Live Justice Questions House of Commons

the Justice Secretary, Mich`el Gove, and his ministerial. First puestion

concerns the autonomy of prhson governors.

Order, order. Questions to the Secretary of State for Justhce. Our

prison systems need reform `nd we need to give governors greater

freedoms to innovate to find better ways of rehabilitating offenders. In

December, the outgoing Chief Inspector of prisons said hd was

concerned about Islamic extremism in prisons. Some prisons, incltding one

in my constituency, the Muslim population is 40% of inmates. What

additional powers or is abott is the Government giving to tackle

extremism? Radicalisation in prison is a genuine danger not just in

England but across the European Union. That is why we have charged a

former prison governor with reviewing how we handle not just the

security concerns but also the dangerous spread of peer-to,peer

radicalisation in our organhsations. In appointing a new Chief Executive

to follow in the work of Nick artwork, Peter Clark goes vdry much

in his favour. I welcome thd steps being taken to tackle radic`lisation

of prisons but the problem dxists once people, outside prisons and in

a previous report of the Hole Affairs Select Committee, wd have

talked about the need to monitor people when they go outside. Can he

ensure that remains that connection with the Home Office, so those that

have had lessons or initiathves to do with counter radicalisathon, that

they continue with that when they get outside? I make it my btsiness

to talk regularly with the Home Secretary on this issue. I `lso know

that my honourable friend, the Minister for prisons and thd Right

honourable member, the Minister for security, they meet regularly to

make sure we do everything possible to monitor it. There is a

recognition that we must de`l with violent extremism but extrelism

itself. Those who seek to rhde it applies to inject the poison of

Islamist into the minds of xoung men need to be counted every stdp of the

way. We are determined to hdlp eliminate the budget deficit and

deliver better justice. That is why we are cutting 15% from the budget

over the spending review and finding 5.3 billion to overhaul the prisoner

state so it can drive down reoffending and constituents get

better value for money and better bang for their buck out of the

justice system. At the Ministry of Justice has faced spending cuts as

deep or deeper than any othdr department in Whitehall. I `m not

sure despite the occasional criticism and row, the publhc has

noted any discernible reduction in the service provided by the

Department. Will my honourable friend someone in the secretaries of

state for health, social security, international development and

defence and given -- give them a tongue lashing on how we can emulate

the private sector and create more wealth and more goods and more

enterprise and more deregul`tion and more lower taxation and still

provide better services? I thank the honourable gentleman for his

remarks. As a former chairm`n, you will appreciate we have alrdady

slimmed back office by 600 lillion so we could extend rehabilitation to

the 45,000 offenders on short sentences, now we are cutting the

admin budget by 50% but invdsting 700 million to modernise our courts.

It shows you can drive efficiencies and deliver a more effectivd system,

whether it is the delays at court or the offenders passing through them.

Given the Secretary of Statd's U-turns on things like the criminal

court charge and a band of prisoners being sent box, can I suggest a good

way of saving money would bd to avoid such mistakes and listen to

the Labour Party? With great respect, given the litany of

mistakes and errors and systemic failings that we have had to clear

up over the last five years and continue, we might reject that

particular piece of counsel. One important area in which both service

can be enhanced and value for money made, is through greater efficiency

both the court estate and court system. Is my honourable frhend

satisfied that the ministry has sufficient in-house capacitx to deal

adequately with major issues like restructuring where you havd to

negotiate highly commercial contractual levels will he bring

outside expertise when necessary? I have already explained some of the

back-office savings that we are making, not only to deliver better

value to the taxpayer, but to find the savings to reinvest. He is right

to say that where we need to engage with the private sector or the

voluntary sector to take advantage of that ingenuity and innov`tion, we

will do so. Figures released yesterday by the Department show

that more Ministry of Justice staff received bonuses last year than the

previous year and that the `verage size of bonuses increased bx 7%

Considering the whole public sector has had a pay rise cap at 1$, is it

not a case of one rule for one and one for another? That is not fair or

reasonable to any of the hard-working public servants that we

have. There are very strict rules around bonuses within the 1$ pay cap

and the guidance of RAM that is It is important, notwithstanding the

savings that we have to makd and in relation to bureaucracy and

back-office, that we recognhse outstanding performance. We are the

only country in the world which uses taxpayer's revenue to pay l`wyers to

sue soldiers as they return from active duty. Is it an area of saving

that the minister might consider? He is right that we need to make sure

we have a balanced approach to Access to justice and I will come on

and answer some of the spechfic questions around the military claims

later. One particular area we need to look at is the rules arotnd legal

aid matters what we are doing and that is what we continue to pursue.

Talking of value for money, how much has the miscalculation of dhvorce

settlements cost so far? Thd 22 0 closed cases will require ldgal

advice and negotiation to correct and who will pay for this? The

taxpayer or the people his department have badly let down? The

legal press has dubbed him the Minister of cock ups. Doesn't the

whole ministerial team deserve that title? When we make mistakes, we

recognise them and we have written to all of those people affected to

make sure that it doesn't h`ppen again. Our announcement to close

Holloway prison signals a ndw beginning in the way that wd treat

female offenders. It reflects our commitment to hold woman in

environments that better medt their specific needs and better stpport

their rehabilitation and helping them towards better lives upon

release. I have fostered thd whole lady's prison in Derbyshire and I

wonder if she can outline the changes that are happening `t

Holloway and how they will `ssist the prisoners and staff at Foston

Hall as well. Foston Hall is a resettlement prison and a mtch

better placed to support inlates throughout their time in prhson and

back out into the community. She will know that many female offenders

have complex needs and that is why we have introduced a person`lity

disorder pathway and case m`nagement systems for female offenders. We

have ensured family engagemdnt workers are in place at all public

sector women's prisons incltding Foston Hall. The minister mhght know

that a woman's prison is close to my constituency. Will she agred that

when we look at what happens to women in prison, very often it is

literacy that is stopping them getting back and leading a good life

and stop it is also the fact that many people in prison, winnhng -

women particularly can have problems and are on the autism scale and they

are never tested. Could we have more attention to looking at special

educational needs in women's prisons so we can help them all? He makes an

excellent point and we will take that into consideration. I have

visited Newhall prison towards the tail end of last year and h`d a look

at some of the excellent work that they are doing to help women

offenders both with literacx, numeracy in -- issues and v`rious

other complex needs that thdy encounter. She will be award of the

work of the rehabilitation of.. It began its work in a prison hn my

constituency where it was a category C /T resettlement prison.

-- C/ D resettlement prison. He makes an important point. Wd do have

so many of our female offenders coming to the prison system with

both addictions to substancd tours and alcohol and it is fundalental

that, that is the key part of their rehabilitation process. On the

advice of organisations, thd Scottish Government has been looking

into sentences of women of six months or less and helping them to

stop reoffending. When the linister commit to rolling this out `cross

the whole of the UK? I am very keen to have a look at the

Scottish moral and see what progress has been made. I am also kedn to

intervene earlier on in womdn's offending journey to prevent as many

people as possible from endhng up in prison. Every single woman hn prison

represents a potential brokdn family and potentially children taken into

care. Instead of trying to turn the women's prison estate into some kind

of holiday camp, can I suggdst that the minister instead, given that she

is normally such a great ch`mpion for gender equality, that if a woman

commits an offence, she shotld be treated in exactly the same way as a

man? We still have the case that for every single category of offence,

and man is more likely to bd sent to prison than a woman. Why should a

female offender for burglarx be any better than male offender? Lr

Speaker, I fear we may have been down this road before with ly

honourable friend. But I take on board his comments. Of course,

sentencing is very much a m`tter for the judiciary. But I will always

defend my strong held belief that equality of outcome is what we are

looking for in the female w`s in a state. And at the moment, fdmale

prisoners are much more likdly to suffer lots of complex issuds, lots

of Comdex needs, and far less likely to gain employment once thex leave

prison. And that is something I am looking to tackle. Quite rightly, we

do not tolerate drugs in prhson and we are bringing forward tough new

measures including the new legislation on psychoactive

substances. Possession in a prison will be a criminal offence, unlike

in the rest of the country. If the scale of harm demonstrated by a

significant increase in suicides was happening in other places where

there is a duty of care - hospitals, children's homes, schools - would we

not have a root and branch review of how best to tackle supply and demand

for drugs in prisons? What we must make sure is that these drugs do not

get into our prisons. Psychoactive substances have been in our prisons

now for some time. It was a request from prison officers and prhsoners

around the country that we `ctually made sure that it should become a

criminal offence, possession. We need new sniffer dogs which can

sniff these products as well. They are in training at the moment. We

must eradicate these drugs from our prisons. The national offender

management service has reve`led that the amount of alcohol found in

prisons in England and Wales has almost trebled since the government

took office. What steps is he taking on this? One thing we can do is to

make sure that individual governors have full control so that they can

work with their staff. We nded to make sure that alcohol which is not

supposed to be there is not there. A lot of this is actually brewed

within the prisons, and we need to work very hard to make sure this

does not happen. Drugs use hs widespread throughout every jail in

this country. Is there really any realistic prospect whatsoevdr of

having a drug-free prison establishment? Mr Speaker, the

Prison Service works really very, very hard to try to make sure that

we eradicate as many drugs `s possible. The new legislation will

help. We know that assaults on prison officers and inmates from

people taking psychoactive substances has become a blight on

our prisons. With the new legislation, we will have powers

which were not there before. There has been recent reports of prison

officers falling ill after hnhaling inmates' legal highs. I know you

have said we are introducing new legislation, but how will this come

into effect when present governors are leaving? We need a culttre from

the top to implement, so how can we do this? One way we can improve the

situation for prison officers is to listen to them. They categorically

asked us for the band. At the moment it is legal. It will be banned from

once it gets royal assent. From April it is a criminal offence in

prisons. That is what the prison officers asked for, and that is what

we have given them. Mr Speaker, we are committed to making surd that

our justice system delivers faster and fairer justice for all our

citizens. Our tribunals will bring quicker and fairer access to justice

and create a justice system which reflects the way people use services

today. We have ensured that legal aid remains available for the

highest priority cases, where life or liberty is at stake, where they

face the loss of their home, in cases of domestic violence, or where

their children may be taken care. As the Lord Chief Justice

extraordinarily reported two weeks ago, and I quote, our systel of

justice has become unafford`ble to most. Two constituents were sacked

unfairly, one went to a tribunal, was not able to afford legal

representation, therefore lost. The other image of the gave up. With

justice now only available to the well off, does the minister have any

serious proposals to open up access to justice to ordinary people? I am

very grateful to the right honourable gentleman for rahsing the

issue of employment tribunals. I would like to say that it is the aim

of this government to make sure that people do not have to go to court or

tribunals in the first placd, and thereby not have to incur ldgal

expenses or experience stress. In the case of employment tribtnals, he

may not be aware, but the ACAS conciliation service, in thdir first

12 months, found that 83,000 people used to that service and I hope that

in future, when he has problems brought to his surgery from his

constituents, he will be able to point them to that free service As

the government changed the criteria for access to legal aid, and since

they did this, there has bedn a huge increase in domestic violence. As

the government made any assdssment of the link? We constantly lake sure

that matters are kept under review. As far as the act is concerned, we

are committed to having a rdview between 3-5 years. The Law Society

describes access to justice as being on the verge of a crisis. Ftnding

for civil cases has fallen 62% since civil legal aid was cut. Will the

minister carry out a full rdview to understand the equality imp`ct of

this change in civil legal `id? As I just said, Mr Speaker, we whll be

carrying out a full review of the fermentation of this. I would say

that we still have one of the most generous legal aid budgets hn the

world, not withstanding the reductions we have made. Sole of

those who would struggle to pay court fees the most are those where

there has been family breakdown often in chaotic families. What

plans does he have to simplhfy and reduced cost to access child

arrangement orders? And will this include any further statutory rights

for grandparents? On court fees where there is difficulty for people

to attend court, then there is a fee remission system available which can

be remission in full or in part We learnt this week that a district

judge is suing the Ministry of Justice, blowing the whistld on the

rise in death threats and increasingly violent claimants which

our judges are having to Dale with, day in, day out. Coming thehr and

after the Lord Chief Justicd 's warning that judges are fachng a

rising number of challenging and emotionally charged cases, what

action is the minister to address these claims, or is this just

another mission which the f`iled austerity parties of his party have

made our courts more dangerous both judges and the victims? May I first

of all welcome the honourable lady to her new position. She will

appreciate that a given that there is ongoing litigation, I cannot

possibly comment at the dispatch box. With your permission, Lr

Speaker, I would like to grow this question with questions in 01 and

13. Dividing prisoners with vocational and employment

opportunities are implementhng important factors in preventing

reoffending. The Employers Forum For Reducing Reoffending is working with

the department to increase involvement of more businesses. It

also has an important role to play in helping ex offenders find

employment. I am grateful. H am sure he would agree with me that it is

beholden on as many employers as possible to offer training hn

prisons so that when prisondrs leave prison, they are ready for

employment. Could I invite him to welcome the work that Clean Sheet

does in our prison estate, especially in guys Marsh in my

constituency, which I have seen at first hand, really getting people

ready for work. I thank him for his interest and I am delighted to

praise the work of Clean Shdet and so many organisations which try and

get prisoners into work. We have a number of companies, Mr Spe`ker

including Timpson's, Halfords, restaurants, and many others, who

are rising to the challenge. And we want many more to join them. Does he

agree that providing work and the right sort of work is the rdal key

to any effective rehabilitation for prisoners? My honourable frhend is

absolutely right. We have h`rd evidence that if a prisoner leaves

prison and goes into work, they are less likely to reoffend. We know

reoffending costs between ?8 billion -?13 billion per year. And ht

creates many more victims. That is what we can avoid by getting many

more prisoners into work. Mx honourable friend will know that as

access to skills is key, and whilst I welcome what he said about the

ploy is Forum, what more is the Government going to do to gdt more

employers to recognise the potential of providing those skills and then

the opportunities to employ ex-offenders on release? As a London

MP, my honourable friend max have noted that a week or so ago, the

Mayor of London pointed out that when employers hire ex-offenders,

they report above-average commitment and loyalty. So, not only is this an

important part of social responsibility, it is actually very

good business sense. London is actually leading the way in this

area, with more joined up work between local enterprise

partnerships getting extra skills funding into prisons. I want to see

what is happening in London spread across the whole of England and

Wales. Mr Speaker, in November, I raised the issue of insurance

premiums and the barrier th`t they pose to employment for ex-offenders.

I am pleased that the minister has engaged in this issue, but H wonder,

does he have an update for the House? I do indeed. The honourable

gentleman is right to pursud this issue. One issue I have comd across

recently is insurers just rdquesting a blanket stipulation that they have

no ex-offenders on their prdmises. I am a former chartered insurdr, and I

will be having a meeting with the Association of British Insurers

shortly in order to challenge them on this issue, to see if th`t is

really necessary. As a formdr underwriter myself, I suspect it

probably isn't. The minister has talked of this morning about

employment on release from prisons. Education and skills are crtcial to

an offender's chance of makhng something of themselves and getting

a job on release. But he adlitted in answer to a question that Prison

Service anti-riot squads were drafted in on 339 occasions in the

year to 9th of December 2014, an increase of 52% on the prevhous

year. So does he accept that prison overcrowding, coupled with his

governments cuts in resourcds, has led to a prison estate which is not

fit for educational purpose? First of all, let me warmly congr`tulate

the honourable lady on her new position. I look forward to debating

these issues with her in thd months to come. She raises the isste of

education and she is right to do so. It is a crucial part of getting

offenders into work. But thd governments whole prison reform

programme is front and centre of part of the answer to try and deal

with the issues of violence and disorder which she has identified.

More purposeful work, better education, better outcomes, better

prisons. Hampshire's communhty rehabilitation company plays a vital

role connecting prisons and offenders with local ploy is across

the haven't constituency. Whll the minister join me in congrattlating

them on their work and also to encourage more employers to

contribute to job fairs run by members of this House? I certainly

will. Get me warmly congrattlate my honourable friend not only on

organising a jobs fair in hhs own constituency, a very practical way

to help our constituents find work, but also realising that that jobs

fair needs to be equally opdn to ex-offenders. He is leading the way

and I hope others will follow. Before I called the honourable

member for Barrow in Furness, I would remind the House that the

Crown Prosecution Service is reconsidering this case and a second

inquest is awaited. Members should take account of that in cardfully

framing their remarks on thd matter. The death of poppy Worthington is

deeply distressing and very tragic. I offer my sympathies to those who

loved her and those who cardd for her. I am unable to comment on the

decisions of the. There is nothing more important than keeping children

safe. That is why the Government has given child sexual abuse thd status

of a national threat in the strategic requirement. I th`nk the

Minister for that answer. Otr community want accountability and it

wants to see improvements in the services that have failed in these

circumstances. Will she makd clear that there is no reason why the

serious case review into Poppy Worthington's death and the report

needs to be delayed, pending the second inquest being carried out.

A second inquest should be done They are independent of Govdrnment

and decide their own timesc`les I can confirm that neither ard

required to wait upon the coroner. Community rehabilitation colpanies

are responsible for supporthng any of their staff at risk of rddundancy

in line with employment law. We are working closely with communhty

rehabilitation companies to make sure they fulfil their contractual

commitments to maintain service delivery, reduce reoffending,

protect the public and deliver value for money to the taxpayer. There is

the potential for 900 probation officers to be made compulsory

redundant in the near futurd. These are the people who stood by the

Government at a time when there was the traditional period. Thex

shouldn't be penalised. Thex should be praised. Justice Secretary

guarantee that these professionals receive four voluntary redundancies

terms. -- full involuntary redundancy terms. I repeat what I

said just now in that we will make sure the community rehabilitation

companies comply with emploxment law as they are supposed to do. We

closely monitor their performance in line with the contracts which they

have signed but I can tell the honourable gentleman that l`st year

there were 195 extra probathon officers qualified. We had 750

probation officers in trainhng and that is the largest intact of

probation officers for some considerable period of time. Our

system of youth justice needs reform. Youth offending us down the

care of youth offenders in custody is not good enough. There are

concerns which are heightendd following Panorama's investhgation

into events at the Medway sdcure training centre. In a statelent I

have appointed an independent improvement board to investhgate

what has happened in Medway and ensure the capability of G4S, and

other organisations meet appropriate standards and that it is sufficient.

The roll-out of the new minhmising and managing physical restr`int

system has been delayed for a year. In 2013, there are 3000 ass`ult

incidents in the secure state, a 7% increase even though the nulber of

people in custody has raised. What is he doing to ensure that near --

new systems are implemented? There has been a reduction in the number

of young people in the youth estate but as the number has reducdd, so

those remaining ten to be those who have been arrested for the lost

violent crimes and to pose the greatest difficulties to those who

have to care for them and those who have to keep them in custodx. It is

important we ensure when restraint is applied, it is done so in a way

that minimises risks to Ian Bugler but ensure safety can be restored.

One of the purposes of the interviews is to make sure the

workforce is trained to restrain young people and protect others I

visited Swanwick Lodge, a sdcure home for ten to 17-year-olds in my

constituency. Swanwick largd's work tackles the root causes that led to

these young people's loss of education, substance misuse and

early intervention. Will he explain what other measures are in place to

tackle youth rehabilitation and reduce reoffending? Before she came

into this house, she did a great deal of work to help disadv`ntaged

children get better outcomes and she will know that some of thosd

children who end up in trouble with the criminal just system, they grow

up in homes where love has been absent or fleeting or when no one

has cared enough to tell those children the difference between and

wrong. The work conducted bx the Education Secretary and the work

being led by the Local Government Secretary to tackle the problems of

troubled families are integral to ensuring we will reduce the number

of young people who fall into crime. It was obvious to those who watched

the Panorama programme, that the G4S workforce was underqualified,

undertrained and under pressure not to report incidents that should ve

been reported because of thd threat to G4S's profits. Isn't it now time

that we recognise that the lost difficult and vulnerable chhldren in

our system should not be looked after by a profit driven

organisation, but by properly trained and publicly accountable

staff? I don't doubt his sincerity in is caring for these people. What

happened in Medway was terrhble It is important to take on board the

fact that there are private sector organisations including G4S which

are responsible for the card of young offenders not least in

Bridgend and they have been doing an exemplary job in other areas. It is

quite wrong to draw conclushons about the private sector or the

public sector. What matters is getting outcomes right for children

and we should not on the back of human misery try to carry forward a

narrow ideological argument. Will he congratulate a distinguished soldier

for taking on the airborne initiative of the young offdnders

institution in Portland does he agree that getting the appropriate

young offenders out onto thd Moors for five testing days is an

excellent scheme which our support? I couldn't agree more. I have to say

the capacity of Cadet forces and military involvement turn round the

lives of young men who find themselves in trouble and it has

been tested over the years will stop everything we can do to support the

Education Secretary and support Sir Rupert Smith and rescue the lives of

young people, I think we should do. The allegations in the Panorama

programme on the 11th of January about Medway secure training centre

were truly appalling. I am glad the Secretary of State has listdned to

the chief Insecta -- Inspector of prisons. The director of Medway has

just resigned. The three STC's in England are run by G4S and following

a damning inspection report, the contract was taken away frol G4S.

This has nothing to do with ideology. On the basis of the

evidence before us, will thd Government to take away G4S's Medway

contract and will it ensure G4S is not awarded any future contracts? He

is right. It is because these allegations are so serious that we

have to investigate them properly. We will investigate what went on and

ensure children are safe. When any organisation fails on the ddlivery

of public services, we will take steps to remove that contract. If

G4S have failed in this reg`rd, we will take all steps to keep children

safe. I will answer this qudstion with question 15. Violence hn

prisons has increased and the nature of offenders currently in ctstody

and the widespread of portability of psychiatric substances have

contributed to making prisons less safe. There is no single solution to

improving safety in prisons but we are making process and trialling the

sub body warmth cameras, brhnging in sniffer dogs but they are in a way

to reduce violence is to give governors the tools to reformat and

rehabilitate. One of the threats to safety inside prisons and ottside

prisons is the ability of inmates to access mobile phones. On Frhday a

seven prison and Rochester prison was sentenced to 12 years for

arranging the supply of reactivated firearms via a mobile phone from his

prison cell. Random checks `re only good enough and prison officers do

their best but it now is tile to cut this and go for mobile phond jamming

devices. He is absolutely rhght I can tell him we employ a nulber of

measures and her body orifice scanning chairs, metal detecting

ones, blockers and speciallx trained dogs. We need to refocus and

redouble our efforts in this area, particularly around blockers and

detectors and I can assure him that this is an area that the Secretary

of State and I fully engaged in The safety of young people in otr prison

state has been called into puestion by the Panorama programme rdgarding

Medway secure training centre. What assurances can be provided that the

safety of young people across the prison estate, not just in Ledway,

is being prioritised? He will have heard the answer that the Sdcretary

of State has just given to ` previous question on this issue I

won't repeat that. We do take this issue extremely seriously and that

is the reason why the Secretary of State is commissioned Charlhe

Taylor, former Chief Executhve of the National College for School

leadership, to conduct a review of youth justice and youth custody

across the board. Not only safety at its heart but improved outcomes for

young people in custody. Medway prison 's shows that good order and

restraint can be exploited. Will the inquiry look into this across all

prisons because I do not thhnk in this day and age it is appropriate?

What I would say to the honourable lady, is that there are occ`sions in

custody where for the safetx of the young person and for the safety of

others, we do have to use rdstraint. The chief inspector has acknowledged

that minimising and managing physical restraint is an

improvement. That is only the case if it is used properly and hf it is

used appropriately and not hf it is abused. We are very mindful of that.

The ongoing chief inspector of prisons looked into Wormwood Scrubs

and one cell was so unsafe com he said he would want to keep ` dog

there. I know you can't teach an old dog new tricks that I wondered if

you could tell us what is bding done to deal with the Tory prison crisis?

What I would say is I hope she will be fair enough to recognise the fact

that this Government has accepted that much of our prison est`te is

simply not good enough. It hs too old, inappropriate and we c`n

provide the education or thd work that we need to provide. Th`t is why

the Chancellor has provided ?1. billion to build my new prisons in

addition to the new prison we are building in North Wales and the new

house blocks we have delivered and the further two blocks that we will

deliver. With permission I will take an answer four questions 12 and 16

together. I have met with m`ny international partners from the

Council of Europe commission of human rights to the UN High

Commissioner of human rights. The Justice Secretary has met whth many.

These meetings are an important opportunity to reinforce Brhtain's

proud tradition of promoting freedom and discuss how this comment intends

to strengthen its both at home and abroad. I'm sure if it was just the

Labour Party who are saying don t scrap the Human Rights Act, the

minister could roll with it. Prince Zeid, when he met with him, did he

say that the Government's proposals will be damaging to victims,

contrary to the country's hhstory of global engagements and indedd many

of their states would gleeftlly follow suit? Is it not important

that we do listen to the Unhted Nations? He is right we shotld

listen to our international partners. He did not say th`t to me

at all. When we have these leetings, it is a good opportunity to discuss

the reality of our plans for reform. I make clear our forthcoming bill of

Rights proposal stay within the convention. I explained the abuses

that we want to be rid of under the Human Rights Act. Some of the

challenges we have allowed ts is to look at our common-sense reforms

with some of the baseless scaremongering coming from some of

our critics. The UN's special rapporteur on

torture has spoken about pl`ns to replace the Human Rights Act with a

Tory Bill of Rights, calling it a dangerous and pernicious and

something which would set a very bad example to the rest of the world.

Isn't he right? It is not rhght and I can tell him that with all the

discussions I have had with all the UN officials who have passed through

Westminster, nobody has ever used that kind of language in front of

me, and I very much doubt that they would. Since when is it the practice

of foreign legal and other dntities to decide the views and produce the

sovereignty of this Parliamdnt and the electoral mandate we have to

bring in a British Bill of Rights? It is a tragedy that the European

Convention on Human Rights, which was founded by British people, has

been distorted by perverse decisions such as trying to get an axd

murderer to get the vote, which we have rejected. Isn't it timd we got

on with our manifesto commitment to have a British Bill of Rights? My

honourable friend is absolutely right. I would also point ott that

the last Labour government had issues with the way the Str`sbourg

court operated, too. They dhd not implement a prisoner voting. I do

not remember the honourable member when he was a minister callhng for

it to be implemented. Nor dhd they implemented the Abu Qatada judgment.

Can the minister confirm th`t human rights have been part of our law in

this country under the common law for many years, and that thdy will

continue to be so after the repeal of the Human Rights Act, perhaps in

a more modern and codified way? My honourable and Learned Friend is

absolutely right. He have h`d a huge, long tradition and pedigree of

respecting human rights, dating back to Magna Carta and before. We have

protected human rights in this country before the European

Convention, and certainly bdfore Labour's Human Rights Act, `nd we

shall continue to do so in the years ahead. The minister is yet to issue

his consultation on the repdal of the Human Rights Act and its

replacement with a British Bill of Rights. But it is eight weeks now

and to the Scottish Parliamdnt is dissolved and it goes into Purdy,

and it is the same with Northern Ireland and Wales. Can I ask him to

guarantee that he will not squash out Scotland, Northern Irel`nd and

Wales from this important c`ll some patience by issuing his proposals

before, or even worse, during the election period? Can he givd that

guarantee? There will be no squashing out. We are already in

detailed soundings and when we come to it, there will be full

consultation with all the ddvolved administrations. In relation to the

purdah issue, we will be mindful of the Cabinet Office guidelinds.

Another perverse decision of the European Court of Human Rights was

that on prisoner voting. Can the minister please confirm that there

are absolutely no plans to change our laws on prisoner voting? I thank

him for his question. As I have made clear to our partners in Strasbourg,

it is for honourable members in this House to determine whether prisoners

should be given the vote, and I see no prospect of that happening in the

foreseeable future. When thd council of Europe commission of hum`n rights

visited the United Kingdom last week, he said that the repe`tedly

delayed launch of the consultation of the repeal of the Human Rights

Act is, and I quote, creating an app must fear of anxiety and concern in

civil society and within thd devolved administrations. -,

creating an atmosphere. Will he now tell say exactly when the

consultation will be published? As she already knows, I met with the

commissioner last week and we spoke about these issues. There is no

cause for anxiety. We will bring forward proposals for full

consultation in the near future Those proposals are going wdll. She

will hear more on that shortly. The commissioner also said, and I quote,

my impression is that the ddbate over the Human Rights Act in

Westminster is not a true rdflection of the debate outside England. Does

the minister appreciate that the impact of any attempt to repeal the

Human Rights Act on the devolved administrations would be likely to

provoke a constitutional crhsis I think she is absolutely right to say

that within the Westminster bubble, particularly if you look at some of

the scaremongering, the deb`te is not reflective of wider public

opinion outside of this House, which is consistently in favour of a Bill

of Rights to replace the Hulan Rights Act, including, she will

note, in Scotland. I want to see fewer women in the kernel jtstice

system. That's why in partndrship with the equalities office we have

made available ?200,000 of grant funding to add to the ?1 million

already invested to support local pilots for female offenders. This is

where multiple agencies work together and intervene earlher to

help address the complexes reasons why women offend and to asshst them

in turning their lives around. Does she agree that more needs to be done

to steer vulnerable women away from crime, and can she update the House

on how that is progressing `nd what more is being done to tackld this

issue? The system approach H have outlined in straights this

commitment to divert as manx women as possible from custody by

addressing not only the causes of offending, which left unchecked

software will spiral into potentially a prison sentence and

the break down of families `nd children in care, which is why we

will be announcing successftl bids for this pilot later in the week.

Thank you very much. I have had occasion in this House to offer my

thanks and gratitude to Nick Arnold wick, the outgoing Chief Inspector

of Prisons, and Paul iron, the outgoing chief inspector of

probation. But their experthse will not be lost because I can announce

today that I am appointing Nick Arnold wick is the new Chair of the

parole board. He will succedd the current Chair, and I would like to

put on record my thanks to Sir David for what he has done in this role.

My honourable friend the Cotrts Minister will know that last year I

wrote a report on form of sdrvice personnel in the cruel justhce

system, which recommended along other things, training of pdople in

the bar and for solicitors `nd judges to deal with this sm`ll

cohort of offenders. What steps is my honourable friend taking to make

sure that court staff receive appropriate training to deal with

these individuals? He makes an important point. We know th`t he is

a distinguished veteran as well as being an outstanding... He produced

an excellent report on offenders who have been in the Armed Forcds. Court

staff are trained to deal whth the specific needs of veterans `nd we

are aware that there are particular needs which may relate to nded

post-traumatic stress disorder and associated mental health concerns,

which court staff need to bd sensitive to. Could I commend the

Secretary of State for his appointment of Nick Hardwick to the

Parole Board? Exactly a year ago, my right honourable friend the member

for Tooting, with his usual proceedings, said the new ldgal aid

contracts were making pigs dar of access to justice and should be

abandoned. Will the Secretary of State confirm the Pressel ports that

he is about to do just that? Can I thank the honourable gentlelan for

his praise for temp -- for Nick Hardwick? It is precisely bdcause

Nick Hardwick has spoken without fear or favour and has been such an

honest critic that I believd he is the right person to discharge this

role. I am sure he will appreciate the bipartisan support. On legal aid

contracts, it has been the case that we have had to reduce the spend on

legal aid, in order to deal with the deficit which we inherited. But also

we maintain more generously delayed in this country than in any other

competent jurisdiction. Diddrot at the justice select committed, the

Master of the Rolls describdd fee increases affecting civil lhtigants

as a desperate way of carryhng on, based on hopeless research. He

laughed when asked by the honourable member for chop them if there was

anything in the governments. Which stood up to scrutiny. It is another

car crash. Is it time for another U-turn? I can hear music from the

zephyrs, words from the honourable member for Cheltenham, suggdsting

that were once the honourable member might be misinformed of what

precisely happened in the sdlect committee. But one thing I would say

is, one of the biggest barrhers to justice, as the master of the Rolls

and others have pointed out, are costs. Action needs to be t`ken to

reduce costs in civil justice. It is not enough simply to say th`t the

taxpayer must shoulder the burden. We need reform of our legal system

in order to make access to justice easier for all. I know that my right

honourable friend regards access to justice as a clear priority. With

this in mind and given the large area of north-east Cheshire which

will be without easy access to a court under the consultation, can he

tell the House what progress is being made in considering the

Macclesfield proposal for a single, combined across field justice

centre? May I first of all thank my honourable friend for the mdeting

that we had and for presenthng the justice centre report which he gave

to me along with his constituent. He will be aware that we are ghving

serious consideration to th`t report and indeed to the 2000-plus

submissions made in that consultation regarding which we will

be making our response soon. Women's aid last week published a rdport

entitled 19 childhood asides. It tells the story of 19 children, two

mothers, killed by unknown perpetrators of domestic abtse in

circumstances related to thd unsafe child contact. How will the

department helped to make stre that no further avoidable child deaths

will take place where the perpetrators of domestic abtse have

been allowed contact through the family court? We take

extraordinarily seriously concerns about child safety. I know that my

colleague the minister who hs responsible for family law has been

in touch with charities who work in this area in the past. We whll make

sure that we pay close attention to this report. Does my right

honourable friend share my `nger and that of my constituent whosd son was

tragically killed while serving his country in Afghanistan? Law firms

which are heavily involved hn actions against Veterans Dax and

serving them as of our armed forces, and what action can the govdrnment

take to close down this indtstry, which is causing so much unnecessary

distress to our Armed Forces and their families? We share my right

honourable friend's concerns. He will be aware of the prime linisters

early announcement on Fridax. The professionalism of our Armed Forces

is second to none. But we c`nnot have returning troops hounddd by

ambulance chasing lawyers ptrsuing spurious claims. The Justicd

Secretary has asked me to Chair a working groups to look at all

aspects of this, no Win no fee, leader labels, time limits `nd

disciplinary sanctions against law firms who are found to be abusing

the system, so that we prevdnt any malicious or parasitic litigation

against our brave Armed Forces. Can the minister confirm Hamley times

contract breaches at G4S establishments have occurred under

the contract with his department, and what amount in fines have been

incurred and by G4S in respdct of those breaches? I do not have the

detailed information. If shd will allow me, I will write to hdr with

details. My right honourabld friend is aware of the very serious

problems associated with radicalisation in our prisons. Can

he update the House on what steps are being taken to tackle this? I

understand my honourable frhend s proper interest in this subject As

the threat evolves, we evolve our response. We are strengthenhng the

training for new prison offhcers and we make sure they are able to tackle

criminal activity in whatevdr form within prison. The Secretarx of

State has asked the departmdnt to review its approach to dealhng with

Islamist extra that's prisons and we await that report shortly. ,-

Islamist extremism in prisons. Just two weeks ago, he said, our system

of justice has just become unaffordable to most. Will the

Secretary of State take heed of these comments and also, it to

abolition of tribunal fees, following the SNP lead? I t`ke very

seriously everything the Lord Chief Justice says. I am delighted to be

able to work with him on a programme of court reform which should make

access to justice swifter, lore certain and cheaper. It is hmportant

that we learn from different jurisdictions. One thing I would say

is that even as we look to Scotland from time to time to see wh`t we can

learn from the development of the law there, it is also important that

from time to time, those ch`rged with what happens in Scottish courts

should look at the tradition of English justice fell as a Scotsman

myself I would have to acknowledge has certain better elements. Would

he agree with me that improving the mental health of prisoners should be

a top priority? Specificallx when a prisoner is released from prison

with a known mental health condition that there should be close liaison

between the prison 40s, loc`l GPs and health services, to put a care

plan in place? My honourabld friend is absolutely right. Let me pay

tribute to his long interest and great expertise in this isste. He

will probably know that loc`l commissioning groups in England and

the local health boards in Wales are responsible for services in the

community. NHS health care staff in prisons are responsible there. It is

their job to make sure that services provided in the prison are followed

through in the community. Will he work with the Immigration

Minister to make sure migrant families will be evicted without a

court order is contrary to the right of law and must be urgently

reconsidered? I enjoyed meeting with the Home Secretary and we mtst

ensure that we look at our borders. Immigration across the EU is not

being effectively controlled. We will take measures to keep our

borders secure and I thought it would be in the interests of every

citizen of the UK to take p`rt in that fight. Further to the puestion,

does my right honourable frhend agree that people in this house will

find it despicable that two firms, possibly more, are actively seeking

people in Iraq to make bogus claims against our servicemen overseas

Will he rejects reports in newspapers that we still intend to

give legal aid to these app`lling claims? I thank the honourable

gentleman. I am concerned about the way the system operates and it is

important we should say that there is accountability of any wrongdoing.

That doesn't mean giving lawyers a licence to harass our Armed Forces.

We will be looking at every angle as well as no-win, no fee and `s well

as disciplinary powers against lawyers who try to abuse thd system.

In 2012, the department spent millions refurbishing Saint Helen 's

courthouse to accommodate chvil and criminal proceedings in the same

building declaring it was logical. Are we to assume that four xears

later, considering the closd of the same courthouse is illogical and

inefficient or would he likd to rule it out today? May I say that no

final decisions have been t`ken and we are taking into account ` whole

variety of reasons and this is a consultation concerning 91 courts

throughout England and Wales to make our system better and one of the

best in the world. Following on from my honourable friend, what steps are

being taken to ensure all prisons with mental health issues are dealt

with safely, appropriately `nd compassionately? I am glad ly

honourable friend has raised this issue. And every prisoner comes into

prison, they have a full he`lth assessment. That health practitioner

has the ability to refer to the prison's in reach services. We now

have either learning disability or mental health nurses available at

police stations and in courts so we can start that mental health

treatment at the beginning of their journey in the criminal system. I

had the secretary will meet with me to discuss my justice for vhctims of

criminal driving bill. Can H point out that the consultation on this

did start on the 6th of May 200 and 14. It is a long time that we will

not hear anything back until later on in this year. I am grateful for

that this incident -- assistant way in which he has campaigned for this.

We will be discussing the c`se for change as there was widesprdad

agreement that we did need change but not what change. We will get

back to him in due course. Given the rate of reoffending, would ht not be

better to improve rehabilit`tion rather than incarceration,

especially in relation to shorten prison sentences? He makes `

powerful point and few know more about what happens in our courts as

he does. It is important th`t would put an emphasis on rehabilitation

but it is also important th`t we give all our citizens the sdcurity

of knowing that those peopld who pose a real threat to us ard

incapacitated behind bars and receiving the punishment th`t they

deserve the most heinous crhmes Past week, the Public Accounts

Committee heard about the infrastructure authority and he was

asked what the three projects were that kept him worried and they

caught's programme was one of them. Add that the list of a tagghng and

translation service and the concerns around probation and prisons, is the

secretary of this -- Secret`ry of State worried that his camp`ign not

cope with this? I will offer him another cup of cocoa to enable him

to sleep as well as I do. Hd has gone native in record time,

including hanging off every word that the Nu T says. Will thd

Secretary of State get back his Mojo and put the victims of crimd at the

heart of what he is doing? Come back Ken Clarke, all is forgiven. I am

not sure our members on the opposite benches would agree I have become a

sandal wearing muesli munchhng Cregan vague stuff. They will say I

am the same blue Tory that H always have been. It is because I `m a

conservative that I believe in the rule of law as the foundation of our

civilisation and I believe that evil must be punished. It is also because

I believe in redemption and I think the purpose of our prison sxstem is

to keep people safe by making people better. We have learned abott his

personal habits and religiots beliefs and are better off. The

Prime Minister agreed to medt with me about the baby Ashes scandal My

constituent had a helpful mdeting but I wondered if the Parli`mentary

Secretary of State will help me to get that meeting that the Prime

Minister agreed to and if I could list her support? We are cldar about

what happened and it should never happened again, which is whx the

honourable lady will know wd have launched our consultation in

December which will concludd in March and stop I will be happy to

make that representation on her behalf. The honourable gentleman

hasn't had a question and I would like to have one. The Minister will

be aware of the closure of Torbay Magistrates' Court. Willie helped

keep justice local in the B`y? I hear the message that my honourable

friend is saying and we havd met and corresponded and I am giving serious

consideration to all that is being put forward. Urgent question, Heidi

Alexander. To ask the Secretary of State for

Health if he will make a st`tement on NHS England's report into the

death of William Mead and the failures of the 111 how -- helpline.

This tragic case concerns the death of a one-year-old boy, Willham Mead,

on the 14th of December 2014 in Cornwall. Whilst any health system

will inevitably suffer some tragedies, the issues raised in this

case have significant implications for the rest of the NHS which I am

determined we should learn from I would like to offer my sincdre

condolences to the family of William Mead.