Prisons: Remand

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Wednesday 21st October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

I absolutely agree with the noble Baroness. A lot of what she says is included in the sentencing White Paper. We also have to remember that CTLs are managed very well in magistrates’ courts, which do not have the additional problem of accommodating juries under the current social distancing rules.

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, inevitably, a period of remand is stressful. For some, it is highly stressful and can lead to self-harm. Part of the stress is caused by uncertainty. Many remand periods are already far too long, as other noble Lords have said, and extending remand further by eight weeks will make the uncertainty and mental stress even worse. What planning has been done to minimise self-harm by prisoners held for long periods on remand?

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

The noble Baroness brings up an important point. I do not have all the details but I am very happy to write to her about what we are doing to alleviate that.