonment for Public ProtectionI thank my noble friend for his question. Those in the community are already benefiting from the significant changes to the IPP licence period in the Victims and Prisoners Act…24 Mar 2025HANSARDSentences of Imprisonment for Public ProtectionI thank the noble Baroness for her question and the interest she has in this important area. I assure her and all noble Lords that I am not giving up on anyone. So far as mental…24 Mar 2025HANSARDSentencing Council GuidelinesI thank my noble friend for that question. It is clear that pre-sentence reports can be very useful. Our focus needs to be on having good pre-sentence reports and, when people…19 Mar 2025HANSARDSentencing Council GuidelinesThe Equal Treatment Bench Book was written by judges, for judges. I am very clear that everybody should be treated equally in the eyes of the law.19 Mar 2025HANSARDSentencing Council GuidelinesThe Sentencing Council is independent of Parliament and government. The council decides on its own priorities and workplan for producing guidelines. The Lord Chancellor was clear…19 Mar 2025HANSARDSentencing Council GuidelinesThe issue of tackling disproportionate outcomes in the criminal justice system is a matter of policy and should be addressed by Government Ministers and not the Sentencing…19 Mar 2025HANSARDSentencing Council GuidelinesOur independent judiciary is best placed to decide whether a community or a custodial sentence is required. From my experience, pre-sentence reports can be very useful in…19 Mar 2025HANSARDSentencing Council GuidelinesI thank my noble friend for her question. It is up to the independent judiciary to decide whether to request a pre-sentence report. What we do know is that in a number of cases…19 Mar 2025HANSARDSentencing Council GuidelinesThe independence of the judiciary and the fact that everybody should be treated equally in the eyes of the law means that pre-sentence reports are determined by the judiciary, and…19 Mar 2025HANSARDSentencing Council GuidelinesI thank the noble Lord for his question and for his generosity and kindness to me many years ago in helping me get going when I first started recruiting people from prison. When…19 Mar 2025