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day in both houses of parliament at 11pm tonight. First, questions to | :00:00. | :00:00. | |
the Justice Secretary Liz Truss and ministerial team. | :00:00. | :00:10. | |
Order, order. Questions to the Secretary of State for Justice, | :00:11. | :00:14. | |
Nusrat Ghani. Thank you, Mr Speaker. | :00:15. | :00:22. | |
With your permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to group questions one | :00:23. | :00:26. | |
and three. Last month, we launched the present safety and reform White | :00:27. | :00:30. | |
Paper and were already implementing measures to track drugs, drones and | :00:31. | :00:33. | |
phones. This major overhaul of the prison system will improve the | :00:34. | :00:41. | |
recruitment of an extra 2500 front line officers. The reforms will and | :00:42. | :00:44. | |
power governors to make the changes they need. | :00:45. | :00:48. | |
Deadlock in the governor's decision to invest ?545 million to recruit | :00:49. | :00:56. | |
2500 extra guards and hope this will ensure that these serious incident | :00:57. | :00:59. | |
which led to violent one month ago would benefit for that. Now the | :01:00. | :01:04. | |
report on psychoactive substances and their increased availability | :01:05. | :01:09. | |
within prisons. Given the aggressive and violent behaviour they cause, | :01:10. | :01:12. | |
what is the secretary of State doing to clamp down on drugs of all types | :01:13. | :01:16. | |
in prisons? My honourable friend is absolutely | :01:17. | :01:19. | |
right about psychoactive substances. They have been a Sirius issue in our | :01:20. | :01:23. | |
prison system. That is why we have now developed tests and roll them | :01:24. | :01:28. | |
out across the prison estate to detect new substances and trained up | :01:29. | :01:34. | |
300 sniffer dogs to detect them. Thank you, Mr Speaker. The suicide | :01:35. | :01:38. | |
rate at Redditch are an acceptably high. Can my honourable friend tell | :01:39. | :01:42. | |
the house what the Government is doing to ensure safety of prisoners | :01:43. | :01:46. | |
and reducing suicide rates in our prisons? | :01:47. | :01:50. | |
First of all, let me after my honourable friend back to the house. | :01:51. | :01:53. | |
It is great to see her back on our bench is looking so fit and well. | :01:54. | :02:01. | |
Radiant indeed. Finally, I agree with a comment from the opposition. | :02:02. | :02:07. | |
My honourable friend is absolutely right to highlight the issue of self | :02:08. | :02:10. | |
harm and suicide in our prisons. It is too high. That is why we are | :02:11. | :02:16. | |
taking steps to increase the number of prison officers to mean we have a | :02:17. | :02:20. | |
dedicated officer for every six prisoners, responsible for welfare | :02:21. | :02:22. | |
but also helping turn their lives around so they do not go back to | :02:23. | :02:27. | |
reoffending. Thank you, Mr Speaker. The suicide | :02:28. | :02:31. | |
rate in our prisons is the highest it has ever been in 25 years. His | :02:32. | :02:35. | |
absolutely shameful. We have Health Secretary at the health select | :02:36. | :02:41. | |
committee the other week admitting he has never visited a prison or | :02:42. | :02:45. | |
mental health service. Can the Secretary of State state if she has | :02:46. | :02:49. | |
visited a prison mental health service and if not why not and when | :02:50. | :02:51. | |
will she? Let me say she is right that mental | :02:52. | :02:55. | |
health is a real issue in our prisons. I recently had a meeting | :02:56. | :02:59. | |
with the Health Secretary on this, about how we can improve the mental | :03:00. | :03:03. | |
health services. What we do is enable governors to co-commission | :03:04. | :03:09. | |
those health services. I was recently at Lincoln, discussing the | :03:10. | :03:13. | |
health services with a governor. They are available on the Monday to | :03:14. | :03:16. | |
Friday just now but he wants them to be available all week around and | :03:17. | :03:21. | |
enable that. Vista Speaker, in part due to | :03:22. | :03:27. | |
increasing the tax on prison officers, over 200,000 days were | :03:28. | :03:30. | |
lost through ill-health by prison officers in the last 12 months. | :03:31. | :03:35. | |
Goody secretary of State update the House as to what the figure last to | :03:36. | :03:39. | |
six days is as of now and what steps she will take to reduce that figure? | :03:40. | :03:45. | |
I thank the honourable gentleman for his question. There is an issue with | :03:46. | :03:49. | |
sick days. The prisons minister holds a daily meeting where he goes | :03:50. | :03:53. | |
through the levels of sickness, at each prison, works with the | :03:54. | :03:57. | |
governors on what we can do. One of the things we're doing a | :03:58. | :03:59. | |
strengthening the front line to make sure we have more officers support. | :04:00. | :04:06. | |
I'm glad the Secretary of State recognises the importance of the | :04:07. | :04:08. | |
number of officers and congratulate her on the extra money is available. | :04:09. | :04:13. | |
Will she agree that in potentially violent situations one of the most | :04:14. | :04:18. | |
important factors I the availability of experienced officers who have the | :04:19. | :04:20. | |
knowledge and personal relationships with inmates to calm them down? KT | :04:21. | :04:25. | |
Kim is more detail as to what is being done to deal with the current | :04:26. | :04:29. | |
high levels of wastage by experienced officers? | :04:30. | :04:34. | |
I agree with my honourable friend, the evidence backs up that having | :04:35. | :04:39. | |
experienced officers is vital. We have a higher proportion of | :04:40. | :04:42. | |
experienced officers now in 2016 that we did in 2010. More than 80% | :04:43. | :04:49. | |
of our prison officers have five or more years experience. I'm | :04:50. | :04:53. | |
determined to keep those officers in the service. Two weeks ago we | :04:54. | :04:56. | |
launched a fast-track programme to help people already in the service | :04:57. | :05:02. | |
progress in their careers. We are offering as well retention payments, | :05:03. | :05:05. | |
particularly in hard to recruit areas, but we need to keep those | :05:06. | :05:12. | |
imported staff on board. Mr Speaker, in every one of the Her | :05:13. | :05:20. | |
Majesty 's Inspectorate reports about the sorties published at | :05:21. | :05:24. | |
Secretary State appointment, that is Bedford, Chelmsford, Hendley, only, | :05:25. | :05:30. | |
rightly, Winchester and the youth facilities at Wetherby, have come | :05:31. | :05:37. | |
for the test of risen safety deemed either poor or not sufficiently | :05:38. | :05:42. | |
good. When can we expect a positive report on prison safety in closed | :05:43. | :05:48. | |
prisons? The honourable lady is right that | :05:49. | :05:52. | |
the current levels of violence in our prison order are not acceptable. | :05:53. | :05:55. | |
That is why we launched the present safety reform White Paper with | :05:56. | :05:59. | |
measures to deal with drugs, drones and phones, as well as bolster the | :06:00. | :06:04. | |
front line staff. We are also looking to work with governments to | :06:05. | :06:07. | |
help them deal with issues which might trigger incidents in their | :06:08. | :06:11. | |
prison while we build up that front line capability. I announced in | :06:12. | :06:15. | |
October we were recruiting an extra 400 staff in ten of the most | :06:16. | :06:18. | |
challenging prisons and we have already given job officers to 280 of | :06:19. | :06:23. | |
those start so we are making progress. | :06:24. | :06:28. | |
The minister said in this white paper that it would try to have | :06:29. | :06:35. | |
no-fly zones to present items being dropped into prison. Can she explain | :06:36. | :06:39. | |
how that will work in practice and what is currently being done to | :06:40. | :06:45. | |
reduce the demand for banned items in prison? | :06:46. | :06:49. | |
My colleague, the prisons minister, is working with the drone | :06:50. | :06:53. | |
manufacturers. He leads a cross Government task force to get | :06:54. | :06:56. | |
technology in place to be able to do that. We are doing solutions such as | :06:57. | :07:03. | |
installing netting. I was at HMP Pentonville last week and they now | :07:04. | :07:08. | |
have control dogs who bark, which helps to detour drones. There were | :07:09. | :07:14. | |
using many solutions of all kinds to deal with contraband coming into | :07:15. | :07:15. | |
prisons. Listen to yourself. With permission, | :07:16. | :07:23. | |
Mr Speaker, I wish to group this question with number 15. A key | :07:24. | :07:26. | |
aspect of our prison reform programme will be to address | :07:27. | :07:30. | |
fundamental health and improve outcomes for prisoners. We introduce | :07:31. | :07:33. | |
co-commissioning, which will make sure governments are focused on and | :07:34. | :07:37. | |
accountable for these outcomes alongside health commissioners. | :07:38. | :07:42. | |
Kelly Secretary of State discusses with Health Secretary and it is high | :07:43. | :07:46. | |
priority. -- I know that this happened. | :07:47. | :07:49. | |
Last year I spent over a month in a small room, unable to leave. I lost | :07:50. | :07:55. | |
track of where I was. I became cheerful over the site of issues. I | :07:56. | :08:01. | |
felt I could not breathe at all. I was incarcerated in Britain but in | :08:02. | :08:04. | |
fact in hospital following a physical illness. But I reflected | :08:05. | :08:09. | |
subsequently how easy it is to develop a mental health issue when | :08:10. | :08:15. | |
confined in a small space. And lacking orientation. With this in | :08:16. | :08:19. | |
mind, what assessment has the department made of people developing | :08:20. | :08:22. | |
mental health problems rather than going into prisons with mental | :08:23. | :08:26. | |
health problems, and what can be done to reduce this? | :08:27. | :08:30. | |
I thank my honourable friend for his question and I'm glad to see he is | :08:31. | :08:35. | |
looking so well following such a significant illness. Prisoners are | :08:36. | :08:39. | |
entitled to the same levels of care is in the community, but there are | :08:40. | :08:43. | |
specific measures regarding their care. All prisoners have a health | :08:44. | :08:49. | |
assessment on arrival and all prison officers are trained to recognise | :08:50. | :08:52. | |
mental health issues and all prison have on-site primary health care | :08:53. | :08:57. | |
teams to provide mental health care. There can be deferments to | :08:58. | :09:00. | |
counselling or psychiatric assessment for serious mental | :09:01. | :09:03. | |
illness. Mr Speaker, a recent report by the | :09:04. | :09:07. | |
ombudsman found 70% of those who committed suicide had a mental | :09:08. | :09:12. | |
health issue. What will it take specifically to address the specific | :09:13. | :09:17. | |
issue? Every death in custody is a tragedy | :09:18. | :09:21. | |
and we are committed to reducing the number of self-inflicted deaths. We | :09:22. | :09:27. | |
reviewed the case assessment caring custody and teamwork progress for | :09:28. | :09:30. | |
prisoners assessed as being at risk and we are piloting revised custody | :09:31. | :09:36. | |
training and response. All officers in prison is new and experienced | :09:37. | :09:39. | |
retrieve training to help offenders with mental health issues. | :09:40. | :09:47. | |
Mr Speaker, statistics show 50% of those who are in prison suffer from | :09:48. | :09:50. | |
personality disorders. Does the Minister agree with me that it is | :09:51. | :09:55. | |
important to assess these issues when these people enter the criminal | :09:56. | :09:59. | |
justice system? Even at the stage of the custody, rather than after | :10:00. | :10:07. | |
incarceration. I thank the right honourable | :10:08. | :10:09. | |
gentlemen for his question. The initial assessment is of course | :10:10. | :10:14. | |
important. Who does the assessment is important. We are working on this | :10:15. | :10:18. | |
currently. Furthermore, it is the care following that and the ongoing | :10:19. | :10:22. | |
care and observation of prisoners, all of this is being looked at | :10:23. | :10:27. | |
closely. Mr Speaker, my honourable friend the | :10:28. | :10:31. | |
member for Liverpool asked the secretary of state a question, when | :10:32. | :10:38. | |
she last visited a prison mental health service? Suicide in prisons | :10:39. | :10:44. | |
is at year high. It is utterly disgusting that the Health Secretary | :10:45. | :10:49. | |
nor the Secretary of State for Justice has visited prisons to see | :10:50. | :10:52. | |
what's going on. What's happening? Each of these suicides is a tragedy. | :10:53. | :11:07. | |
The Government is aware of this and the Secretary of State for Health | :11:08. | :11:11. | |
will be visiting present. As regards for myself, I was in a prison last | :11:12. | :11:16. | |
week discussing mental health provision in Peterborough. I also | :11:17. | :11:20. | |
visited the mother and baby unit at the same time. I am under no | :11:21. | :11:24. | |
illusions of the challenges of addressing this problem. It is a | :11:25. | :11:28. | |
problem we are fully aware of and my intention is to come forward with | :11:29. | :11:32. | |
more statements on this because it is such a key problem for mental | :11:33. | :11:37. | |
health of prisoners. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Me I tell the Minister how | :11:38. | :11:43. | |
important it is to improve the mental health care in our prisons. | :11:44. | :11:48. | |
Little will be achieved if there is not continuity of care when | :11:49. | :11:52. | |
prisoners leave prison and what can you tell the House is his department | :11:53. | :11:58. | |
doing to ensure with the health service continuity of care is | :11:59. | :12:03. | |
provided for prisoners from day one when they leave prison will stop I | :12:04. | :12:09. | |
thank my right honourable friend from his question and it is a wise | :12:10. | :12:14. | |
one. Yes, the continuity of care both before, during and after for | :12:15. | :12:18. | |
prisoners, not just the mental health but also the physical health, | :12:19. | :12:23. | |
is key. We have ongoing discussions with the Department of Health on | :12:24. | :12:27. | |
this area and my intention is to make the continuity of records and | :12:28. | :12:31. | |
clear as a consequence much better in the future. Would the Secretary | :12:32. | :12:40. | |
of State accept that many of those prisoners with mental health issues | :12:41. | :12:44. | |
would be better served outside of the prison regime and if so, what | :12:45. | :12:48. | |
are the options and alternatives are being looked at? Of course the | :12:49. | :12:56. | |
honourable gentleman is right, however prison can be an opportunity | :12:57. | :13:00. | |
to address mental health problems that have not been previously | :13:01. | :13:04. | |
diagnosed and properly treated. There is an opportunity in being | :13:05. | :13:07. | |
imprisoned for somebody to receive proper care, which is ultimately | :13:08. | :13:17. | |
what it is about. Number four. As outlined in the prison reform white | :13:18. | :13:23. | |
paper, we will introduce a prison apprenticeship partner with which | :13:24. | :13:28. | |
will offer ways to complete the formal apprenticeship on release. | :13:29. | :13:33. | |
The scheme has been development which will be published in the New | :13:34. | :13:38. | |
Year. I thank the Minister for his reply. Is he able to update me on | :13:39. | :13:45. | |
any progress in treating apprenticeships in HMP Lewes? It is | :13:46. | :13:49. | |
exactly the kind of local prison that will benefit from the new | :13:50. | :13:53. | |
prison apprenticeship pathway but I also anticipate that the present | :13:54. | :13:57. | |
will benefit from the new present service apprenticeship scheme that | :13:58. | :14:01. | |
we are launching next year that will help improve members for the present | :14:02. | :14:07. | |
service to widen entry points into the service. The apprenticeships | :14:08. | :14:10. | |
require literacy. Can he tell the House what proportion of prisoners | :14:11. | :14:15. | |
were illiterate at the start of their sentence and what proportion | :14:16. | :14:17. | |
was functionally illiterate upon release? The honourable gentleman | :14:18. | :14:25. | |
asks a very important question. Roughly 50% are illiterate, as far | :14:26. | :14:31. | |
as English and maths are concerned. What our reform and safety white | :14:32. | :14:36. | |
paper proposes is that we will be testing their literacy on entry and | :14:37. | :14:42. | |
exit so we can measure the distance travelled and progress that has made | :14:43. | :14:49. | |
imprisoned. Which prison has the best record for training prisoners | :14:50. | :14:53. | |
for gainful employment once they leave and how might that best | :14:54. | :14:56. | |
practice be rolled out across the prison estate? The honourable member | :14:57. | :15:02. | |
asks a very important question, which is what we are seeing across | :15:03. | :15:07. | |
the prison service is patches of good work in terms of employment | :15:08. | :15:12. | |
post-release. What we want to do is create a system where we can measure | :15:13. | :15:17. | |
this and actually identify and run prisons by how well be doing on | :15:18. | :15:21. | |
this. That is precisely what our prison and safety reform white paper | :15:22. | :15:25. | |
does. It is one of the outcome measures. Work experience outside of | :15:26. | :15:32. | |
pressure and can also enhance prisoner employment opportunities on | :15:33. | :15:36. | |
release. Can the Minister say what guidance he is giving prisons in | :15:37. | :15:40. | |
relation to release on temporary license, not just the reform | :15:41. | :15:43. | |
prisons, but governors of all prisons. Release on temporary | :15:44. | :15:49. | |
licence, which the member refers to, has a huge role to play in helping | :15:50. | :15:54. | |
prisoners gain employment in the wider world. I have been speaking | :15:55. | :15:58. | |
with Timpson, for example, which employ a lot of extra fenders and | :15:59. | :16:01. | |
that is how the trial them before the come out on release. We are | :16:02. | :16:06. | |
looking at that to make sure that the guidance that governors have, | :16:07. | :16:09. | |
they can do more as far as release on temporary licence is a victory | :16:10. | :16:13. | |
for employment is concerned. Question five, please. We are only | :16:14. | :16:19. | |
going to turn around offenders lives if governors have the leave the need | :16:20. | :16:24. | |
over education, work and health in prison. That is why our reform is | :16:25. | :16:27. | |
devolved power over budgets and services to Government. The | :16:28. | :16:32. | |
adjournment is a contributed business. -- recruitment is a | :16:33. | :16:43. | |
contributed business. What... Be it about mental health service | :16:44. | :16:46. | |
provision or the recruitment of dogs that bark at drones. I thank my | :16:47. | :16:53. | |
honourable friend of her question and it sounds like she is asking for | :16:54. | :16:57. | |
some of these patrol dogs at her local prison. I am also delighted to | :16:58. | :17:03. | |
see that Billington will be one of the 30 prisons that will be | :17:04. | :17:09. | |
recruiting locally to build up the local cauldron of staff and that | :17:10. | :17:12. | |
will be starting in January next year. We are going to be setting up | :17:13. | :17:16. | |
a what works network to help prisoner governance with the | :17:17. | :17:21. | |
expertise they need to make those decisions. The front bench opposite | :17:22. | :17:30. | |
seemed to be sleepwalking this morning. I know it is nearly | :17:31. | :17:34. | |
Christmas but can they wake up to the dangers of empowering governors | :17:35. | :17:40. | |
to much. When my former select committee looked at prison | :17:41. | :17:43. | |
education, that time ago, one of the real dangers was a very good system | :17:44. | :17:48. | |
of education and training any prison was sadly wiped out by new governor | :17:49. | :17:52. | |
who said, I do not want anything to do with that. We need common | :17:53. | :17:55. | |
standards across all prisons. Is that not right? I thank the | :17:56. | :18:01. | |
honourable gentleman for his question. What we are doing is being | :18:02. | :18:05. | |
very specific about what we are asking governors to achieve in terms | :18:06. | :18:10. | |
of raising education standards, getting prisoners into | :18:11. | :18:14. | |
apprenticeships and into work, improving health standards. We are | :18:15. | :18:18. | |
specifying the war. We are giving governors more freedom over the how | :18:19. | :18:21. | |
they get those things done because the Ivy people with the expertise. | :18:22. | :18:26. | |
The officers on the land and are the ones who talked to the prisoners and | :18:27. | :18:30. | |
inhibit freedom to turn peoples lives around question number six. -- | :18:31. | :18:36. | |
need that freedom. The Government issued a consultation paper | :18:37. | :18:42. | |
yesterday. The consultation focuses on the driving offences that result | :18:43. | :18:45. | |
in death or serious injury and proposes that courts should be able | :18:46. | :18:50. | |
to impose a life sentence or a longer in the most serious of cases. | :18:51. | :18:58. | |
I welcome the consultation. Does the Minister agree it presents the | :18:59. | :19:00. | |
perfect opportunity to close the loophole which exists whereby in the | :19:01. | :19:06. | |
event a pedestrian is hit by a driver under the influence of | :19:07. | :19:10. | |
alcohol or drugs, as happened to my constituent who was tragically | :19:11. | :19:15. | |
killed, the maximum sentence available is just six months, | :19:16. | :19:18. | |
leaving no incentive for driver to stay around. In my constituent's is, | :19:19. | :19:26. | |
the judge only had the feeling to stop available to him. The case he | :19:27. | :19:34. | |
refers to is a horrific case and may I extend my sympathies to his | :19:35. | :19:39. | |
constituent's family. Nothing can compensate for the loss of a loved | :19:40. | :19:45. | |
one from a driver, a killer driver, who drives irresponsibly. I would | :19:46. | :19:49. | |
encourage the family to contribute to the consultation so we can take | :19:50. | :19:55. | |
the points on board. Campaigners of families are delighted that the | :19:56. | :19:58. | |
Government has announced this review. I went to pay tribute to all | :19:59. | :20:03. | |
of them and honourable members from all sides to contributing to the | :20:04. | :20:08. | |
manifesto. I welcome it correction of travel. Can I ask that part of | :20:09. | :20:13. | |
the considerations are looking at getting rid of the careless driving. | :20:14. | :20:17. | |
At the moment we have the most dangerous sorts of reckless criminal | :20:18. | :20:21. | |
driving. That is wrong. It is called careless. The honourable gentleman | :20:22. | :20:26. | |
makes an important point and can I congratulate him for his | :20:27. | :20:28. | |
long-standing campaign on this issue. We did look very carefully at | :20:29. | :20:33. | |
the distinction between careless and dangerous driving, which he warned | :20:34. | :20:37. | |
as to get rid of. The view became too was that there does need to be a | :20:38. | :20:41. | |
set of culpability reflected in the way that court makes the decision. | :20:42. | :20:45. | |
For example, someone who is moment highly distracted because they have | :20:46. | :20:50. | |
children crying in the back of a car and, God forbid, something bad | :20:51. | :20:52. | |
happens is very different from somebody involved in speed racing. | :20:53. | :20:56. | |
That is why we have chosen to keep that. Two of my constituents set up | :20:57. | :21:03. | |
the awards in memory of their daughter who was killed by a driver | :21:04. | :21:08. | |
who mounted a pavement but was found guilty by death by dangerous | :21:09. | :21:11. | |
driving, receiving only a fine. They have campaigned for 20 years for | :21:12. | :21:16. | |
tougher sentences. Can the Minister say how that might be achieved as a | :21:17. | :21:22. | |
consequence of this consultation. What we are proposing is a new life | :21:23. | :21:28. | |
sentence as a maximum penalty for those convicted of dangerous | :21:29. | :21:32. | |
driving. We are giving the courts the tools we need to make the | :21:33. | :21:36. | |
punishment fit the crime and I think that is a testament to the | :21:37. | :21:39. | |
campaigned his constituents have been running for years. I welcome | :21:40. | :21:44. | |
the consultation on this matter that seeks clarity from the secretary on | :21:45. | :21:48. | |
the issue of the distinction between careless and dangerous driving. The | :21:49. | :21:52. | |
consultation makes it clear that the Government does not propose any | :21:53. | :21:57. | |
changes but instead is six and address misconceptions about the | :21:58. | :22:06. | |
law. How exactly does he attend to increase constituency in applying | :22:07. | :22:12. | |
this law? The consultation does have an "String. Any specific concerns | :22:13. | :22:17. | |
that are not reflected in the consultation and she can submit her | :22:18. | :22:29. | |
concerns. Question number seven. With permission, Mr Speaker, I wish | :22:30. | :22:32. | |
to group this question with number ten. As part of our reforms we are | :22:33. | :22:36. | |
going to secretary standards on the outcomes we receive two expect | :22:37. | :22:43. | |
governors to achieve an rehabilitation. I thank the | :22:44. | :22:51. | |
Minister. Given that 42% of adult prisoners were permanently excluded | :22:52. | :22:55. | |
from school, with the Minister agree with me that it is only through | :22:56. | :22:58. | |
education that the cycle of reoffending can be stopped and will | :22:59. | :23:01. | |
he tell the House what more can be done to ensure this message properly | :23:02. | :23:06. | |
resonates across the prison estate. My honourable member makes a very | :23:07. | :23:11. | |
important point. Education is one of the key ways in which we can help | :23:12. | :23:15. | |
break the cycle of reoffending where the offender obviously is willing. | :23:16. | :23:20. | |
One of the things we have done to speed this process is that the | :23:21. | :23:24. | |
education budget has now been transferred to the Department for | :23:25. | :23:27. | |
Education to the minute stay of justice and that will be delegated | :23:28. | :23:30. | |
to Government to Government two governors so that they can organise | :23:31. | :23:40. | |
education -- I am pleased that steps being taken. Can I also suggest that | :23:41. | :23:46. | |
very close to release prisoners are given potential career advice and | :23:47. | :23:49. | |
experience mock interviews to aid their search for work upon release? | :23:50. | :23:56. | |
Again, a very important point. If somebody has spent a lot of time | :23:57. | :23:59. | |
inside it is highly likely they will be an use to the world of work and | :24:00. | :24:05. | |
interviews. One of the things we are doing is we have work coaches who | :24:06. | :24:09. | |
work with prison governors and part of the regime and part of their job | :24:10. | :24:14. | |
is to help prepare prisoners as well as rehabilitation companies for | :24:15. | :24:21. | |
release. A constituent of mine has a criminal record but has been a | :24:22. | :24:24. | |
law-abiding citizen for over 40 years. Should there not come a time | :24:25. | :24:29. | |
and she can move on and no longer has to explain to employers the | :24:30. | :24:32. | |
mistakes she made when she was much younger? The honourable member | :24:33. | :24:39. | |
raises a point around conviction and time spent and there is the band | :24:40. | :24:46. | |
campaign and we are supporters. Encouraging to look beyond this. | :24:47. | :24:52. | |
When it comes to employing ex-offenders and I will speak to her | :24:53. | :24:56. | |
directly about this case affecting her constituent. Mr Speaker, in | :24:57. | :25:04. | |
Hampshire community helps ex-offenders to find training | :25:05. | :25:07. | |
opportunities. Will be Minister continued to support this work? Yes. | :25:08. | :25:28. | |
Thank you. Number eight. We take the safety of prisoners and our jails | :25:29. | :25:32. | |
extremely seriously. It is of importance that they are kept safe | :25:33. | :25:38. | |
and given the opportunity to reform. Thank you. Apologies. The Justice | :25:39. | :25:42. | |
committee last week the prisoner Minister said in reply to a question | :25:43. | :25:48. | |
regarding the recent escape from Pentonville, the frequency of self | :25:49. | :25:50. | |
searches were being determined locally by the governor. Did you see | :25:51. | :25:54. | |
whether he remains satisfied that the coalition decision to end these | :25:55. | :26:00. | |
cell searches was the right one or does he think this might have | :26:01. | :26:04. | |
prevented this escape and limit the use of mobile phones, drugs and | :26:05. | :26:05. | |
weapons? Cell searches are carried on the | :26:06. | :26:14. | |
basis of intelligence that establishment level. In addition we | :26:15. | :26:19. | |
are investing ?3 million on a regional and national intelligence | :26:20. | :26:24. | |
network so we can identify where phones, for example, are being | :26:25. | :26:27. | |
smuggled into aid criminal activities in our prisons and deal | :26:28. | :26:35. | |
with those situations appropriately. Our prison chaplains do with all of | :26:36. | :26:39. | |
these issues daily and are almost universally well thought of, so | :26:40. | :26:42. | |
could the Minister Tommy has what steps he is making to fully recruit | :26:43. | :26:48. | |
these chaplains and make sure they have the time to do the important | :26:49. | :26:54. | |
work? -- could be Minister tell me this? | :26:55. | :26:56. | |
An excellent suggestion one it will look at detail. | :26:57. | :27:02. | |
Is the Secretary of State for Justice aware of the situation at | :27:03. | :27:08. | |
HMP where three prisoners have tragically taken their own lives? | :27:09. | :27:16. | |
This is in Antrim. Could use all of our team in the executive and | :27:17. | :27:19. | |
judgment Minister to make sure this is dealt with? | :27:20. | :27:24. | |
As my honourable friend in Bracknell said, every death in prison is | :27:25. | :27:28. | |
tragic and these people are in the care of the state and we must make | :27:29. | :27:31. | |
sure we take good care of them in a particular respect. I am willing to | :27:32. | :27:35. | |
look at that situation outlined in more detail. | :27:36. | :27:40. | |
As I have mentioned only number of occasions, there is no real | :27:41. | :27:44. | |
incentive for prisoners to behave themselves in prison, because the | :27:45. | :27:47. | |
law that the last Labour Government introduced that prisoners must be | :27:48. | :27:51. | |
released halfway through their sentence irrespective of how badly | :27:52. | :27:53. | |
they behaved or whether they are still a danger to the public. I am | :27:54. | :27:58. | |
waiting for the Government to give an explanation as to why this law | :27:59. | :28:01. | |
should still be on the statute board, because it is yet to provide | :28:02. | :28:07. | |
a satisfactory response. Perhaps the Minister can give a reason why | :28:08. | :28:10. | |
prisoners should be received in! Released halfway through their | :28:11. | :28:15. | |
sentence regardless of how badly they behaved, by law? | :28:16. | :28:18. | |
The honourable member raised this issue at the select committee last | :28:19. | :28:23. | |
week. I will give them the same answer I gave then, that when | :28:24. | :28:27. | |
prisoners are released even at a halfway point, they remain on | :28:28. | :28:30. | |
licence. If there is a breach of the lessons, they are we called into | :28:31. | :28:35. | |
prison. That remains the case. Number nine. | :28:36. | :28:42. | |
A core part of our prison safety and reform plan is a recruitment of an | :28:43. | :28:47. | |
additional 2500 prison officers. Ten of our most challenging prisons | :28:48. | :28:50. | |
already have a recruitment programme we have started and we have made 280 | :28:51. | :28:55. | |
job offers. We have nearly 7000 fewer prison | :28:56. | :29:00. | |
officers in our prisons than in the year 2010. The Government have | :29:01. | :29:02. | |
announced an increase in the bridging budget of ?100 million to | :29:03. | :29:07. | |
recruit, we recruit an extra 2500 officers. Is it any wonder that the | :29:08. | :29:14. | |
services in mess? In our prison safety and reform | :29:15. | :29:18. | |
White Paper, we make it clear it is important that we have a skilled | :29:19. | :29:22. | |
force of officers. That is why we are investing ?100 million. That | :29:23. | :29:28. | |
will enable us to make sure that one officer is responsible for six | :29:29. | :29:33. | |
prisoners. We show through our work that this is what is effective in | :29:34. | :29:36. | |
terms of keeping a prison safe and being able to turn those offenders' | :29:37. | :29:41. | |
lives around. I have three prisons in my | :29:42. | :29:46. | |
constituency which combine at one of the largest concentration of | :29:47. | :29:52. | |
prisoners in the country. The prison officers in Sheppey are hard-working | :29:53. | :29:58. | |
and highly responsible but Sheppey's prisons are seriously understaffed. | :29:59. | :30:00. | |
Because of our location in the south-east of England, it is | :30:01. | :30:03. | |
difficult to recruit officers because of the number of other jobs | :30:04. | :30:06. | |
available to them. What reassurance can my right honourable friend give | :30:07. | :30:11. | |
prison officers that steps will be taken to solve that problem of | :30:12. | :30:14. | |
recruitment on Sheppey? And I agree with my honourable | :30:15. | :30:19. | |
friend what a fantastic job prison officers do. I visit prisons up and | :30:20. | :30:22. | |
down the country meeting officers and seeing the great work they do | :30:23. | :30:26. | |
and their dedication to the job and why they have gone into it. There | :30:27. | :30:32. | |
are issues in about one quarter of our prisons in terms of staff | :30:33. | :30:36. | |
recruitment, because there is hard high demand for employees in the | :30:37. | :30:38. | |
south-east of England particularly, that is why we enable governors to | :30:39. | :30:44. | |
operate market supplements of up to ?4000 to recruit, and retention | :30:45. | :30:47. | |
payments of up to ?3000 to keep officers on board. | :30:48. | :30:53. | |
It is not just a cut of 7000 prison officers which my honourable friend | :30:54. | :30:57. | |
talked about. There are also another 7000 being cut from non-officer | :30:58. | :31:01. | |
grade. A total cut of 40,000 staff. 2000 is a drop in the ocean. That is | :31:02. | :31:07. | |
when people are getting hurt and killed in British prisons, that is | :31:08. | :31:11. | |
why. When will she returned to the point which it was at in pre-2010, | :31:12. | :31:16. | |
which is what we need ensure safety? The important point is that the | :31:17. | :31:20. | |
starving we put into our prisons is evidence based. It enables us to | :31:21. | :31:25. | |
operate with a ratio of one officer for every six prisoners. That is | :31:26. | :31:33. | |
what works. Mr Speaker... In the Westminster | :31:34. | :31:36. | |
Hall debate last week, the prisons minister confirmed that it is his | :31:37. | :31:42. | |
intention for each prisoner to have a dedicated prison officer who will | :31:43. | :31:45. | |
be responsible for six inmates each. He called it the new offender | :31:46. | :31:50. | |
management model. And he called it the new staffing model. Can the | :31:51. | :31:56. | |
Justice Secretary explained that this is based on current staffing | :31:57. | :31:59. | |
levels or if it is an aspiration for the future? And what are the details | :32:00. | :32:06. | |
of these new models? I thank the honourable lady for her | :32:07. | :32:12. | |
question. This is what we will be operating when we get up to the full | :32:13. | :32:16. | |
complement of having the additional 2500 officers. We have already | :32:17. | :32:20. | |
started with ten of those most challenging prisons, of the 400 we | :32:21. | :32:24. | |
are seeking to recruit we have offered jobs to 280. It will take | :32:25. | :32:28. | |
time to build up the prison officer workforce. That's why we are | :32:29. | :32:32. | |
launching a new apprenticeship scheme and why we are launching a | :32:33. | :32:36. | |
new fast-track scheme for graduates. We launched a scheme to recruit | :32:37. | :32:42. | |
former Armed Forces personnel into the service. This is not something | :32:43. | :32:45. | |
we will achieve overnight but something it is important we build | :32:46. | :32:50. | |
up this workforce for to be able to improve both safety and reform in | :32:51. | :32:54. | |
prisons. I thank the Justice Secretary for | :32:55. | :32:58. | |
that response. The prisons minister also told the Justice Committee last | :32:59. | :33:04. | |
week that in order to recruit an extra 2500 prison officers, by 2018, | :33:05. | :33:09. | |
the Ministry of Justice will have to recruit a total of 8000 officers due | :33:10. | :33:13. | |
to the staff leaving rate. Michael Burke said the leaving rate after | :33:14. | :33:20. | |
just a first-year as prison officers is 13.5%. How does the Justice | :33:21. | :33:26. | |
Secretary planned to retain the new staff who are leaving? And the | :33:27. | :33:31. | |
prison officers he plans to recruit, she plans to recruit in the future? | :33:32. | :33:35. | |
And will she spend whatever it takes to get a grip on this crisis? | :33:36. | :33:42. | |
As I said, we are investing ?100 million in recruiting those | :33:43. | :33:46. | |
additional 2500 officers. We're launching a new apprenticeship | :33:47. | :33:50. | |
scheme, a new graduate scheme, a scheme to recruit people from the | :33:51. | :33:53. | |
armed services. We are improving career progression within the prison | :33:54. | :33:57. | |
service to make sure that our experienced officers get the | :33:58. | :34:00. | |
opportunities they deserve. In the 25% of prisons we struggle to | :34:01. | :34:05. | |
recruit in, in London and the south-east, we are offering | :34:06. | :34:08. | |
additional payments. We are doing everything we can to build up that | :34:09. | :34:12. | |
strength, because that is what is important, to deliver safe and | :34:13. | :34:16. | |
reformed prisons. Mr Speaker. As is well-known, we | :34:17. | :34:25. | |
shall set out our proposals for a bill of rights in due course and we | :34:26. | :34:28. | |
shall of course consult fully on those proposals. | :34:29. | :34:32. | |
Nicholson. In light of the UN committee on the | :34:33. | :34:36. | |
rights of Persons with disabilities find that cut the benefits meet the | :34:37. | :34:42. | |
threshold for human rights violations, shouldn't the Secretary | :34:43. | :34:44. | |
of State instead of replacing the Human Rights Act focus on ensuring | :34:45. | :34:47. | |
the protection of rights the Government is already committed to? | :34:48. | :34:53. | |
The UK Government in effect this country does not need lectures about | :34:54. | :34:59. | |
its human rights record. We are a country that has a proud tradition | :35:00. | :35:04. | |
that goes back a hundred years of pioneering human rights and | :35:05. | :35:06. | |
spreading our values around the world. And so I don't think we need | :35:07. | :35:14. | |
any lessons. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Would my | :35:15. | :35:17. | |
honourable friend agree that not only is it a good idea to make this | :35:18. | :35:22. | |
change but that we were members of the European Convention for a whole | :35:23. | :35:28. | |
generation before we put human rights legislation into British law, | :35:29. | :35:32. | |
and that the clear understanding needs to be that it is British ports | :35:33. | :35:36. | |
informed by legislation from this parliament that make the decisions? | :35:37. | :35:45. | |
-- British courts. Winston Churchill and his famous | :35:46. | :35:50. | |
speech in Strasbourg pointed out the importance of fundamental human | :35:51. | :35:52. | |
right after the Second World War. It was British lawyers who took an | :35:53. | :35:56. | |
important part in bringing the European Convention on human rights. | :35:57. | :36:02. | |
Having said that, it is right to consider what it should be in the | :36:03. | :36:07. | |
modern context and if we need a British jurisprudence of these | :36:08. | :36:09. | |
rights. So that is what we are looking at. | :36:10. | :36:14. | |
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Five times in the last few years, the UK | :36:15. | :36:17. | |
Government has been found guilty of a breach of Article three of the | :36:18. | :36:20. | |
European Convention on human rights for its treatment of people with | :36:21. | :36:23. | |
mental health problems in immigration detention. Many more | :36:24. | :36:28. | |
cases have been set or are pending. But the minister confirmed the | :36:29. | :36:30. | |
solution to this shameful state of affairs is not to water down this | :36:31. | :36:33. | |
absolute right in order to avoid being found out? | :36:34. | :36:39. | |
Hear, hear. Can I say of course we respect human | :36:40. | :36:43. | |
rights and the rights which are within the convention. No country | :36:44. | :36:46. | |
has a better record of abiding by those decisions than this country. | :36:47. | :36:51. | |
But having said that, I think there is a need to look critically at the | :36:52. | :36:57. | |
Human Rights Act, the way it operates, and certainly we are going | :36:58. | :37:02. | |
to do that. Does the Minister agree with me that | :37:03. | :37:07. | |
the example of countries like New Zealand, Canada and Australia prove | :37:08. | :37:10. | |
that a country does not have to be a member of the European Convention on | :37:11. | :37:13. | |
human rights to have an excellent human rights record? | :37:14. | :37:18. | |
Hear, hear. The point my honourable friend is | :37:19. | :37:21. | |
making is that these countries are countries which have a common law | :37:22. | :37:27. | |
tradition which was founded in this country by our judges and our | :37:28. | :37:30. | |
Parliament. The fact that it is expressed differently in Canada and | :37:31. | :37:35. | |
other countries like that does not mean it does not have the same | :37:36. | :37:38. | |
route. It is something we in this country should be proud of. | :37:39. | :37:45. | |
Question 12, Mr Speaker. The independence of the judiciary is a | :37:46. | :37:48. | |
cornerstone of the rule of law, vital to our constitutional | :37:49. | :37:53. | |
freedoms. As Lord Chancellor, I frequently make this clear, both in | :37:54. | :37:59. | |
private and public. After the press attacks on the | :38:00. | :38:02. | |
judiciary, it of the Justice Secretary almost 48 hours to release | :38:03. | :38:07. | |
a statement. The former Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, said of the | :38:08. | :38:10. | |
statement, I think it was a little too late and quite a lot too little. | :38:11. | :38:16. | |
Does she agree with Lord Judge, and will she take the opportunity to | :38:17. | :38:22. | |
apologise? It is not a job of the Government or | :38:23. | :38:28. | |
the Lord Chancellor to police headlines. The process is working | :38:29. | :38:31. | |
absolutely as it should. People have a right to bring a case to court. | :38:32. | :38:36. | |
The Government has the right to defended position in the court. The | :38:37. | :38:41. | |
judiciary are independent and impartial and the press can | :38:42. | :38:43. | |
scrutinise the process within the law. | :38:44. | :38:49. | |
I agree with my right honourable friend. As we sit here today in this | :38:50. | :38:53. | |
Parliament, just across Parliament Square, the Supreme Court is sitting | :38:54. | :38:58. | |
with 11 Supreme Court justices. Does she not agree with me, does this | :38:59. | :39:02. | |
whole has not agree with me that the integrity of the Supreme Court and | :39:03. | :39:10. | |
the justices should not be impugned? Well, I completely agree with my | :39:11. | :39:15. | |
honourable friend. As I said last month, the supreme court justices | :39:16. | :39:17. | |
are people of great integrity and impartiality. | :39:18. | :39:23. | |
Joanna Cherry. In response to the constitutional | :39:24. | :39:25. | |
change that was brought about by devolution, the renowned | :39:26. | :39:31. | |
international jurist, the late Professor Sir Neil McCormick | :39:32. | :39:33. | |
stressed the importance of the principles that justify judicial | :39:34. | :39:38. | |
independence. Also of the concept of the separation of powers. As the | :39:39. | :39:42. | |
United Kingdom once more faces major constitutional change after the EU | :39:43. | :39:46. | |
referendum, will she join me in reaffirming the importance of those | :39:47. | :39:51. | |
principles? I absolutely will. The independence | :39:52. | :39:55. | |
of judiciary is a vital part of our free society. As is our free press. | :39:56. | :40:00. | |
Both of those things are important and what we have seen of the last | :40:01. | :40:05. | |
weeks and months is that we have a robust independent judiciary and we | :40:06. | :40:07. | |
have a robust free press. I look forward to discussing it with her | :40:08. | :40:12. | |
soon. Cherry. | :40:13. | :40:15. | |
Thank you for your answer. In recent years, it has become commonplace for | :40:16. | :40:19. | |
some members on the opposite benches to deprecate the judges of the | :40:20. | :40:23. | |
European Court of justice and Court of Human Rights in Europe. Simply | :40:24. | :40:27. | |
for doing their job, that is. Does she agree with me that such scant | :40:28. | :40:33. | |
respect for the rule of law has encouraged the climate in which a | :40:34. | :40:37. | |
major tabloid, which I believe some people call a newspaper, think it is | :40:38. | :40:45. | |
appropriate to describe justices of our own Supreme Court as enemies of | :40:46. | :40:48. | |
the people? I have been clear that the | :40:49. | :40:54. | |
independence of the judiciary is a vital part of our rule of law. As my | :40:55. | :40:57. | |
honourable friend has just said, what is important I think you in the | :40:58. | :41:02. | |
UK is that it is British courts making those decisions. That is | :41:03. | :41:06. | |
precisely what we are going to achieve. | :41:07. | :41:12. | |
Yesterday the president of the Supreme Court said at the beginning | :41:13. | :41:21. | |
of the article 50 appeal, this appeal is concerned with legal | :41:22. | :41:25. | |
issues and as judges our duty is to consider those issues impartially | :41:26. | :41:30. | |
and to decide there was case according to law. That is what we | :41:31. | :41:34. | |
shall do. Does the Lord Chancellor agree with me that had she done her | :41:35. | :41:40. | |
duty and spoken out at the time to defend the judiciary, those words | :41:41. | :41:43. | |
would not have been necessary yesterday? | :41:44. | :41:48. | |
As I said in my first answer, I frequently make it clear that the | :41:49. | :41:53. | |
independence of the judiciary is a vital part of our Constitution and | :41:54. | :41:58. | |
our freedoms. I also think it is right that the president of the | :41:59. | :42:03. | |
Supreme Court, who has absolute integrity, should make that case as | :42:04. | :42:06. | |
well. Question 13. | :42:07. | :42:12. | |
We are committed to helping vulnerable witnesses give their very | :42:13. | :42:17. | |
best evidence and arranging measures to reduce the anxiety of this. These | :42:18. | :42:23. | |
include giving video link evidence away from the court room from behind | :42:24. | :42:28. | |
a screen and also from behind a screen with the court. Following the | :42:29. | :42:37. | |
closure of my local court, can you provide further insurance... | :42:38. | :42:54. | |
What is required to keep them safe is assessed by the police and ensure | :42:55. | :43:00. | |
the witness has no need to My apologies. The prison and courts | :43:01. | :43:20. | |
reform Bill was set out in legislation. The reform of offenders | :43:21. | :43:25. | |
is a key person in prison. Everyone involved in prisons, from officers | :43:26. | :43:30. | |
to headquarters will be focused on turning prisoners lives around. | :43:31. | :43:41. | |
We'll should think about the pathway back to crime free living which do a | :43:42. | :43:45. | |
lot to look after people before the develop the life skills to live | :43:46. | :43:51. | |
independently from crying? I thank my honourable friend and the | :43:52. | :43:58. | |
work they do in turning around the lives of young people. I will be | :43:59. | :44:01. | |
giving a response to the review about how we're going to improve the | :44:02. | :44:06. | |
youth justice system to do just that. | :44:07. | :44:10. | |
Given the recent attack on a prison officer in my constituency, what | :44:11. | :44:13. | |
will be Secretary of State be doing to ensure the safety prison officers | :44:14. | :44:20. | |
at work? Making our prisons safer places is | :44:21. | :44:24. | |
my number one priority. That is why we are dealing with drugs, drones | :44:25. | :44:29. | |
and phones and investing in prison staff across the estate. | :44:30. | :44:35. | |
Number 18, please. We are preparing legislation to | :44:36. | :44:41. | |
create a new legal status, a guardian of property and affairs of | :44:42. | :44:44. | |
a missing person, and we will introduce it as Parliamentary time | :44:45. | :44:48. | |
allows. I hope to introduce a ten minute | :44:49. | :44:53. | |
rule Bill on guardianship, helping relatives and friends. In memory of | :44:54. | :45:00. | |
Claudia Lawrence, a doctor of one of my constituents, who went missing | :45:01. | :45:05. | |
seven years ago. Will the Government offer their support and honour their | :45:06. | :45:10. | |
memory by referring to it whenever possible as Claudia's Bill? | :45:11. | :45:14. | |
That is good news and I wish him well with his Bill. I understand why | :45:15. | :45:21. | |
he wants to refer to it as Claudia cost work law. -- Claudia's law. I | :45:22. | :45:25. | |
want to examine my sympathies to the parents. The Government will | :45:26. | :45:28. | |
formally announced their position and we are key to ignite keen to see | :45:29. | :45:36. | |
this. Topical questions. Number one. | :45:37. | :45:41. | |
Mr Speaker, our probation officers do vital job in turning offenders | :45:42. | :45:45. | |
lives around, which I value highly. The prison and probation Minister is | :45:46. | :45:53. | |
preparing a review, focusing on improving the quality of our | :45:54. | :45:58. | |
services. We want a simpler, clearer system with specific outcome | :45:59. | :46:03. | |
measures, such as getting offenders of drugs, improving educational | :46:04. | :46:07. | |
standards and getting offenders into apprenticeships and work. We want a | :46:08. | :46:11. | |
sequel is working with the prison service. We will set out more | :46:12. | :46:14. | |
detailed plans after our review is completed in April. | :46:15. | :46:20. | |
Guide dog owners are too often turned away by taxis, despite this | :46:21. | :46:24. | |
being illegal. Research has sown that when offenders are prosecuted, | :46:25. | :46:29. | |
they can be found for less than ?200. Will my right honourable | :46:30. | :46:33. | |
friend seat to review the situation and seek to find ways to increase | :46:34. | :46:37. | |
the penalties to make certain that discrimination of this type is more | :46:38. | :46:39. | |
fully addressed? I thank my honourable friend with | :46:40. | :46:45. | |
this question. It is appalling that some taxi drivers would refuse to | :46:46. | :46:50. | |
take assistance dogs. This is an offence under the equality act of | :46:51. | :46:53. | |
those and and ten, which can result in a fine of ?1000. I know that the | :46:54. | :46:58. | |
Department for Transport is looking at improving training for drivers | :46:59. | :47:02. | |
and the role taxi licensing can play in eradicating this is rumination. | :47:03. | :47:08. | |
After the Government's climb-down on the outrageous line on immigration. | :47:09. | :47:16. | |
If this Government really believed in access to justice, is it not time | :47:17. | :47:22. | |
to listen to opposition to the unaffordable tribunal fees and | :47:23. | :47:28. | |
opposition to the small claims limit changes and listen to our urgent | :47:29. | :47:32. | |
demands that they finally begin a review into their savage legal aid | :47:33. | :47:37. | |
cuts? We have already announced that we | :47:38. | :47:42. | |
will be reviewing the last Bill, we will shortly be announcing the | :47:43. | :47:46. | |
timetable for that. We do need is system that is both open and | :47:47. | :47:51. | |
affordable. That is exactly what this Government is delivering. | :47:52. | :47:54. | |
I am sure my right honourable friend will agree that an independent | :47:55. | :47:57. | |
judiciary and a free press two pillars of a free society. While we | :47:58. | :48:01. | |
we not all was like how each acts, we should be proud and protect | :48:02. | :48:06. | |
those. I agree with my right honourable | :48:07. | :48:11. | |
friend. We should be incredibly proud in this country of our | :48:12. | :48:14. | |
independent judiciary, the cornerstone of the rule of law. We | :48:15. | :48:20. | |
also have a robust free press, which is vitally important in making sure | :48:21. | :48:27. | |
we have a freezer cited. -- a free society. | :48:28. | :48:32. | |
Last year, the Government started their review into tribune you'll | :48:33. | :48:39. | |
fees. We had not seen any results. Can she give me a firm date when | :48:40. | :48:43. | |
this review will be completed and published and does he not believe it | :48:44. | :48:46. | |
is time the Government abandon these unfair fees that are cutting the | :48:47. | :48:51. | |
rights of working people? There is a difference. On the side, | :48:52. | :48:56. | |
we think it is only fair that those that can afford to should make some | :48:57. | :49:01. | |
contribution to the cost of a service which costs hard-working | :49:02. | :49:05. | |
taxpayers it is ?6 million per year. We are reviewing this and doing a | :49:06. | :49:09. | |
careful job on it because it is a very important issue and we will | :49:10. | :49:12. | |
publish the outcome of the review in due course. | :49:13. | :49:16. | |
I am sure my right honourable friend will agree that the main challenges | :49:17. | :49:21. | |
of the justice system is integrating ex-offenders back into the outside | :49:22. | :49:24. | |
world on release. Does he agreed that the success of this needs the | :49:25. | :49:32. | |
cooperation of employers and what the Government will do to make sure | :49:33. | :49:37. | |
such cooperation is encouraged and increased. | :49:38. | :49:40. | |
I agree that it is a vital way we are going to reduce reoffending. | :49:41. | :49:44. | |
What we're doing is launching a new employment strategy next year, | :49:45. | :49:49. | |
working with employers. We have apprenticeships and prisons will be | :49:50. | :49:52. | |
doing when they are in and out of prison to create that link between | :49:53. | :49:55. | |
prison. Most importantly, we are making sure we match the jobs | :49:56. | :49:59. | |
available on the outside with the training and work prisoners are | :50:00. | :50:03. | |
doing on the inside. It is a pathway through to employment. | :50:04. | :50:08. | |
The European criminal records information system enables the UK to | :50:09. | :50:12. | |
access information on convictions of EU nationals. The future of our | :50:13. | :50:18. | |
involvement is now unclear. What plans do they have two ensure | :50:19. | :50:24. | |
effective engagement post Brexit? Can I say to the honourable | :50:25. | :50:27. | |
gentleman that it is important that they should be liaison on Brexit | :50:28. | :50:33. | |
between the Scottish Parliament and this Government and this Parliament | :50:34. | :50:39. | |
and Government. That is happening, as he will know. It is an important | :50:40. | :50:43. | |
system but if the Government is not announcing at this stage what it's | :50:44. | :50:48. | |
negotiating is position is on Brexit. | :50:49. | :50:53. | |
With care applications rising dramatically in the family courts, | :50:54. | :50:56. | |
what steps is the Minister taking to head off what has been called as a | :50:57. | :51:04. | |
looming crisis in the family courts? My honourable friend has made a very | :51:05. | :51:09. | |
important point here and is asking a very important question. In the same | :51:10. | :51:13. | |
period, the time taken to complete a case was as laughed. The family | :51:14. | :51:20. | |
Justice board, which I call cheer, is investigating the reason for the | :51:21. | :51:25. | |
rise and whether this is temporary. There are some vital issues involved | :51:26. | :51:30. | |
here. Helping women not to lose excess of children to care. The | :51:31. | :51:35. | |
pause project is doing positive work on this. I would be happy to have | :51:36. | :51:41. | |
the meeting to discuss this further. Three secretaries of state for | :51:42. | :51:46. | |
justice, health and local Government believe that parents in Hull should | :51:47. | :51:49. | |
have an independent enquiry to find out what happened to their baby 's | :51:50. | :51:56. | |
ashes. Does the current Secretary of State fully understand the | :51:57. | :51:59. | |
disappointment that she will not stand up for justice for those | :52:00. | :52:03. | |
parents and having that independent enquiry to find out what happened to | :52:04. | :52:10. | |
those Ashes? I as a pathetic to the honourable | :52:11. | :52:16. | |
lady concerned and I offer the sympathies. We do not plan to have | :52:17. | :52:22. | |
an enquiry. Hull has made improvements, including new | :52:23. | :52:29. | |
practices across communication between the local authorities and | :52:30. | :52:33. | |
NHS trusts. Can I ask my right honourable friend | :52:34. | :52:37. | |
what action the Government is taking to address the specific needs of | :52:38. | :52:44. | |
women in the justice system? We are working to ensure that at | :52:45. | :52:49. | |
every stage we are taking proper account of the specific needs of | :52:50. | :52:52. | |
women, so that they receive the support they need to make positive | :52:53. | :52:56. | |
changes in their lives. We went to see fewer women were fending and | :52:57. | :53:01. | |
reoffending and will set out our strategy into thousand and 17. -- | :53:02. | :53:07. | |
offending. Can I give the Secretary of State and other opportunity to | :53:08. | :53:10. | |
answer my question? She told this house that she has had meetings to | :53:11. | :53:15. | |
discuss the levels of suicide in our presence. As Jack Lee visited a | :53:16. | :53:22. | |
prison mental health service, and if not, why not? | :53:23. | :53:26. | |
-- has she visited. I have visited a number of prisons. I have answered | :53:27. | :53:33. | |
his question. Did my right honourable friend say | :53:34. | :53:38. | |
what action the Government is taking to deal with ensuring the UK remains | :53:39. | :53:43. | |
a specialist leader in world legal services? | :53:44. | :53:49. | |
We are a moderate global centre for legal services and English law is | :53:50. | :53:53. | |
the international law of choice. Our legal services sector contributes 26 | :53:54. | :53:58. | |
billion to the UK economy. We have the best legal system in the world | :53:59. | :54:03. | |
and our organisation programme will keep us there. -- modernisation. I | :54:04. | :54:08. | |
will be championing our legal services sector as a key part of | :54:09. | :54:14. | |
post Brexit Britain. The family of one of my constituents | :54:15. | :54:21. | |
that the man guilty of his manslaughter has been considered to | :54:22. | :54:24. | |
be moved to an open prison one year before the family was told he would | :54:25. | :54:31. | |
be considered and after he has only spent one year in prison. | :54:32. | :54:36. | |
Is that just as? Obviously there is a careful risk assessment that is | :54:37. | :54:40. | |
taking place for people who are moved into open prison. I am not | :54:41. | :54:44. | |
aware of this case that he has outlined. I would be very happy to | :54:45. | :54:50. | |
meet with him to discuss it. Thank you. The honourable member for | :54:51. | :54:57. | |
Leeds East said that he thought that lord Newberg had mentioned that he | :54:58. | :55:02. | |
would be deciding the case in accordance with the law. Does the | :55:03. | :55:08. | |
secretary agree with me that he was saying that because that is his duty | :55:09. | :55:11. | |
and that was because it was stated that it would be law and not | :55:12. | :55:18. | |
politics... My honourable friend is right. She | :55:19. | :55:29. | |
is right about his role and it is pronounced as I said. I have had | :55:30. | :55:35. | |
three conversations with him. It is very important that the judiciary | :55:36. | :55:46. | |
themselves state the case as well. The prisoners remain in custody | :55:47. | :55:54. | |
along over at their tariff and after the previous Government abolished | :55:55. | :55:56. | |
these sentences in the last parliament. The Ministry of Justice | :55:57. | :56:03. | |
has a dedicated unit looking at the prisoners. Can the justice sector | :56:04. | :56:06. | |
they tell us exactly what she is doing? | :56:07. | :56:11. | |
We have a number of IPP prisoners I have met who are concerned to hear | :56:12. | :56:16. | |
more about the progress they will make through the system. What the | :56:17. | :56:20. | |
unit is doing is making sure there are sufficient parole hearings and | :56:21. | :56:26. | |
that there are are are sufficient course is being taken and getting | :56:27. | :56:29. | |
people to a stage where they are ready for release. It is always | :56:30. | :56:33. | |
important to focus on public protection and we make sure we only | :56:34. | :56:38. | |
release people who are not having that large risk. | :56:39. | :56:47. | |
Woodhill prison in my constituency has had the highest number of | :56:48. | :56:50. | |
suicides of any prison this year. Will my right honourable friend | :56:51. | :56:53. | |
assured me she is working originally with the governor to address the | :56:54. | :56:58. | |
situation. I can assure him we are working urgently with the governor | :56:59. | :57:02. | |
to address the situation and address the overall issue of suicides in our | :57:03. | :57:07. | |
prisons, which is too high. Reoffending rates among young | :57:08. | :57:12. | |
offenders remain quite high. The Association of youth offending team | :57:13. | :57:18. | |
managers have said earlier this year that there has been a record cut in | :57:19. | :57:23. | |
funding. What is the Secretary of State doing to address this issue? | :57:24. | :57:27. | |
I thank the honourable lady for the question and she will not have to | :57:28. | :57:30. | |
wait long before we release the Charlie Taylor report as well as the | :57:31. | :57:33. | |
Government response to this about how we will improve outcomes in | :57:34. | :57:38. | |
youth justice. In February this year, 21-year-old | :57:39. | :57:42. | |
Croydon resident George Beresford was knocked over and killed by a | :57:43. | :57:47. | |
drink-driver. Because the police and CPS were unable to prove the | :57:48. | :57:51. | |
drink-driver was also driving carelessly, he only received a | :57:52. | :57:54. | |
relatively short driving ban instead of a custodial sentence. I thank the | :57:55. | :58:01. | |
member for sorry for agreeing to meet the family this afternoon and I | :58:02. | :58:04. | |
asked the minister if he agrees with me and the family that they should | :58:05. | :58:08. | |
be looked at in a consultation, where a drink-driver kill someone, a | :58:09. | :58:12. | |
custodial sentence is appropriate whether or not careless riding can | :58:13. | :58:16. | |
be proven? The consultation makes it clear for | :58:17. | :58:21. | |
our proposals whether someone is on drink, drugs or alcohol, and kill | :58:22. | :58:27. | |
someone, there is evidence to charge them under careless dangerous | :58:28. | :58:29. | |
driving, they could face a life sentence. It is for the CPS to | :58:30. | :58:33. | |
prosecute based on the evidence and for the courts to hand down the | :58:34. | :58:38. | |
relevant sentence and look forward to discussing the details of the | :58:39. | :58:44. | |
specific case of the Beresfords with him this afternoon. | :58:45. | :58:48. | |
My constituent is raising an action against his former employers of | :58:49. | :58:51. | |
which there are many due to the nature of his work. He has to do it | :58:52. | :58:57. | |
by the end of this year but cannot get a list of employers because the | :58:58. | :59:00. | |
HMRC say it will take 321 days. I'm sure he would appreciate at the | :59:01. | :59:05. | |
Justice Secretary would make representation to the Treasury and | :59:06. | :59:07. | |
ask. I am happy to look into the case | :59:08. | :59:11. | |
with the honourable lady. On her first day in office, the | :59:12. | :59:15. | |
Prime Minister said, if you are black, you are treated more harshly | :59:16. | :59:18. | |
by the criminal justice system than if you are white. I am pleased to | :59:19. | :59:23. | |
have joined the review working with the honourable member for Tottenham | :59:24. | :59:26. | |
looking into the treatment of an outcomes for black Asian and | :59:27. | :59:29. | |
minority ethnic individuals in the criminal justice system. What steps | :59:30. | :59:35. | |
will be Secretary of State take to address the findings that in | :59:36. | :59:38. | |
relation to arrest rates and charging, they are | :59:39. | :59:41. | |
disproportionately affected? Can I say first that I am delighted | :59:42. | :59:44. | |
my honourable friend has joined that review. She will make a major | :59:45. | :59:50. | |
contribution to it, I am sure. Clearly there are issues right to | :59:51. | :59:53. | |
the criminal justice system and things we must look at. One thing I | :59:54. | :59:56. | |
am keen to see is a greater degree of diversity across our legal | :59:57. | :00:01. | |
services industry and in our judiciary. We work very hard on | :00:02. | :00:04. | |
that. Education budgets are being devolved | :00:05. | :00:10. | |
to prison governors. Is each of those individual budgets going to be | :00:11. | :00:13. | |
ring fenced for spending on education purposes only? | :00:14. | :00:22. | |
Yes. Well, a one word answer. | :00:23. | :00:25. | |
Magnificent. I doubt we will get a one word question. We always ask the | :00:26. | :00:30. | |
chair of the justice select committee, himself an accomplished | :00:31. | :00:34. | |
lawyer, and there is a hint there. Mr Robertson meal. | :00:35. | :00:38. | |
Given the Government's welcome development of a corruption | :00:39. | :00:44. | |
prevention strategy, will the Minister look closely at the | :00:45. | :00:51. | |
allegations of systemic corruption raised by Buzzfeed news today saying | :00:52. | :00:54. | |
it is an undermining of our prison system? | :00:55. | :00:58. | |
I agree with my honourable friend. Whilst the vast majority of prison | :00:59. | :01:00. | |
officers are hard-working and dedicated there is a small minority | :01:01. | :01:04. | |
that is an issue. We acknowledge that in the White Paper. Reporting | :01:05. | :01:10. | |
early next year on our corruption strategy, we will be. We are also | :01:11. | :01:15. | |
considering options around a prison specific offence of corruption to | :01:16. | :01:22. | |
crack down on the scourge. I previously raised their concerns | :01:23. | :01:26. | |
with the Lord Chancellor on the rise of gangs promoting extremist | :01:27. | :01:29. | |
ideology in prisons. Can I right honourable friend update the house | :01:30. | :01:32. | |
of how her department is cracking down on extremist behaviour? | :01:33. | :01:37. | |
My honourable friend is right about our concerns and we rushed our | :01:38. | :01:41. | |
response to the Aitchison review in the summer. I'm pleased to say all | :01:42. | :01:44. | |
prison officers are currently being trained and will be by the end of | :01:45. | :01:48. | |
the year, in tackling extremism. I will be pleased to meet with her to | :01:49. | :01:51. | |
discuss further measures we can take to deal with this issue. | :01:52. | :01:58. | |
We will conclude with another dose from Mr Philip Davis. | :01:59. | :02:04. | |
Thank you, Mr Speaker. When the last Labour Government change the law so | :02:05. | :02:06. | |
prisoners had to be released halfway through the sentence, irrespective | :02:07. | :02:12. | |
of how badly behaved or a risk to the public, the conservative | :02:13. | :02:18. | |
opposition voted against it. Does the Conservative Party think the | :02:19. | :02:21. | |
Government were wrong to oppose that changing the law? | :02:22. | :02:24. | |
And referred the honourable member to the answer I gave earlier that | :02:25. | :02:27. | |
day and last at the select committee. | :02:28. | :02:32. | |
I think this show will run on. Probably for some years... Order. | :02:33. | :02:44. | |
Urgent questions to Andy McDonald. To ask the Secretary of State for | :02:45. | :02:47. | |
Transport if he will make a statement on the Government's plans | :02:48. | :02:50. | |
for train operating companies to take responsibility for track and | :02:51. | :02:56. | |
infrastructure for Network Rail. The Secretary of State for | :02:57. | :03:00. | |
Transport... Mr Speaker, he clearly misunderstood | :03:01. | :03:09. | |
my plan. Let me explain. This morning, a written miss ministerial | :03:10. | :03:12. | |
statement in both libraries of this House, my vision for reforming the | :03:13. | :03:17. | |
railways to put passengers at the heart. Providing better, more | :03:18. | :03:23. | |
reliable journeys. We have seen substantial growth in passenger | :03:24. | :03:26. | |
numbers since privatisation but this growth brings challenges and impact | :03:27. | :03:30. | |
and disruption could be immediate significant and wide-ranging. Our | :03:31. | :03:33. | |
railways need to adapt and change in order to be able to cope with this | :03:34. | :03:36. | |
huge expansion in the number | :03:37. | :03:38. |