Topical Questions

Question

Our pets are valuable members of our families, and the government is not prepared to ignore the issue. The taskforce report was published this month with recommendations including a new offence of pet abduction. Does the Minister agree that this recognises that pets are more than mere property?

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Does the Secretary of State believe it is safe or appropriate for prison officers to deal with violent criminals up to their current retirement age? Does he agree that this completely unrealistic retirement age has negatively affected retention and recruitment?

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How long do Ministers expect it to be before British prisons become practically drug free?

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Following intervention, schedule 22 expired. Can the Lord Chancellor tell us what action is being taken to quash all illegal convictions?

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Will the Justice Secretary review this issue, with a view to putting in place proper guidelines to prevent such behaviour in future?

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Will the Minister undertake to bring forward similar regulations in England and Wales?

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Last weekend, a young man sadly lost his life in my constituency, and a county lines drug operation was peripherally involved. What are the Government doing to bring a stop to these county lines drug operations, which are ruining constituencies such as mine?

Question

Too many people die in open water because of a lack of life-saving equipment. In May this year my constituent 16-year-old Sam Haycock drowned in a nearby lake. His friends tried to save his life, but they were unable to access the life belt because it was padlocked and they could not get it unlocked in time. Does the Minister therefore agree that it is vital that appropriate and specific penalties are in place to save and protect the equipment that could have saved Sam's life?

Question

My constituent is involved in a case where controlling and coercive behaviour is alleged, and the case has been delayed due to both covid and a number of failures within the court process. The delays mean she continues to have to interact with her ex-partner on matters such as arranging contact with their children, causing her great distress in the process. What steps is the Department taking to ensure that victims of domestic abuse are able to have their cases heard in a timely manner?

Question

I come back to female Afghan judges, where the key question is: what steps is the Department taking to allow them safe passage out of Afghanistan? What timeframe is it working to? When does it think will be too late, because the executions will have begun?

Question

Prison officers and staff have done an amazing, excellent job of keeping prisoners safe during the pandemic, with much lower infection rates in jails than had been feared. That has mainly been achieved by keeping prisoners locked in their cells, but, obviously, we now need to move beyond that so that they can access education, work and other rehabilitation programmes. So will the Minister tell the House what progress has been made on rolling out vaccines in prisons, which would allow this vital work to resume?

Question

Work cuts reoffending rates in half. The Recruitment Junction in my constituency has a 50% success rate in getting ex-offenders into work—that is twice the national average. It tells me that the biggest challenge is on housing, such as for my constituent “Stuart”, who was released after 30 years in prison and was provided with just eight weeks' accommodation. If he does not find somewhere to live by tomorrow, he will be recalled into prison, at huge cost to himself and to the taxpayer. How is the Minister going to help Stuart to get somewhere to live by tomorrow?

Question

Last year, the expert Family Solutions Group produced a hard-hitting report called “What about me?”, which focuses on the 280,000 children each year who experience their parents separating. With the divorce Act fast approaching and family courts increasingly stretched, will my right hon. and learned Friend meet me to discuss ideas and some of the report's identified policy gaps on separating families?

Question

The Law Commission is currently conducting an important review of intimate-image abuse that will, I hope, recommend making it an offence for a person to take photographs of someone breastfeeding without their consent. When does the Secretary of State expect that report to be published? Perhaps more importantly, what assurance can he provide that the report's recommendations will be given timely, swift consideration and that action will be taken?

Question

I know, Mr Speaker, that you will be exercised by the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Bill that is currently going through the other place, and particularly by clause 103, which will raise the retirement age of magistrates from 70 to 75, thus fulfilling the ambition behind the private Member's Bill that I introduced in the previous Session. While we wait for that legislation to go through, what other measures is my right hon. and learned Friend taking to get through the backlog of cases in courts, particularly through online cases?

Question

May I return to the case of the female Afghan judges, which I raised yesterday with the Lord Chancellor's Home Office colleague, the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, the hon. Member for Louth and Horncastle (Victoria Atkins)? A female former Afghan judge who escaped two assassination attempts by the Taliban and is now a British citizen contacted me at the weekend to explain the very real and immediate danger that her colleagues face, particularly from dangerous criminals and terrorists who have been released from prison. I am bringing her into Parliament at 5 pm this evening to meet informally with the Justice Committee; will the Lord Chancellor, or perhaps one of his junior colleagues, come to that meeting and meet this lady to hear at first hand how desperate the situation really is?