Prisons (Substance Testing) Bill

Andrew Bowie Excerpts

2nd reading & 2nd reading: House of Commons
Friday 16th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Bowie (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (Con)]

I apologise for the delay in getting to my feet, Mr Deputy Speaker—I was distracted by looking at the call list. It is an honour to be called earlier than expected in this debate, and I wholeheartedly congratulate my colleagues, especially my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Dame Cheryl Gillan), on introducing the Bill. My hon. Friend the Member for North West Durham (Mr Holden) did a sterling job in her place, although he has a long way to go until he can fully replicate and impersonate my right hon. Friend.

This is not just a good Bill but a necessary Bill. One of the great things about Friday sittings is that we get a chance to speak about incredibly important issues that we do not get the time to debate in detail on a Monday to Thursday. As a Member of Parliament for Scotland, this is even more important. This is an England and Wales Bill, as prisons are fully devolved in Scotland, but this issue is quite clearly facing the Prison Service wherever in the United Kingdom we happen to be. Just two weeks ago, in a report in the Daily Record, a whistleblower from the Scottish Prison Service was quoted as saying that drugs in Scottish prisons are “worse than ever”, complaining that the high-tech scanners are not effective, and that it was a result of “New Psychotic Substances” flooding the prison estate. The Scottish Prison Service has said:

“The growth of Psychoactive Substances (PS) is an emerging issue for SPS and for services provided by NHS Health teams in Scottish Prisons.”

Despite the fact that this is an England and Wales Bill, this is not just an England and Wales issue. It is very important that in this Parliament of the United Kingdom we debate and discuss the issue at length, and debate and discuss this fantastic Bill, which, if agreed, will do a lot to combat the growing problem we have in our prison estate in England and Wales.

In the excellent letter to colleagues from the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice, my hon. and learned Friend the Member for South East Cambridgeshire (Lucy Frazer), who is sitting on the Front Bench, she states that outside the current covid-19 pandemic, the misuse of drugs is one of the biggest challenges facing the Prison Service. In 2019-20, 10.5% of random mandatory drug tests in prisons were positive for traditional drugs such as cannabis and opiates. When psychoactive substances are included, the rate of positive tests rises to 14%.

I will not detain the House any longer. I know that a lot of people want to speak and that we are relatively pressed for time. I just wanted to place on record my support for the Bill proposed by my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham and my hon. Friend the Member for North West Durham. It is a good and necessary Bill and we must get on top of this issue if we are to beat the rise of vicious drugs in our prison estate.

Domestic Abuse Bill (Sixth sitting)

Andrew Bowie Excerpts

Committee stage & Committee Debate: 6th sitting: House of Commons
Wednesday 10th June 2020 Public Bill Committees

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Alex Chalk)]

Thank you very much.

[Andrew Bowie (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (Con)]

Resign!

[Alex Chalk]

I am glad that all hon. Members are taking this seriously. It is a pleasure to serve under your expert chairmanship, Mr Bone, and to be one of the Ministers leading on this Bill. When I was a Back Bencher, together with another Member of Parliament, I ended up doing some work on stalking laws to try to increase the maximum sentence for stalking, so if I could have chosen any Bill to be a Minister on, it would have been this one. It is a real pleasure to be here. I am delighted to see my shadow, the hon. Member for Hove, and the hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley. We share a common endeavour in wanting to make this the best piece of legislation.

Clause 27 is a procedural clause that sets out how long a person can be held on remand if they are arrested for breach of a police-issued domestic abuse protection notice and the magistrates court adjourns that hearing. A magistrates court can normally remand a person for up to eight days, but clause 27 sets out that the court can also remand the person if a medical report is required. In such cases, a person can be remanded for only up to three weeks at a time if they are remanded in custody, or up to four weeks at a time if they are remanded on bail.

If the person is suffering from a mental disorder and a report is needed on their mental condition, they may be remanded to hospital so that such a report can be produced. That can be for up to a maximum of 28 days at a time or a total of 12 weeks if there are multiple stays in hospital.

If the court decides to remand a person on bail, it can attach any conditions necessary to prevent the person from obstructing the course of justice—for example, interfering with witnesses. These are standard provisions that largely replicate the approach taken for remand following breaches of other types of protective orders, such as non-molestation orders, occupation orders and antisocial behaviour injunctions.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 27 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 28

Domestic abuse protection orders otherwise than on application

Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

Streatham Incident

Andrew Bowie Excerpts

Monday 3rd February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Robert Buckland]

The hon. Lady will remember the legal morass that we got into with control orders—it was not a happy experience—which faced constant challenge in the courts. Their effectiveness was undermined, I am afraid, and it was essential that we took measures to make sure that we had a regime that was invulnerable to such challenge and which would be sustainable. That is why the changes were made. The hon. Lady is somewhat misrepresenting the position, if I may say so.

[Andrew Bowie (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (Con)]

When might we see the emergency legislation of which my right hon. and learned Friend speaks?

[Robert Buckland]

I am not going to begin prejudging what the business managers might have in mind or, indeed, the allocation of time in the House, but as soon as possible.