Ashley Dalton
Main Page: Ashley Dalton (Labour - West Lancashire)Department Debates - View all Ashley Dalton's debates with the Ministry of Justice
(2 days, 5 hours ago)
Commons ChamberI thank the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for his question. He will know that certain offences are excluded from the SDS40 early release scheme, not the offender. This Government put in strict protections to protect the public, unlike the previous Government, who introduced an end-of-custody supervised licence scheme. Those who are released from sentences for common assault are flagged for domestic abuse markers, and they are given priority for electronic monitoring and risk assessments. I meet the sector regularly to look at what else we can do. We are learning lessons from SDS40, but this Government are committed to halving violence against women and girls.
We will implement the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, which lays a good foundation for ensuring that victims know the rights they should receive under the code and that agencies are held accountable for delivering them. We will consult on the revised victims code early next year, and we will go further by increasing the Victims’ Commissioner’s powers so that there is more accountability for delivering the code.
My constituent Dr Marie Gerval was a victim of stalking by a man with whom she had had a brief relationship. He even put a tracker on her car without her knowledge. There were needless delays in her case, and she felt that she was not taken seriously. So bad was the stress that her hair fell out. Later, it transpired that the investigating officer on her case was himself convicted of stalking a woman. Will the Minister meet me and Dr Gerval to discuss how the code of practice for victims can make sure that this does not happen to other women like her?
What Dr Marie Gerval experienced is totally abhorrent, but sadly she is not alone in experiencing these crimes. The Government are committed to treating stalking with the seriousness it deserves by enhancing stalking protection orders, implementing automatic suspensions for officers under investigation for domestic abuse and sexual offences, and introducing mandatory professional standards for individual officers. The Home Office is also looking at the police response to stalking as a part of our work to better protect victims of violence against women and girls. I encourage my hon. Friend to reach out to the Home Office Minister responsible for safeguarding, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips), but I will happily meet her.