Oral Answers to Questions

Alex Baker Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Shabana Mahmood]

Again, if the shadow Secretary of State ever paid any attention to detail, he would know that that letter was sent by EU member states and we are no longer a member of the European Union. Let me assure him that I am absolutely committed to considering the wider picture of our human rights law and I will not hesitate to take action where I need to.

[Alex Baker (Aldershot) (Lab)]

T7.   The backlog of Crown court cases in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight reached an eight-year high last year, which has had a huge impact on victims and defendants in Aldershot and Farnborough who are struggling to get on with their lives. What steps is the Minister taking to reduce delays in local justice for my constituents?

[Sarah Sackman]

This Government inherited record and rising backlogs. As my hon. Friend described, the human cost of that is victims waiting longer and longer for their day in court. We have acted swiftly, increasing magistrates’ sentencing powers, but fundamental reform is needed, which is why we asked Sir Brian Leveson to undertake his review. He will be reporting shortly and we will take his package of fundamental reforms forward, to ensure that we have reform of our Crown courts and swifter justice for victims.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alex Baker Excerpts

Tuesday 10th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Sir Nicholas Dakin]

As I said in answer to an earlier question from my hon. Friend the Member for Newport East (Jessica Morden), HMP Parc is receiving a lot of attention at the moment. The Minister for prisons in the other place, Lord Timpson, will be answering questions tomorrow in thorough detail and the hon. Member might wish to attend that meeting.

[Alex Baker (Aldershot) (Lab)]

T7. Two weeks ago I visited Currys in Farnborough Gate after its staff suffered yet another horrifying steaming attack. A gang of six men stormed into the store, destroyed and stole products and terrified customers. How will the sentencing review contribute towards cracking down on this appalling behaviour trend?

[Shabana Mahmood]

The independent sentencing review will be making recommendations to ensure that our sentencing legislation and framework is fit for purpose and that we always have prison places for those who need to be locked up, so that our prisons create better citizens out of criminals and we can expand the use of punishment outside prison. I will not get ahead of what that review might recommend but it will look at all those issues in the round.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alex Baker Excerpts

Tuesday 10th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Linsey Farnsworth (Amber Valley) (Lab)]

5. What assessment she has made of the impact of recent disorder on the criminal justice system.

[Alex Baker (Aldershot) (Lab)]

17. What assessment she has made of the impact of recent disorder on the criminal justice system.

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Shabana Mahmood)]

The criminal justice system rose to the challenge brought about by the violent disorder we saw over the summer. As of 22 August, 576 individuals have been brought before the courts. Of those, 123 have been given a custodial sentence by the Crown court.

--- Later in debate ---

[Shabana Mahmood]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. It is of course crucial that courts are in a position where the building—the infrastructure itself—does not prevent them from being able to sit. It will be a priority for this Government to resolve those issues, so that cases can be heard and victims can be given the justice that they deserve.

[Alex Baker]

It is clear that we have come dangerously close to running out of prison places in the last few months, which as the Prime Minister has rightly said, is

“about as fundamental a failure as you can get”.

Who does the Lord Chancellor blame for this failure, and does she think we will ever get a word of apology from the Conservative party for leaving our prison estate on the brink of disaster?

[Shabana Mahmood]

I would happily give way to anybody on the Opposition Benches if they would like to take up the invitation to offer an apology, but I do not think one will be forthcoming. I certainly do think that one is required given the state of the prison system that we have inherited, but it is our job to make sure that that never happens again. That is why we will be launching a review into how the current position was allowed to come to pass. The Conservative party ignored all the warnings, putting political gain ahead of the country’s best interests, and it will fall to this Government to fix it.