Contributions
747 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Eighth sitting)My understanding of the time saving—we measure it in the context of Crown court sitting days—is that we are looking at around 500 sitting days, which no one is suggesting is a…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Eighth sitting)I will address amendments 50 and 48 together. The cases that we are considering in the context of clause 4, which involve fraud and serious financial crime, are, as I have said,…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Eighth sitting)Finally, let me address amendment 46. As Members will get sick of hearing me say, the courts are facing an unprecedented challenge. Although relatively few in number, cases…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Seventh sitting)It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair once again, Ms Jardine. As Members will have heard me say on countless occasions, the pressures on our criminal courts are unprecedented.…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Eighth sitting)A number of the points just made were covered in earlier debates. I do not intend to rehearse the Government’s case for why the reforms we are introducing, based on the…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Eighth sitting)On amendment 49, consistent with our approach to the allocation of cases within the existing caseload but where trials are not yet commenced in relation to allocation to a Crown…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Eighth sitting)The amendment would effectively introduce a new right of appeal against a decision to order a judge-only trial. Once again the Government does not consider that to be necessary in…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Eighth sitting)Forgive me, Ms Butler, is it possible that I have not addressed the amendment tabled by the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle?21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Eighth sitting)Several points have been raised in this debate. First, on the definition and the application of the eligibility test, when I was explaining the rationale behind the provision for…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Eighth sitting)I am not going to second-guess how the judges will apply this. As I say, that is for the judiciary and the courts. I am not going to put an arbitrary time length on it; I do not…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Eighth sitting)I am going to make some progress— I know the hon. Gentleman has raised this with me. Those responsible for drafting the legislation do not need to add further definitions of what…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Eighth sitting)I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Central and the hon. Members for Bexhill and Battle and for Chichester for tabling the amendments in this group. In addressing…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Eighth sitting)On that final point, we are all delighted to be here and perform the function of Government properly. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] Exactly, and the company of all Members is a…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Eighth sitting)One of the things we have to in order to successfully deliver this court transformation is properly resource our magistrates court. You have heard me say before about what we need…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Eighth sitting)We have already covered a fair amount of the same ground. The example that I gave a couple of sittings ago was in relation to judges considering contempt of court applications,…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Eighth sitting)I thank the hon. Member for her point, which has been raised by others. Those terms are well understood in their ordinary meaning and can be applied in a clear and straightforward…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Eighth sitting)Will the hon. Member acknowledge that one of the first things this Government did when we came into power was invest £92 million, focusing primarily on duty solicitors who deal…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Eighth sitting)I thank the hon. Member for Chichester for tabling the amendment, because the issue and importance of legal aid is something that I think we both care deeply about. Access to…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Eighth sitting)Amendment 10 is a technical amendment concerning magistrates court sentencing powers when imposing consecutive sentences for multiple summary offences. The Judicial Review and…21 Apr 2026HANSARDCourts and Tribunals Bill (Eighth sitting)Clause 6 introduces a measure to extend the Secretary of State’s regulation-making power to enable the general limit on magistrates court sentencing powers to be set at 18 or 24…21 Apr 2026