IPP Sentences

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Tuesday 29th October 2024 Westminster Hall

[Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way and congratulate him on securing this important debate. I want to raise the case of my constituent whose son is serving an indefinite IPP sentence and suffers from long-term psychiatric conditions. She feels he is in the wrong institution, unable to access the specialist support he urgently needs. Does my hon. Friend agree that such cases underline the urgent need for a review of IPP sentences, particularly given the crisis in overcrowded prisons?

[Bambos Charalambous]

My hon. Friend is right. There is a special need for prisoners to receive support. Keeping IPP prisoners incarcerated for longer than they should be is adding further pressure on our already overcrowded prison population.

In a recent written response to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Riverside (Kim Johnson), the Minister confirmed that there are still five serving IPP prisoners who were given a minimum term of less than six months but have served more than 16 years. There are a further 15 with a tariff of between six months and a year who have not been released after 16 years. There are in a further 47 in the same position whose tariff was between a year and 18 months.

Among the 1,132 IPP prisoners who have never been released is one of my constituents. Ongoing legal proceedings preclude me from naming him, although I can say that in 2006 he was sentenced to serve a minimum of 10 years for robbery under an IPP plan but has now served 19 years. He is now 42 years old and has missed the funeral of his grandfather, along with countless other family occasions. That has had a serious impact on him and his family.

The psychological harm experienced by IPP prisoners and their families has been well documented by the British Psychological Society, which refers to the heightened risk of self-harm and suicide that IPP prisoners face as a result of their hopelessness and their perpetual state of anxiety at the prospect of additional years in prison. The deterioration of IPP prisoners’ mental health is illustrated by the Royal College of Psychiatrists case study in which a 17-year-old was given an IPP sentence for street robbery of trainers and given a one-year tariff but spent 10 years in prison, during which time he lost both his living relatives: his mother and grandmother. His mental health deteriorated so badly that he had to be transferred to a secure NHS mental hospital.

Having spoken to some of the family members of people currently serving IPP sentences—I met them at lunchtime today, and many are in the Public Gallery—I have heard at first hand about the impact that this unbearable situation has on family members, but the impact on IPP prisoners is far more profound. According to the United Group for Reform of IPP, or UNGRIPP, which is campaigning to bring about change to IPP sentences, 90 IPP prisoners have committed suicide since the sentences were introduced, with nine of those suicides occurring in 2023. Considering that the prison population last year was approximately 87,000 and IPP prisoners were only 3% of that total, it is staggering that IPP prisoners accounted for 10% of all self-inflicted deaths in prison in 2023.

One example is the tragic suicide of Scott Rider in 2022. In 2005, he had been sentenced to an IPP sentence, with a minimum tariff of 23 months. Seventeen years later, he was still in prison. He was one of the longest serving IPP prisoners at the time of his death. Following a three-day inquest into his death, the senior coroner for Milton Keynes, Tom Osborne, said in his regulation 28 report to prevent future deaths:

“On any consideration of the circumstances of Mr Rider’s death one has to conclude that his treatment was inhumane and indefensible and that if action is not taken to review all prisoners sentenced to IPP then there is a risk of further deaths occurring.”

He added:

“Mr Rider was one of many IPP prisoners struggling to progress”

and, at the time of his death, he had served 17.5 years and had

“given up all hope of release.”

The loss of hope of ever being released is certainly one of the big factors behind the high levels of suicide and self-harm among IPP prisoners. Even when IPP prisoners have been released on licence, the draconian licence conditions have led to prisoners being recalled for minor breaches of their licence, such as being late or missing an appointment. As I have mentioned, there are currently 1,602 IPP prisoners who have been released on licence but recalled.

I am sure that we all agree that the current situation cannot continue, so what is to be done? In September 2022, in its excellent report on IPP sentences, the Justice Committee, chaired by Sir Bob Neill, made several recommendations to remedy the damage done by the sentences. The three main recommendations can be summarised as follows. No. 1 involves a refreshed action plan for IPP sentences, better access to prison programmes to help IPP prisoners to progress and better support for prisoners who are suffering with their mental health because of these sentences. No. 2 involves better training for Parole Board members overseeing IPP prisoners’ parole hearings, more support for IPP prisoners in preparing for parole hearings, a reduction of the qualifying licence period and better support for prison leavers. No. 3 is resentencing. In paragraph 152 of its report, the Justice Committee said:

“Our primary recommendation is that the Government brings forward legislation to enable a resentencing exercise in relation to all IPP sentenced individuals…This is the only way to address the unique injustice caused by the IPP sentence and its subsequent administration, and to restore proportionality to the original sentences that were given.”

The Committee also noted that there is precedent for resentencing retrospectively, but that it would require primary legislation. Former Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas emphasised his support for this approach.

I acknowledge the steps that this Government and the previous Government have taken to tackle some of the problems caused by the licence conditions of IPP sentences. Particularly of note is section 66 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, which creates an automatic termination process for IPP licences in certain circumstances, starting from this Friday, 1 November. At lunchtime, I had the pleasure of meeting a former IPP prisoner who will benefit from this measure, which means that he will no longer be on an IPP licence and will be able to be at large freely. The Act also allows for reviews by the Parole Board in certain circumstances from 1 February 2025.

However, resentencing would be the most effective way to deal with the legacy of IPP sentences. I am aware that it is not without its problems, but it is the only just and fair way to deal with this appalling situation, which, if left unresolved, will lead to more IPP prisoners self-harming and taking their own lives.

Prior to this debate, some of the IPP reform campaigners met Lord Woodley to discuss his private Member’s Bill on resentencing IPP prisoners, which reflects the Justice Committee’s recommendations on the matter. I hope Ministers will meet Lord Woodley to discuss his proposals, because there needs to be a review of IPP sentences, and all options need to be considered.

Will my hon. Friend the Minister advise me on what steps the Government are taking to reduce the number of IPP prisoners in our prisons? What support mechanisms have been put in place to help IPP prisoners who are struggling with their mental health, including those who have been institutionalised, to help them overcome the barriers that may adversely affect their parole hearings and to prepare them for a return to life outside prison? Will the Government reconsider their position on resentencing IPP prisoners? At a stroke, that would rectify this injustice once and for all. Will the Government at least carry out a review to see what the barriers to resentencing are? That is the one thing that all commentators think needs to be done to resolve the injustice caused by IPP sentences.

I thank UNGRIPP, the Howard League—which runs an excellent advice line for family members of IPP prisoners —the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the British Psychological Society. I also thank the House of Commons Library for its excellent briefings ahead of the debate. Most important are the family and friends of IPP prisoners who are incarcerated and those who have endured IPP sentences. Finally, there are those who unfortunately bow to the pressure of hopelessness, as there is no end to their sentences in sight, and, sadly, end their lives in prison. I hope that change will come and that IPP sentences will finally be gotten rid of from our prisons and confined to the dustbin of history, where they belong.

Violence Reduction, Policing and Criminal Justice

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Wednesday 15th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

For the last five weeks, I have been watching in utter despair as Hamas killed hundreds of innocent Israelis and took over 200 hostages, and as the Israeli military killed over 11,000 Palestinians. The overwhelming majority of Palestinians who have been killed are women and children, not Hamas fighters. They have been killed in their homes, schools and refugee camps, in churches and mosques, while delivering aid and in hospitals as patients, staff and those taking shelter.

At Al-Shifa Hospital, premature babies lie starving, are wrapped in foil to stay warm and are waiting to die. There is no oxygen, no food and no fuel to run generators. As we speak, Israeli troops have entered the hospital, putting patients and staff at grave risk. Over at the Al-Quds Hospital, Israel has fired live ammunition directly at the intensive care unit, with most of the victims being children. There are no longer any working hospitals in northern Gaza due to the depletion of fuel, lack of power and constant attacks. I have seen pictures of parents carrying pieces of their babies—their children—in a carrier bag. There are still thousands of people missing, buried alive under the rubble of the half of Gaza’s houses that have been destroyed.

Across this country, we have seen hundreds of thousands of people peacefully marching on the streets and urging the Government to call for a ceasefire, despite the former Home Secretary’s branding them hate marches. The people of Britain have continued to turn out week after week to demand justice for Palestinians, and contrary to what she claimed, the violence at this weekend’s protests was by the far right during the two-minute silence to mark Remembrance Day. Emboldened by the former Home Secretary’s extreme hate-filled rhetoric, they attacked the police and chanted Islamophobic slogans. Today’s debate is about raising confidence in policing. As a former Greater Manchester Police officer, I believe it is shameful that the Tories are the biggest driver undermining that.

I have visited Israel and Palestine and seen the discrimination and suffering of Palestinians in the west bank and occupied territories. I have championed the need for a two-state solution whereby Israelis and Palestinians can both live peacefully. It is extremely painful to watch the sheer scale of Palestinians being displaced—more than one and a half million already. That reminds me of my visit to a UN refugee camp in Iraq, where I met three generations of Palestinian women living in a tent. The grandmother had been displaced in 1948. Her daughter had been born into a refugee camp, and that daughter had just given birth in a different refugee camp—three generations born in three different refugee camps. That is the reality for so many Palestinians, but it does not need to be like that.

If we had had a ceasefire yesterday, 144 Gazan children would still be alive today. Israel has already crossed every red line imaginable and broken international humanitarian laws. History has shown us that military actions alone do not resolve conflicts, and Israel’s use of force will not resolve this one. We need a full and immediate ceasefire now. My constituents have demanded that, and I will not refuse them. Supporting a ceasefire is the very least we can do.

Draft Judicial Pensions (Remediable Service etc.) Regulations 2023

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Wednesday 14th June 2023 General Committees

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. I start by declaring my interest, as I may be one of the people who benefits from the change to pensions scheme.

[The Chair]

Order. Presumably everyone here will; we will take it as read that everyone is declaring an interest. I do not believe there will be any problem with that.

[Afzal Khan]

I thank the Minister for outlining the provisions in the regulations. As he explained, they have a number of features that ensure that the technical aspects of the McCloud remedy will be implemented. Those include a remedy in respect of technical member options, provision for judges where there has been immediate detriment, and repayment mechanisms where judges owe sums to the scheme or the Ministry of Justice. The Opposition is pleased to support the statutory instrument.

I recognise that the Government have provided meaningful opportunities for engagement through consultation throughout their correction of the Court of Appeal’s 2018 finding of unlawful age discrimination. I am content that the changes being made to the judicial pensions system address that discrimination. I am glad to see that the Ministry of Justice’s equality impact statement considers that the regulations will have a positive equality impact, though of course that is to be expected from legislation that directly addreses discriminatory practices. I am also pleased that the equality statement commits the Government to monitoring equality impacts after the regulations have been introduced.

The matter has been ongoing for a number of years, and we are glad to see it draw to a conclusion at last. As I said before, we are pleased to support the Government on this SI.

Draft Judicial Appointments (Amendment) Order 2023

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Monday 12th June 2023 General Committees

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr McCabe. I thank the Minister for outlining the provisions of the draft order. As he explained, today’s SI amends the Judicial Appointment Order 2008 to extend eligibility for fellows of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives to be appointed deputy judges and judges of the upper tribunal and recorders, provided that they have gained at least seven years’ experience. We are pleased to support the SI, particularly on account of its welcome potential to increase judicial diversity.

As the Minister noted, CILEX lawyers are notably more diverse than other groups of legal professionals. We agree with the Government that increasing opportunities for excellent and experienced lawyers to join the bench will strengthen our judiciary. A huge amount of work needs to be done to improve judicial diversity. For example, black judges make up just over 1% of the judiciary of England and Wales, and that figure has not improved over the last 10 years. In the words of my right hon. Friend the Member for Tottenham (Mr Lammy), in his previous role as the shadow Justice Secretary, it is an “absolute scandal”.

Analysis by the Law Society demonstrates that at the rate of current progress it could take until the year 2149 for the proportion of the judiciary who are black to match the current estimate for the general population. I agree with the Law Society’s president Lubna Shuja that those figures are simply unacceptable. While today’s measures are welcome, we must recognise that their impact in driving improvements in judicial diversity will be limited. I would be grateful if the Minister would share with us the other plans that his Department is working on to improve progress in this area, and any modelling it has undertaken on the potential impact of today’s changes on diversity in the judiciary.

Today’s draft order may also have a very small impact in assisting with the ongoing issues with judicial availability that the Government have overseen. The problem continues to contribute substantially to the record court backlogs. That is especially the case in the Crown court, which has a backlog of more than 60,000. I would be interested to hear any figures that the Minister’s Department has produced on the anticipated number of judicial vacancies that may be filled by the widening of eligibility that we are discussing.

We welcome the Government’s measures to address the deeply entrenched problems surrounding judicial diversity and availability. However, today’s draft order will have a minimal impact on the issue. We believe that the opportunity to serve as recorders or judges of the upper tribunal should not be denied to outstanding lawyers simply because of how they qualified. I am therefore glad to offer our support for the SI.

Oral Answers to Questions

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Tuesday 16th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

These are not my words on the cuts to legal aid, but the words of the new Lord Chancellor:

“There is now a serious concern that, without some steps to restore a measure of access to justice, serious injustice will inevitably follow.”

Will the Minister heed the words of his new boss and reverse the devastating cuts to legal aid that his party has inflicted over the last decade?

[Mike Freer]

I think, actually, that it was the Labour party who said that it was going to

“derail the gravy train of legal aid”.

This Government have continued to fund legal aid, with £1.2 billion on criminal and £813 million on civil. In the last few months, we have injected nearly £30 million into the civil part and some £13 million of that is legal aid for special guardianship orders, so I simply do not accept the premise that we are underfunding or cutting legal aid. In fact, we are investing in it. The hon. Gentleman touched on access to civil, family and tribunals. On family, we increased the budget for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service by £8.4 million to £141 million. We are recruiting more judges across the system. That includes more fee-paid judges who can work in this area. That includes a virtual regional pilot to support London and the south-east, so that access to justice is faster. That includes £7.5 million for a family mediation scheme, helping 17,000 families get the access to justice they need. Any attempt to suggest we are not investing in the justice system is simply false.

Oral Answers to Questions

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Tuesday 28th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

Legal aid is the backbone of our criminal justice system, and it is running on empty. In England and Wales, 54 constituencies have no legal aid providers at all, and 80% of the population do not have access to welfare legal aid providers in their local authority. The current legal aid system is not just a postcode lottery but a regional lottery. The Government have kicked the civil legal aid review into the long grass and are still not following Bellamy’s recommendations. When will the Lord Chancellor meet Bellamy’s recommendations in full?

[Mike Freer]

I do not recognise spending more than £2 billion a year as “running on empty”. Spending an extra £4 million on section 28 fees, an extra £10 million on housing legal aid, an extra £5.6 million on special guardianship legal aid, and an extra £3.3 million on special and wasted preparation legal aid is not “running on empty”. In terms of representation across the UK, the Legal Aid Agency regularly ensures that all areas of the UK are covered by duty solicitors and legal aid firms.

Oral Answers to Questions

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Tuesday 21st February 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

The Government have repeatedly made political choices that have left our criminal justice system on its knees. They have recently found additional money to ensure that defence and prosecution barristers are given the 15% increase in line with the Bellamy review recommendation, but solicitors have been given only a 9% increase. That unequal decision puts at risk access to justice for victims, with more than 1,000 duty solicitors quitting in the last five years. Will the Lord Chancellor commit to funding all of Bellamy’s recommendations and put solicitors on the same footing?

[Mike Freer]

The uplift for solicitors and barristers has already started to be paid. The hon. Gentleman mentions duty solicitors and, as I have said, since the new contract has been in place, we have started to see an increase in the number of people taking on those roles and in firms taking on legal aid, so we are seeing the benefits of the investment in both the litigators’ graduated fee scheme and the advocates’ graduated fee scheme.

On the general investment in legal aid, I am aware of the concerns of the Law Society, with which I am having constructive discussions to try to find a way forward.

Draft Civil Legal Aid (Housing and Asylum Accommodation) Order 2023

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Wednesday 18th January 2023 General Committees

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. I thank the Minister for his opening remarks. The Labour party will not oppose the draft Civil Legal Aid (Housing and Asylum Accommodation) Order 2023. We support in principle the introduction of non-means, non-merits tested initial advice for housing, welfare benefits and debt, but we are concerned about the sustainability of providers and whether they have the resources to deliver advice, particularly on welfare benefits and debt, as they were largely removed from scope by LASPO in 2012.

This Government’s track record on both criminal and civil legal aid has proven to be nothing but disappointing and has led to a justice system on its knees. We are now 10 years from the passing of LASPO. Post pandemic, and in the midst of a cost of living crisis, morale in the public sector is at an all-time low. Years of under-investment in the legal aid system, coupled with cuts in 2011 and 2014, have resulted in large numbers of practitioners leaving legal aid practices, and firms are struggling to recruit across the board. There are also issues of firms taking on less work under a legal aid contract as the work is deemed to be loss-making. Law Society analysis suggests that the number of providers starting legal aid work could drop by a third by 2025. Between 2011 and 2022, we have seen a drop of nearly 40%. What assessment has the Minister made of the impact of that on the courts backlog?

The last time fees were increased was in 1996—over 25 years ago. The Government imposed a further 10% fee cut in 2011. That represents a real-terms cut of 49.4% in fees to 2022—almost half. Not only are we still waiting for answers as to why the Government have not committed to the recommendations of their own criminal legal aid review; on civil legal aid, we must wait until 2024 to have a review, so any changes are not likely to take place until 2025 at the earliest. That delay creates a threat in itself. Unless interim measures are put in place to shore up existing provision, the risk is that there will be no system left by 2025. Can the Minister explain why it will take this long? These delays are doing nothing other than worsening the current chaos in the courts. What assessment has he made of the impact of these delays on the existing courts backlog?

Across England and Wales, 65% of the population do not have access to an immigration and asylum legal aid provider. In the Minister’s own constituency of Finchley and Golders Green, there is a total of zero immigration and asylum legal aid providers. What advice is he giving to his constituents? What steps are the Government taking to tackle legal aid deserts, so that victims can have access to justice?

Turning to housing, this winter the system is at crisis point. According to the June to September 2022 mortgage and landlord possession statistics, landlord possession claims have more than doubled in the last year, and possession orders have nearly tripled. The demand for legal services in housing is, understandably, growing, yet currently around 12.5 million people in England live in a housing legal desert.

We are witnessing a growing and dangerous justice gap in the civil legal sector. The consistent lack of serious action from this Government threatens the sustainability of our entire justice system. We currently have a legal aid system running on empty. I therefore urge the Minister to urgently review the scope of civil legal aid and the worsening decline in the number of civil legal aid providers. With the current cost of living crisis, it is simply unfeasible for people up and down the country to travel hundreds of miles to access their closest legal aid provider.

This statutory instrument will do little to improve the wider state of disrepair that the civil legal aid system is currently in, as civil legal aid is put out of the reach of more and more people who need it. The Government have had 13 years to nurse the justice system back to health, and they have failed miserably. I hope the Minister will consider the concerns I have raised. The Labour party supports the draft statutory instrument.

[Mike Freer]

I am grateful for the shadow Minister’s contribution and support for this extension to legal aid. Let me answer a couple of his points.

I do not have the figures on civil legal aid, but I reassure colleagues and the shadow Minister that the recent injection of more than £135 million into the criminal legal aid system has, since the new contracts came into force in October last year, seen an increase in providers, firms and duty solicitors. It is, then, simply not true to suggest that the legal aid system is about to collapse. I expect the reform of the civil legal aid process to result in a similar improvement in provision.

[Afzal Khan]

The Minister says it is not true that the legal aid system is collapsing; perhaps he can explain why the courts have a 60,000 backlog and we see, year after year, a decline in the number of people who practise legal aid.

[Mike Freer]

Without getting into a debate that is not really to do with this statutory instrument, let me put it firmly: the outstanding case load in the criminal courts was on a downward trajectory until the industrial action by the Criminal Bar Association. The uptick in the backlog was a direct result of that action. Since the members of the Criminal Bar Association went back to work, we have started to see a downward trajectory in that case load.

On sustainability, I repeat that the early indications from the injection of more than £135 million into the criminal side of legal aid are that there has been an increase in the number of legal aid practitioners. I expect the same impact once we have reformed civil legal aid.

The particular changes in this statutory instrument will see a £10 million injection into civil legal aid, on top of the £30 million increase in the previous year. We are spending a significant amount of money to support people through civil legal aid. It remains a focus of the Department to reform all aspects of legal aid to make sure that it is both efficient and effective and that the money is well spent. I make no apology for that.

I thank the shadow Minister for his interest in my constituency. I reassure him that we have no shortage of a vibrant legal ecosystem in London. On top of that, the area of Finchley and Golders Green and the neighbouring seats of Hendon and Chipping Barnet are well served by excellent MPs.

Question put and agreed to.

Oral Answers to Questions

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

The Lord Chancellor’s successor and predecessor was able to achieve more in a few days than the current Justice Secretary ever has by agreeing a deal and ending the CBA’s strike action. The Law Society has warned that it may be forced to advise its members to stop working in criminal practice if Bellamy’s recommendations are not met. Will the Lord Chancellor get his priorities straight and honour the Government’s own review by giving legal aid solicitors the funding they need to avoid collapse and make our justice system sustainable?

[Mike Freer]

I know that the Lord Chancellor—he is his own predecessor, as was pointed out—has been committed to ensuring that the system remains correctly funded within the spending envelope. He will continue to address the concerns raised by all stakeholders in the criminal justice system. We are entirely committed to working with the advisory board to address all the issues that the hon. Gentleman raised.

Oral Answers to Questions

Afzal Khan Excerpts

Tuesday 18th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We come now to shadow Minister Afzal Khan.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

I hope the Justice Secretary will join me in congratulating Lubna Shuja, who becomes the first Asian and Muslim president of the Law Society.

Sir Christopher Bellamy’s review of criminal legal aid was clear that legal aid rates needed to rise to 15% to put the system on a sustainable footing. However, the Government’s proposals would raise legal aid rates only to 9% for solicitors, which is below inflation. The Law Society warned that the justice system is on the verge of collapse without funding all parts of it equally. Will the Lord Chancellor adjust his proposals to meet the recommendations of the Bellamy review?

[Brandon Lewis]

I join the hon. Gentleman in congratulating the new president of the Law Society. I look forward to working closely with her, as I do with other parts of the criminal justice system’s leadership through the Criminal Justice Board. We will respond to the full CLAIR report and we will be working with solicitors. There is a wider package for the entire criminal justice system; even within what we have announced as part of the Criminal Bar Association package, there are substantial chunks that benefit solicitors as well. The hon. Gentleman should have a look at the wider package.