Contributions
1,107 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDFemale Offender StrategyThe female offender strategy launched two years ago recognises a different approach to female offenders, and we are making good progress. We initially invested £5.1 million in…03 Nov 2020HANSARDFemale Offender StrategyWe are very conscious of the impact of lockdown on our female estate, and we will be looking very carefully, as we look at the new framework for the new provisions on Thursday, on…03 Nov 2020HANSARDIllicit Substance Use in PrisonsMy hon. Friend is right to highlight the impact of drugs in our prisons, because there is a link between drugs and violence and assaults. That is why we in Government are…03 Nov 2020HANSARDCovid-19 Lockdown in PrisonsI am grateful for the hon. Lady’s question, but I would like to challenge her position, because we already have an action plan. We have had the roll-out of a national framework to…03 Nov 2020HANSARDSexual Offenders: Transfers to Open PrisonsI am very grateful to the hon. Lady for raising this important and tragic case. She has written to me about it, and I hope that she has had the content of my letter back. I know…03 Nov 2020HANSARDSexual Offenders: Transfers to Open PrisonsAccess to open prison conditions is not a right, and there is no automatic progression. It is based on a detailed risk assessment. To be considered for open conditions, an…03 Nov 2020HANSARDCovid-19 Lockdown in PrisonsI am grateful to the hon. Lady for highlighting the measures we put in place during the last wave; as I said, we are very conscious of the impact on reduced liberties in prison.…03 Nov 2020HANSARDCovid-19 Lockdown in PrisonsIn March, we faced 2,500 to 3,500 deaths in our prisons, according to Public Health England’s worst-case scenario, and we took decisive action to implement national restrictions…03 Nov 2020HANSARDParole ReformProtecting the public from harm is the first duty of any Government. The parole system is one of the key mechanisms for keeping the public safe by ensuring that dangerous…20 Oct 2020HANSARD Prisons (Substance Testing) BillIndeed. We have had many opportunities to correspond digitally, so it is delightful to see the hon. Lady in person. She rightly referred to the importance of substance treatment…16 Oct 2020HANSARD Prisons (Substance Testing) BillI am delighted that my hon. Friend mentions that. I was just about to say that, as he may be aware, there is a pilot drug recovery prison at HMP Holme House, which helps prisoners…16 Oct 2020HANSARD Prisons (Substance Testing) BillI congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Dame Cheryl Gillan) on taking the initial steps in bringing forward this important Bill. She has done a…16 Oct 2020HANSARDHM Prison Five Wells: G4SToday I can announce that, following a rigorous and robust evaluation process, G4S has been successful in its bid to provide prison operator services at the new build resettlement…06 Oct 2020HANSARDYoung People in Custody: Covid-19I would like to clarify what the hon. Lady has said. We have not actively supported the lockdown; when we went into the pandemic, we were told by Public Health England that we…22 Sept 2020HANSARDYoung People in Custody: Covid-19The hon. Member is absolutely right to focus on the importance of education. It is something that the Government have prioritised for the community as a whole, and it is…22 Sept 2020HANSARDWomen Leaving Prison: ResettlementI am very pleased to have spoken regularly to the hon. Lady about residential women’s centres, which are a vital part of the female offender strategy. I hope she is aware that we…22 Sept 2020HANSARDReoffending ReductionI welcome my hon. Friend’s question on innovation. Our sentencing White Paper sets out a number of innovative ways of reducing reoffending, and I will mention just two. First, my…22 Sept 2020HANSARDYoung People in Custody: Covid-19I am very aware of the difficulties that many children in custody have faced over the covid period. I recently had a remote meeting with all the governors of the youth estate to…22 Sept 2020HANSARDPublic and Private PrisonsLevels of violence in our prisons remain too high, but I am pleased to say that we are on a downward trend in respect of assaults. In January to March this year, assaults on staff…22 Sept 2020HANSARDWomen Leaving Prison: ResettlementOur statistics are that 4.2% of the female prison releases were to rough sleeping and 14% were released as “other homeless”, but the numbers, whatever they are, are too high. The…22 Sept 2020