Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Gwynne and Robert Buckland

Tuesday 8th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Robert Buckland)]

Justice is a vital public service and a cornerstone of our success as a society, which is why the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced huge investment in the system as part of his recent spending review. Part of that money will go towards the recovery and restoration of justice from the effects of covid-19, notably in the Crown courts, and to support victims as they make their difficult journeys through the system, including the family courts and tribunals. The spending review announced £105 million for the maintenance of courts and tribunals, and there was also £4 billion to build back better in the prison estate, with 18,000 additional places in the pipeline plan for the mid-2020s, helping us to deliver modern, green prisons that can be launching pads for rehabilitation. We are moving at pace with the first of our new prisons, HMP Five Wells, which is opening in 2022, while continuously increasing resources for the maintenance of our existing prison estate. This investment continues to deliver on the Government’s crime agenda, keeping the public safe, delivering a green revolution and bringing our prisons into the 21st century.

[Andrew Gwynne]

I thank the Justice Secretary for that, but judicial review is the only way in which the public can challenge the Government when they believe the Government have acted unlawfully. It is important that we keep that protection in place for the public to hold the Government to account, so will he commit today to fully publishing the independent review of administrative law?

[Robert Buckland]

I agree with the hon. Gentleman about the central importance of judicial review, and he will remember that that is set out in the terms of reference. The review will report shortly, the Government will respond and the whole documentation will be published. The question of submissions to the review is a matter for the review, but I assure him that the outcome will, of course, be published as part of the Government’s policy position in due course.

Courts and Tribunals: Recovery

Debate between Andrew Gwynne and Robert Buckland

Thursday 3rd December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Robert Buckland]

I readily join my hon. Friend in praising Devon and Cornwall police. She will be glad to know that the Home Secretary and I, who have joint responsibility for this, are working at pace to come up with practical solutions to allow the continuance of video remand hearings, particularly in court centres where there are a large number of people coming through the system and particular pressure. The ultimate problem will be solved by primary legislation, which I plan to introduce in the new year, but in the meantime we are working hard on practical solutions. I must stress to her that it is a joint solution between the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice.

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab) [V]]

I welcome the statement, but we have seen reports of trials being listed for 2023 and, in some cases, court dates not given indefinitely. Does the Lord Chancellor agree with me that justice delayed is justice denied, and will he commit to working to reduce the backlog so that no case must wait more than a year, let alone until 2023?

[Robert Buckland]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. Can I reassure him that, having looked into that particular issue, , thankfully no cases are actually being listed in 2023? We have listings into 2022, yes, but the bulk of cases on remand, as I have said, are going to be heard between now and the spring. We have cases out on bail that are going out to late 2021 or 2022. It is my intention, and indeed the intention of the Lord Chief Justice, with the funding that we have secured, to reach a situation where, as a result of that, we can start to eat into the backlog in the year ahead and make a difference for witnesses and victims.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Gwynne and Robert Buckland

Tuesday 3rd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Robert Buckland]

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend, and I know she works closely with support services and victims groups in her constituency. We are committed to ensuring that victims like the ones she mentioned receive the support they need. We have delivered £22 million of emergency funding to support victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence. That has reached more than 540 charities in the frontline so far. Indeed, following the No. 10 hidden harms summit, which I took part in, we are delivering an action plan that puts victims at the centre of the criminal justice system and, indeed, our courts recovery programme. We are strengthening the victims code to establish a clearer set of rights for victims.

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab) [V]]

At a time when England is entering a second national lockdown, potential victims of domestic abuse are again increasingly vulnerable, so what steps are being taken to make sure that trials of people accused of domestic abuse and, indeed, support for their victims are being prioritised by Government?

[Robert Buckland]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, and he can be reassured that, throughout the pandemic, domestic abuse cases appearing in a magistrates court and indeed in the Crown court have been given the priority that we all expect them to be allocated. We have seen, of course, a big demand spike in the covid crisis for domestic abuse support services, which is why the package that I referred to in the previous answer—the £25 million package, of which £22 million has already been allocated to support groups dealing with domestic abuse and sexual violence—is already making a real difference to victims and those affected by domestic abuse.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Gwynne and Robert Buckland

Tuesday 22nd September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Robert Buckland]

I pay tribute to those who provide the therapeutic services at Aylesbury YOI, whom I have met in the past. We have clearly stated that we see young adults right up to the age of 25 as a group that need treatment that is different from other cohorts, and we have specialist models for operational delivery to support prisons holding young adults to get the best results for that group. The curriculum at Aylesbury includes personal and social development skills, business, horticulture, barbering and decorating, and we will reinforce that with our new national prisoner education service, which is focused on work-based training and skills.

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab) [V]]

It is crucial that victims’ rights are recognised and protected in their dealings with police, prosecutors and courts. Dame Vera Baird QC, the Victims’ Commissioner, has called on Ministers to make good on promises to give crime victims enforceable rights in law. She is right. The code consultation was a good first step, but where is the victims law up to?

[Robert Buckland]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that important point, and I pay tribute to the work of the Victims’ Commissioner and, indeed, her predecessor. The hon. Gentleman will be glad to know that a wider consultation on the new, revised victims code has been finished. We will be publishing the revised victims code in the next several weeks. It is a much smaller, user-friendly document. But further than that, we will legislate as soon as possible, within the next year, for a victims law to enshrine the rights contained in the code and elsewhere, to give victims the higher protection that both he and I want to see.

Probation Services

Debate between Andrew Gwynne and Robert Buckland

Thursday 11th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab)]

I welcome this announcement, because probation privatisation has failed, and a cohesive outcomes-led rehabilitation strategy is key. The Secretary of State spoke about links with the police and crime commissioner, but how will he ensure that accountability is improved in probation services? Is there an enhanced role for devolved English authorities such as the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, where the Mayor has PCC powers?

[Robert Buckland]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. He knows that there is already an agreement between my Department and Greater Manchester to devolve more powers and to work on a commissioning basis, to allow the authority to commission the sort of services that he and his residents want to see. I am extremely driven towards that model, and I am working with PCCs across the country to help deliver that flexibility.