Prisons and Probation

My hon. Friend is right to say that these reforms—as the Government call them; I call them destru...

My hon. Friend makes an important point very eloquently. As she says, splitting probation into tw...

The hon. Gentleman is making a powerful argument. He has referred to the United States of America...

The hon. Lady makes an interesting point, and we can of course learn from the experiences in Wale...

The UK Government are looking at creating new women’s centres. Does my hon. Friend agree that one...

I tend to agree with my hon. Friend on that point, as on virtually everything else.

There i...

About 20 years ago when I was on the Home Affairs Committee, we visited private prisons in the Un...

I certainly do. I do not think that this Government or our society should see the United States o...

Does my hon. Friend agree that it is a really frightening and terrible statistic from the Ministr...

My hon. Friend makes an important point. That fact should weigh heavily with the Government. It m...

We heard earlier about the need for a women’s centre in Wales. Does my hon. Friend agree that it ...

Women’s centres play a crucial role, and their work needs to be expanded. The female prison estat...

The hon. Gentleman has been making a case predicated on ideology. To be clear, is it his view tha...

We are looking for an evidence-based approach. Given that privatisation in the justice system has...

Could there be a compromise here? For example, the service itself could be provided by the Govern...

The voluntary sector plays an important role in our justice system and will continue to do so und...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government could learn lessons from the public sector HMP Berw...

My hon. Friend makes some important points. No one is saying that the publicly run prison system ...

On accountability, the previous prisons Minister, the right hon. Member for Penrith and The Borde...

My hon. Friend, who makes an important point, has always been a passionate advocate for the impro...

He has! [Laughter.]

He has, but under different circumstances. The key point is that the 10 prisons were cherry picke...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the statistic that there are 47% more violent incidents in private...

My hon. Friend is completely correct. The statistic she refers to demands a constructive response...

Does my hon. Friend agree that it is not just about the level of violence as a result of higher p...

That is an important point. Rehabilitation is key to an effective criminal justice system and to ...

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech and some excellent points. One of the findings of th...

Order. Notwithstanding colleagues’ appetite for interrogation, which is often insatiable, and the...

This House is a place for cautious optimism, which is very appropriate—not perhaps on all sides.<...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I will give way on this last occasion.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way. The HMI Prisons report on the CRC in York highlig...

My hon. Friend is right to be a passionate advocate of the important work, done in difficult circ...

Wakefield has two prisons—the women’s prison, New Hall, and Wakefield, a high-security establishm...

My hon. Friend hits the nail on the head.

I am now coming to my conclusion, Madam Deputy Sp...

There is an important debate to be had about the involvement of the private sector and the volunt...

Can the Secretary of State just tell the House why it took an inspection by the prisons inspector...

HMPPS did have concerns about how Birmingham was operating and the way it was working, and HMPPS ...

Will the Secretary of State admit that this is not just about one prison and that yesterday’s fig...

When looking at prisons, it is important to compare like with like. Our prison estate contains a ...

If we are talking about ideology, or lack of it, does the Secretary of State not accept that it w...

The hon. Lady brings me to probation, to which I wish to turn—

rose—

But before I do, I will give way to my hon. Friend.

My right hon. Friend is making a powerful speech. Of course, the picture is complex, because ther...

My hon. Friend makes an important point. Sometimes, Opposition day debates can be a bit of knocka...

That is what has struck me during this debate: what matters in prisons are the standards under wh...

That is exactly right. If the private sector is not working, I am prepared to step in—I have no p...

rose—

rose—

I will give way first to the hon. Member for Ipswich (Sandy Martin), then to the hon. Member for ...

The right hon. Gentleman said earlier that we need to compare like with like; will he give us an ...

The most recent brand-new prison that we did was Berwyn, and it is in the public sector. The next...

Quality is to follow.

On outcomes, which are the most important thing that we look at, will...

When it comes to any decisions about prison closures, we will of course look at the evidence. We ...

I congratulate the Secretary of State on his announcement earlier this year that he was bringing ...

First, I am of course determined to ensure that that decision succeeds. In July last year, I set ...

In Wrexham, my constituent Nicholas Churton was murdered by someone who was subject to the superv...

Obviously, that is a tragic case, and, as I have before, I express my sympathies for the family o...

When?

I think the phrase I just used was “in due course”.

Is it?

It certainly is “in due course”.

Finally, as we debate these issues we should recognise tha...

Order. As colleagues can see, we have a good number of contributors to this debate. I do not want...

Listening to the Justice Secretary is always a pleasure. He was calm and reflective and is commit...

It is always a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Delyn (David Hanson), my very well re...

My hon. Friend is making a fabulous speech. Will he comment specifically on the evidence we heard...

That was very shocking evidence indeed. Frankly, it is an indictment of every one of us that we a...

It is a pleasure to follow the Chair of the Justice Committee, the hon. Member for Bromley and Ch...

It is a pleasure to follow the powerful speech by the hon. Member for Barnsley East (Stephanie Pe...

Unless he is in the Cabinet.

Oh no, he is not going anywhere—this is a long-term sentence! I have the highest regard for the c...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Banbury (Victoria Prentis).

It is no secret ...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Lewisham West and Penge (Ellie Reeves). Devotees o...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for North Dorset (Simon Hoare), and I echo his remarks...

It is a pleasure to follow the thoughtful speech from the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Melanie ...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Chelmsford (Vicky Ford). In September, HMP Bedford...

It might surprise the House to know that I have spent some time in HMP Bedford—I hasten to add, n...

My hon. Friend makes an important point. Last year when I visited Bedford prison I noticed that a...

The privatisation of the probation service must be one of the worst decisions ever taken by Gover...

I am always pleased when there is a consensus. I listened carefully to the contributions of Gover...

It is an honour to follow the hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse), who made important points abo...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I am short of time, but I will give way.

I just wanted to make a point about cost-effectiveness. Does my hon. Friend share my concern abou...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that excellent point. In 2011, a report on the social ...

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol West (Thangam Debbonaire). The e...

Throughout this debate we have heard strong speeches on the dangerous consequences of privatisati...

My hon. Friend, the shadow Secretary of State and I all share the same probation trust; it is run...

I absolutely agree and will come on to that point shortly. I would have liked to say a lot more b...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for breaking his extremely good speech. The people trying to deli...

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, who raises important points on staffing, on the two-tier ...

It is a pleasure, after only two working days in office, to close this important debate and to ma...

I welcome the Minister to his new role. He says that he would like to leave a legacy. Does he agr...

As a proud Welshman, I have a long and deep interest in such issues, and I think greater unity is...

Will the Minister give way?

Let me develop my points, and I will give way in a moment.

My right hon. Friend the Lord Ch...

I welcome my hon. and learned Friend to his job, to which I hope he brings the same tremendous sk...

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend, and of course I am familiar with the CRC to which he refer...

Exactly when will the Minister do that? The Government have committed to it previously, but we ar...

I hear the hon. Lady, and I share her sense of urgency. I cannot promise a specific timescale, bu...

Will the Minister give way?

I cannot, because time does not permit me to do so. I am under some pressure and I wish to deal w...