Racism
Debate between Baroness Scott of Bybrook and Lord Fowler
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
My Lords, I congratulate Leicester City on being third in the league and on their 5-0 win yesterday. My noble friend is right: racism or indeed any form of discrimination has no place in football or society, but there is still more to do. The Government continue to liaise closely with the football authorities to tackle this issue.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed. We now come to the second Oral Question.
Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland
Debate between Baroness Scott of Bybrook and Lord Fowler
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
My Lords, I am going to repeat myself again: the important thing with Northern Ireland is that we keep talking, both with the communities of the island and with the European Union, to make sure that this protocol works.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has, sadly, elapsed. We now come to the third Oral Question.
Northern Ireland Protocol
Debate between Baroness Scott of Bybrook and Lord Fowler
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
Indeed, my Lords. We need to proceed carefully as part of our progressive and good faith implementation of the protocol. Our focus is on minimising the impact on everyday lives in Northern Ireland, and we are committed to working with the EU to do that, addressing outstanding concerns and restoring confidence on the ground. The steps we took were simply temporary operational steps to avoid unacceptable disruption as those discussions proceeded.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed, and it brings Question Time to an end.
Covid-19: Prisoners and Children in Custody
Debate between Baroness Scott of Bybrook and Lord Fowler
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
My Lords, I think I have answered about prisoners staying many hours in their cells, but it is important that we continue to test prisoners and staff and are able to compartmentalise prisoners so that they are safe and secure. As public health information comes forward and we can do more in prisons, we will make sure that both prisoners and staff are safe and well.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed.
Royal Commission on Criminal Justice
Debate between Baroness Scott of Bybrook and Lord Fowler
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
My Lords, the Government made a commitment in their 2019 manifesto to establish a royal commission on criminal justice. We are absolutely committed to doing this. A budget has been allocated for the commission’s work, a team of officials has been established and work is under way on developing the terms of reference and the options for the chairs and commissioners.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
Could we please have short questions, otherwise it just knocks out other Members?
The Lord Bishop of Durham [V]
My Lords, prisoners serving short sentences for non-violent crimes often get stuck in a so-called revolving door, with serious consequences to their family relationships, housing and rehabilitation. Will the commission be considering reports into the issues around short sentences and consider alternatives to custodial sentences, to enable rehabilitation in the community?
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
The commission is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to address the challenges in the criminal justice system that noble Lords have brought up today. This work is extremely important, but it is also an opportunity to factor in the real and additional challenges of Covid-19 and to look at the resilience of the system.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
I call the noble Baroness, Lady Mallalieu. The noble Baroness needs to switch on.
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
I thank my noble friend. I cannot say whether the commission will look at that but the Government are committed to learning from the lessons and building on the innovations brought about by our response to this unprecedented pandemic, such as the good work done in keeping our courts open through our criminal court recovery plan. Since August, magistrates’ courts have been consistently completing more cases than they are receiving. They are dealing with more than 21,000 cases each week and are tackling the backlog of criminal cases.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed. We now come to the second Oral Question. I call the noble Baroness, Lady Northover.
Online Harms: Intimate Images
Debate between Baroness Scott of Bybrook and Lord Fowler
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
My Lords, things move on very fast. Yes, I quite agree with the noble Baroness that everybody—the education system, the parents and, particularly, the online organisations—is responsible. That is why we will bring forward legislation on online harms very shortly.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed and we now come to the third Oral Question.
Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020
Debate between Baroness Scott of Bybrook and Lord Fowler
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
My Lords, the so-called unilateral divorce by one spouse has effectively been available for nearly 50 years. It is only the basis of the divorce that can be contested, not the application itself. Interestingly, only 2% of divorce petitions are contested. By reducing the potential for conflict between divorcing parents, our reforms should make the escalation of trivial disputes into applications less, not more, likely. In addition, the Ministry of Justice has worked with Cafcass and OnePlusOne to develop the Co-Parent Hub, offering a one-stop shop for families, including alternative dispute resolution options.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, all supplementary questions have been asked. We now move to the third Oral Question.
Crime: Emergency Services Staff
Debate between Baroness Scott of Bybrook and Lord Fowler
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
The noble Lord is correct. The White Paper is looking at serious assaults very seriously. That is why we are changing the time served of sentences of over seven years from the current 50% to two-thirds. In the White Paper, we are also looking at changing it from 50% to two-thirds for sentences of four to seven years. All these things will ensure that the public have confidence in the judicial system.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, this is an important issue. We are going very slowly on it.
Lord Thomas of Gresford (LD) [V]
My Lords, I am the son of a policeman and spent my first five years living in a police station in Llangollen. The November 2018 guidelines for an unlawful act of manslaughter were arrived at after four years of consideration and consultation with 45 bodies, including the council of Her Majesty’s judges, the criminal Bar, the Criminal Law Solicitors’ Association, the Ministry of Justice, the Justice Committee, the unions, the Howard League for Penal Reform, leading academics, the royal medical colleges and many others. The guidelines were widely accepted and came into effect less than two years ago. Why is the Ministry of Justice proposing to revisit this issue so soon?
Lord Pickles (Con) [V]
My Lords, does my noble friend agree with the analysis of Andy Symonds, chair of Norfolk Police Federation? He said that it was essential that courts, as well as the Government, played a part in stopping violent offenders, and that there was a need for predictable, tough sentences for offenders who attack police officers. He says that this has not happened, and that it is one of the main drivers of the rising numbers of assaults that we are seeing year on year. Putting on a uniform for public service always carries a risk. We in Parliament and the courts should respond to that risk by unambiguously making clear to those who assault the uniformed services that they will face the most severe penalties.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
I call the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Gloucester. Oh, I am sorry, it is the Minister.
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
Sentencing is ultimately a matter for the independent courts, which is why in 2018 we introduced the new aggravated offence of assaulting emergency workers. As I said, we are looking at increasing the 12 months to a two-year maximum penalty. While sentencing is for judges in individual cases, it is for the Government to give courts the full range of powers to deal effectively with anybody who attacks any policeman or emergency worker.
Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010
Debate between Baroness Scott of Bybrook and Lord Fowler
Baroness Scott of Bybrook
My Lords, that is exactly where the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s review is leading: to see whether it can put in place any further best practice within the CRaG guidelines to make scrutiny and overview much better.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed.