Context
The MP refers to recent sentencing in Bradford where individuals convicted of crimes related to grooming gangs received sentences that were perceived as inadequate. He also mentions the Home Secretary's audit which was marked by authorities themselves, raising concerns about its thoroughness.
Question
What steps her Department is taking to ensure that people convicted of charges related to grooming gangs receive adequate sentences? As in Bradford last week, where more of the grooming gangsters, largely of Pakistani origin, who raped white girls there and elsewhere were sentenced, the paucity of the Home Secretary’s audit, whereby authorities mark their own homework, was made clear. Will the Justice Secretary agree to a wide-ranging review of these matters with statutory powers? Surely those whose lives have been ruined, and those whose lives may yet be ruined, deserve more than the weak reticence of people with power who refuse to face the facts.
Answer from The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Shabana Mahmood)
I hope that the right hon. Gentleman and I have a shared objective in making it clear that there is a desire in all parts of the House to ensure that we face the full facts and that the victims of these heinous crimes receive the justice they deserve. I am sorry to hear that there are concerns in Bradford about the audit ordered by the Home Secretary; I will ensure that they are passed on to the Home Secretary, because, as the right hon. Gentleman will know, these matters fall directly within the purview of the Home Department.
Not addressed: The Justice Secretary did not commit to a wide-ranging review with statutory powers but promised to pass on concerns to the Home Secretary.
How: Passed On Concerns To The Home Secretary
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