King’s Speech

Baroness Bray of Coln Excerpts

Wednesday 8th November 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bray of Coln (Con)]

My Lords, I congratulate the noble and learned Lord, Lord Burnett, and my noble friend Lord Houchen on their excellent maiden speeches, and my old and noble friend Lord Bailey, who I am delighted to see joining us on these Benches. We got to know each other through our politics, carried out largely in west London. I first saw him on “Newsnight” on television one evening and was immediately struck by his impressive performance. He talked about his interest in family and community and how that had affected his political beliefs. We then found ourselves politically following each other around London. In the 2010 election, he fought in Hammersmith and I fought in Ealing Central and Acton—both of us, obviously, for the Conservative Party. Like me— I had also once been on the London Assembly—he went on to serve on the London Assembly with distinction and later stood as our Conservative mayoral candidate. I very much enjoyed listening to his maiden speech today. It absolutely sums up this man’s great beliefs. It is why I am so proud to know him. I look forward to hearing many more such speeches in this place.

I will focus on some of the very important crime and justice measures being considered by the Government, some of which were mentioned in the gracious Speech. These can make a really positive difference to the delivery of justice in this country. I firmly believe that society as a whole is damaged by every crime. Clearly, the immediate victims of crime have our deepest sympathy, as do their families and local communities. But beyond that, crime wounds us all and there is a need to heal that wound by making sure we all feel that justice is being done.

In particular, we have learned of an important new proposal to give judges the power to order a serious offender to attend court to hear their sentence. Refusal to appear for sentencing could incur a penalty of further time in prison. It will be made clear that, in appropriate circumstances, some force could be used by prison and court staff to bring them to the courtroom. It is absolutely right that not only the grieving family and friends but the wider community can witness the sentence being imposed and the appropriate punishment applied. The convicted offenders may also have to listen not only to the sentence but to the impact statement from the victims of their crime, laying out the awful effects of what they did. To see them face up to what they did can help the healing process to start for us all.

However, I have just one question that my noble friend the Minister may be able to help me with: has there been discussion about the viability of this proposal with the judiciary, and court and prison staff? Can it be made to work even if some prisoners seriously try to resist being brought back to court? Do the victims of the crime want them back in court or could the offenders’ behaviour prove even more upsetting? This would have to be taken into account, although I believe the public will be disappointed if this is not enforced where appropriate.

Two other proposals under consideration also have my support. Those convicted of the most serious murder charges will face a whole life sentence behind bars and convicted rapists will also serve their entire sentence in prison, except under special circumstances.

I also welcome consideration of prison sentences for repeat offences, such as shoplifting, burglary, theft and common assault. There is a growing concern about the breakdown of law and order in our communities; we heard some of that from the noble Lord, Lord Hogan- Howe. Shoplifting is becoming rife in shops and supermarkets. Again, new proposals are reassuring that such crimes will no longer be viewed as almost worth ignoring. They will certainly require more attention to be given to them by local police forces, and local communities will welcome this.

Finally, I am very supportive of more consideration of community sentencing for offenders involved in minor crime. As we have heard, it has been found that prison sentences of less than 12 months often lead to higher reoffending rates than longer terms. So a focus on intense community work, strictly controlled and monitored by GPS tags, with dedicated support by local community services, can give these offenders real chances to make amends and stay out of prison.

Of course, I recognise that some of the proposals I have mentioned may well lead to a bigger prison population. The Government are already seeking extra prison space in other countries, providing it meets our standards, because we need more. They are also investing in a huge prison expansion programme here for the future. It is also just possible that some of the proposals I have been discussing to toughen up the penalties for crime in this country could help to reduce our prison population in the longer term.