Contributions
449 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDCrown Prosecution Service: Ensuring Effective Functioning of the CourtsThe criticism would carry a little more weight were it not for the fact that the Conservatives spent the last 14 years driving up the record court backlog. The root causes of the…20 Mar 2025HANSARDCrown Prosecution Service: Ensuring Effective Functioning of the CourtsI remind the hon. Member that the Conservative Sentencing Minister at the time wrote to the Sentencing Council making it clear that they welcomed the new guidance. Equality before…20 Mar 2025HANSARDViolence against Women and Girls: Prosecution RatesThe hon. Member is right to suggest that the root causes of the backlog are a direct result of Conservative choices and inaction. The previous Government closed more than 260…20 Mar 2025HANSARDViolence against Women and Girls: Prosecution RatesI pay tribute to my hon. Friend’s work in this area. She is right to raise the extremely important point of victim attrition, which is unacceptably high right across our United…20 Mar 2025HANSARDViolence against Women and Girls: Prosecution RatesI am very sorry to hear of the case that my hon. Friend raises. As he knows, this Government inherited a criminal justice system in crisis with a record Crown court backlog,…20 Mar 2025HANSARDViolence against Women and Girls: Prosecution RatesThe hon. Member raises an important point. The CPS is working right across the country to ensure that victims feel more able to come forward and that its service to victims…20 Mar 2025HANSARDViolence against Women and Girls: Prosecution RatesInsidious is the right description. We fully recognise just how damaging that form of abuse is, and that it can follow a pattern of escalation that can lead to violence. That is…20 Mar 2025HANSARDCrown Prosecution Service: Ensuring Effective Functioning of the CourtsThis Government unfortunately inherited a record Crown court backlog, with the human impact felt most severely by victims. Lengthy delays are much too common and victim attrition…20 Mar 2025HANSARDCrown Prosecution Service: Contingencies Fund AdvanceThe Crown Prosecution Service requires a Contingencies Fund advance of £60 million to cover urgent payments of resource departmental expenditure limit expenditures, such as…11 Feb 2025HANSARDSerious Fraud Office: Economic CrimeMy hon. Friend is right that fraud does not acknowledge borders, particularly when it comes to the increasing harms associated with online fraud. That is why it is so important…06 Feb 2025HANSARDCriminal Justice System: Use of TechnologyNew technology has the potential to bring transformative benefits to the criminal justice system, as it does to public services more broadly. With regard to artificial…06 Feb 2025HANSARDCriminal Justice System: Use of TechnologyMy hon. Friend is right to raise this extremely important point. That is exactly why I welcome the Home Secretary’s announcement that this Government will be the first in the…06 Feb 2025HANSARDHate Crime ProsecutionWhether online or in person, stirring up hatred or inciting violence will not be tolerated. The Government are determined to take swift and robust action to stamp out hate crime,…06 Feb 2025HANSARDHate Crime ProsecutionThe CPS prosecutes all cases that are referred to it, provided that they meet the full code test for Crown prosecutors. I think we would all admit that there is more to do…06 Feb 2025HANSARDRural Crime: Prosecution RatesThe Government are committed to keeping everyone in this country safe, whether they live in a town, a city or a rural area. That is why we are putting more police officers and…06 Feb 2025HANSARDRural Crime: Prosecution RatesFly-tipping blights communities, and I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising the issue. I know that he has also raised it with the Minister for Food Security and Rural…06 Feb 2025HANSARDRural Crime: Prosecution RatesThis is a profoundly tragic case, and I am grateful to the hon. Member for raising it. My heartfelt condolences go to Ryan’s family. I know that they and others have been…06 Feb 2025HANSARDHate Crime ProsecutionMy hon. Friend is right to identify this as a problem. I know from discussions with RASSO charities in my constituency that the shortage of counsel is a direct contributor to…06 Feb 2025HANSARDViolence against Women and Girls: Prosecution RatesMy hon. Friend raises an important issue. She is right to highlight the unique risks faced by women in rural areas, including her constituency; increased isolation can bring with…06 Feb 2025HANSARDViolence against Women and Girls: Prosecution RatesThe scale of violence against women and girls in this country is intolerable, and the Government are treating it as the national emergency that it is. The CPS has begun securing…06 Feb 2025