Topical Questions

Answer from Dominic Raab

I am happy to write to the hon. Gentleman about that particular prison in his constituency. He will know that we are investing almost £4 billion over the next three years to deliver 20,000 additional modern prison places by the mid-2020s. I have been to look at some of the advantages that they can have, including at Glen Parva prison, which has started the operational build.

Answer from James Cartlidge

My hon. Friend is an absolute champion of her constituency and she is right to want it to get its place in the levelling-up agenda. As she said, the Ministry of Justice is already a major employer in Wrexham through HMP Berwyn, which employs around 750 staff directly and over 250 more through partner organisations.

Answer from Victoria Atkins

I thank the hon. Lady for her point about the important role that accommodation plays in resettling women. I know that she will take comfort from the fact that nearly 23% fewer women are in custody than in 2010, but of course work continues and we need to ensure that women as well as male prisoners are set up for their life on release.

Answer from Dominic Raab

I thank my hon. Friend for his support. He is right that across a whole suite of issues, including illegal migration, the proposals for a Bill of Rights with common-sense, sensible reforms will help us to address the problems. Once the consultation results come back, we will want to listen very carefully and proceed to legislation in the next Session.

Answer from Dominic Raab

May I thank the hon. Lady and express my solidarity in the awful and harrowing case that she refers to? If she writes to me, I will be happy to look at her specific proposal. The overall level of funding for victims this year is three times the level in 2010.

Answer from James Cartlidge

My hon. Friend, who put in a great shift on the Committee, makes an excellent point. The Judicial Review and Courts Bill will introduce a new procedure for certain low-level offences such as travelling on a train without a ticket, enabling defendants who wish to plead guilty to make a plea and accept a conviction and standard penalty entirely online.

Answer from Victoria Atkins

The hon. Lady is absolutely right to say that our officers and staff are a critical part of protecting the public through our prisons. Without those staff and officers, our prisons simply do not function. The Deputy Prime Minister and I are looking intensively at not only the pay but the other conditions under which officers and staff are working. We take this very seriously. I also want to look at the conditions for staff and officers working in prisons, because they are the hidden emergency service that keeps us safe day in, day out.

Answer from Victoria Atkins

We are committed to delivering the female offender strategy by reducing the number of women in custody and seeing a greater proportion of women managed in the community. We have invested £9.5 million in women's community sector organisations, including nearly £50,000 for the North Wales Women's Centre last year.

Answer from Dominic Raab

I do understand the level of pain, suffering and anxiety that has been expressed. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has come forward with a set of proposals that offer a balanced approach and hope to allow communities on both sides to move forward.

Answer from Victoria Atkins

I am delighted to confirm that all tier 1 local authorities have set up domestic abuse local partnership boards, providing advice on the provision of specialist services. I encourage Members across the House to engage with these boards.

Answer from Dominic Raab

The House has periodically looked at questions of libel law and we will keep those issues under constant review. This is an opportunity to reinvent the priority attached to freedom of speech.

Answer from Dominic Raab

I totally agree. We are making it a presumption that offenders can be given a pathway into employment when suitable and secure, as part of the review in the prisons White Paper.

Answer from Dominic Raab

I agree with the hon. Gentleman that it is absolutely abhorrent, and I think the club took the right decision. We are taking a suite of measures including local justice scorecards, the victims' Bill, VAWG strategy, and the rape action review.

Answer from Dominic Raab

I endorse my hon. Friend's point about section 28, which deals with pre-recorded evidence from rape victims and we will articulate clearly a plan to move from limited trials to a national roll-out in the first half of this year.

Answer from Kit Malthouse

I congratulate the hon. Member on her work with those organisations, which are transformative for people's lives. As part of our 10-year drugs strategy, we will bind together coalitions to make an assault on this kind of crime and addiction in every area.

Answer from Tom Pursglove

I am grateful for my hon. Friend's innovative questions, I remember well his campaign, and it is good that we changed our minds and are opening a new super-prison which will employ constituents.

Answer from Dominic Raab

My hon. Friend is right; many cases do not need court intervention and I am working with the judiciary to try to achieve reform focusing on incentives, disincentives, mediation use, and restructuring the system.