Contributions
399 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDDrones: High-security PrisonsThe noble Lord is completely right that the prisons I am visiting now are very different from the prisons I visited 15 or 20 years ago. The buildings are often in decrepit states…15 Jan 2025HANSARDDrones: High-security PrisonsLike the noble Lord, I visited some years ago, so I do not have an exact picture in my mind of the layout of the exercise yards. I can assure him that every male closed prison now…15 Jan 2025HANSARDDrones: High-security PrisonsI thank my noble friend for the question. I am afraid that, due to security reasons, I cannot go into any details on the measures that we have and that we will have. However, I…15 Jan 2025HANSARDDrones: High-security PrisonsI thank the noble Lord for the question; I would be delighted to meet up and to learn more. The problem we have with serious organised crime in our prisons is that these people…15 Jan 2025HANSARDDrones: High-security PrisonsI thank the noble Baroness for the question. Having run a business for many years and tried to find fantastic superstars to work with, I am well aware that we always want to find…15 Jan 2025HANSARDDrones: High-security PrisonsThe noble Lord is completely right. There are far too many people in prison who arrive addicted and stay addicted. They need an incentive and support not to take drugs. That is…15 Jan 2025HANSARDDrones: High-security PrisonsThe noble Lord is right that any death in custody is a death too many. One of the most difficult jobs I have, when I read my emails every morning, is when I get notified that we…15 Jan 2025HANSARDDrones: High-security PrisonsThe no-fly zones have been a great success and have been an important part of the work we are doing, but there is still further work we need to do. I reiterate that the demand is…15 Jan 2025HANSARDDrones: High-security PrisonsThe noble and learned Lord is completely right that drones pose a major and serious threat to all our prisons. I have been visiting Manchester prison for over 20 years, and I went…15 Jan 2025HANSARDPrison Capacity StrategyI thank the noble and learned Lord for his detailed question. In the wider scheme of things, the best way to get value for money, as he says, is to reduce reoffending. Maybe in 15…17 Dec 2024HANSARDPrison Capacity StrategyI thank the noble Lord for his comments. In respect of reoffending, the latest figure I have seen is £18 billion per year. Reoffending in our country is definitely higher than in…17 Dec 2024HANSARDPrison Capacity StrategyI thank my noble friend. I am a big fan of the prisons in Northern Ireland—it is not because my wife is from Northern Ireland and I have been round the prisons many times. We can…17 Dec 2024HANSARDPrison Capacity StrategyI thank the noble Baroness. I would love it if we could lock up fewer people, but we cannot: we need prison spaces to ensure that we punish people who have done very bad things.…17 Dec 2024HANSARDPrison Capacity StrategyI thank the noble and learned Lord, Lord Keen, and the noble Lord, Lord Beith, for their comments. We are all aware that we have a problem. The problem is that the prison…17 Dec 2024HANSARDImprisonment for Public Protection (Re-sentencing) Bill [HL]My Lords, I congratulate the noble lord, Lord Woodley, of Wallasey, for securing this Second Reading of his Bill. The aims behind it are undoubtedly admirable, and I respect the…15 Nov 2024HANSARDImprisonment for Public Protection (Re-sentencing) Bill [HL]I thank the noble Baroness for raising that point. I believe in the IPP action plan. I spent a lot of time reviewing it with colleagues and I want to engage with it for all those…15 Nov 2024HANSARDSentencing Review and Prison CapacityWhen I walked into Preston Prison, there was a big board next to the governor’s office, with the names and dates of all the governors of the prison from when it first opened. The…23 Oct 2024HANSARDSentencing Review and Prison CapacityI thank the noble Lord for the question. When he was having those conversations a number of years ago, I think he was also having some of them with me in meetings outside of his…23 Oct 2024HANSARDSentencing Review and Prison CapacityI thank the noble Baroness for the question. Yes, I hope the panel will engage with the whole sector, and there are so many experts who have so much experience. As far as the…23 Oct 2024HANSARDSentencing Review and Prison CapacityI thank my noble friend for his question. I have walked past far too many classrooms in prisons where there are rows of computers and desks but no one inside. When prisons are…23 Oct 2024