Oral Answers to Questions

Bradley Thomas Excerpts

Tuesday 11th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I am very grateful to the hon. Lady for raising this issue. It was important that we exceeded our target of 1,000 officers last year, and we have to get those 1,300 officers in place. The £700 million must be spent by the end of the spending review. It is important that we bear down on getting AI across the service and that we introduce new technology, because it is only by doing so that probation officers can do what they want to do: get back to face-to-face and personalised care.

[Bradley Thomas (Bromsgrove) (Con)]

4. What steps his Department is taking to help support the Probation Service to manage repeat offenders who cross jurisdictional boundaries to avoid supervision.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Jake Richards)]

The Sentencing Bill will create new powers to apply tougher restrictions on offenders’ movements, including the creation of restriction zones and new restrictive licence conditions for probation. This will mean being able to curtail offenders’ freedom on licence, and measures for the courts to use as requirements on community sentences.

[Bradley Thomas]

Residents living in villages across north Worcestershire in my constituency of Bromsgrove are often victims of crime that originates from urban areas, including Birmingham. What message would the Minister send to my constituents who want a reassurance that the Probation Service is being strengthened in order that repeat offenders who evade supervision by crossing jurisdictions do not fall through the cracks as a result of the police not sharing data?

[Jake Richards]

I am grateful for the hon. Member’s question. It is absolutely vital that, across jurisdictions and different areas, there is better information sharing from probation services and the police. As the Justice Secretary has just said, the Probation Service is in need of investment. That is why we are investing £750 million— a 45% increase—and we will continue to invest in our Probation Service to ensure that the hon. Gentleman’s constituents are reassured in the future.

--- Later in debate ---

[Alex Davies-Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend’s constituent for their incredible campaigning on this issue. Children are victims in their own right—the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 put that in law—but there is a discrepancy in what sort of services and support children can get. The victims code currently sets out the minimum level of service that victims of crime should receive. We will consult on a new victims code shortly, and I am determined to ensure that we get that new code right for all victims, including the children of those heinous criminals.

[Bradley Thomas (Bromsgrove) (Con)]

T8. Why did the Government vote against releasing migrant crime data?

[Mr Lammy]

The hon. Gentleman knows that successive Governments have made data releases. Those data releases have to be analysed properly. We make no excuses for voting in the appropriate way.