Contributions
923 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDNo-fault DivorceMy Lords, I am not sure whether my noble friend is a foot solider or somewhere between a major-general and a field marshal in this area of the law. May I gently suggest that…15 Mar 2022HANSARDNo-fault DivorceMy Lords, the letter from my noble and learned friend Lord Keen was sent at the conclusion of the parliamentary process for the divorce Act. In the intervening two years, we have…15 Mar 2022HANSARDNo-fault DivorceMy Lords, yes: no-fault divorce means that the question of fault is essentially irrelevant to the fact of the divorce. As to equality of arms, that is where mediation is so…15 Mar 2022HANSARDEarly Legal Advice Pilot Scheme Order 2022That the draft Order laid before the House on 19 January be approved. Relevant document: 29th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee . Considered in Grand…15 Mar 2022HANSARDEarly Legal Advice Pilot Scheme Order 2022My Lords, I beg to move this statutory instrument, which establishes the early legal advice pilot scheme that will be conducted in Middlesbrough and Manchester for a time-limited…10 Mar 2022HANSARDEarly Legal Advice Pilot Scheme Order 2022That the Grand Committee do consider the Early Legal Advice Pilot Scheme Order 2022. Relevant document: 29th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee10 Mar 2022HANSARDEarly Legal Advice Pilot Scheme Order 2022My Lords, I am very grateful for the contributions from the noble Lords, Lord Thomas of Gresford and Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede. I will pick up a few points in response. On the…10 Mar 2022HANSARDPrisoners: Imprisonment for Public Protection SentencesMy Lords, the Government will publish the imprisonment for public protection action plan following careful consideration of the findings and recommendations of the report of the…08 Mar 2022HANSARDNationality and Borders BillI do not think I am saying anything inconsistent. I am saying that, for the reasons I have set out—I was just starting on the point and hope I will be able to develop it—we do not…08 Mar 2022HANSARDPrisoners: Imprisonment for Public Protection SentencesMy Lords, I think I made it clear in my first Answer that the current version of the action plan is in the Library. We are updating it but we will wait to see what the Justice…08 Mar 2022HANSARDPrisoners: Imprisonment for Public Protection SentencesMy Lords, “egregious injustice” is probably the right phrase. What came out in the debates on the police Bill was a recognition by those who proposed the IPP sentence in the first…08 Mar 2022HANSARDPrisoners: Imprisonment for Public Protection SentencesMy Lords, I think the link between humanity and effectiveness might lie beyond a short answer to a question. What I can say is that quick fixes—such as retrospectively abolishing…08 Mar 2022HANSARDPrisoners: Imprisonment for Public Protection SentencesMy noble friend raises a correct point, which I sought to make in the previous answer. We must recognise that as the number of IPP offenders in custody reduces, proportionally the…08 Mar 2022HANSARDPrisoners: Imprisonment for Public Protection SentencesMy Lords, I cannot go now into details of the action plan which will be published. What I can say is that we are absolutely focused on the sword of Damocles nature of the licence…08 Mar 2022HANSARDPrisoners: Imprisonment for Public Protection SentencesThe noble Lord is absolutely right. It is imperative that prisoners get that sort of support to make sure that they are in the best position they can be to be released, if they…08 Mar 2022HANSARDPrisoners: Imprisonment for Public Protection SentencesMy Lords, they have neither been overlooked nor forgotten. The vast majority of the IPP prisoners who have never been released received their IPP either for a serious sexual…08 Mar 2022HANSARDPrisoners: Imprisonment for Public Protection SentencesMy Lords, I have those figures: as at the end of September 2021, there were 19 women in custody who had never been released and 115 women in the community on licence. A qualified…08 Mar 2022HANSARDPrisoners: Imprisonment for Public Protection SentencesI do not want to get too political about it but, picking the last 10 years and talking about why we are in this position, we are in it because the Labour Government came up with…08 Mar 2022HANSARDNationality and Borders BillMy Lords, the debate has shown that the House is unanimous on two points. The first is that my noble friend Lady Williams of Trafford should be congratulated, and the second is…08 Mar 2022HANSARDPrisoners: Imprisonment for Public Protection SentencesMy Lords, I think I am the first Minister to have made a real change in this area, in the government amendments to the police Bill. Regarding the noble Lord’s other points, we…08 Mar 2022