HMP Leyhill: Offender Abscondments
Debate between Catherine Atkinson and Alex Davies-Jones(1 week, 6 days ago)
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Alex Davies-Jones
The right hon. Lady will be aware that the decision regarding Parole Board recommendations to move prisoners to open prisons has been made by successive Governments. This is a policy decision. The Parole Board makes independent decisions. At the time of those risk assessments, no concerns were raised about the risk of harm to the public or absconding in relation to any of the prisoners who have absconded.
Catherine Atkinson (Derby North) (Lab)
When we see offenders abscond from prison, it is understandable that many people feel unsafe. Our thoughts are particularly with the victims and their friends and families. Does the Minister agree that absconding is not only a serious criminal offence, but a symptom of years of austerity and chronic underfunding that saw our prison system pushed to breaking point?
Alex Davies-Jones
I totally agree with my hon. Friend. This is just another symptom of the crisis we inherited in our criminal justice system. Whether prisons, courts or probation, every single aspect of the system was at breaking point following 14 years of underfunding and mismanagement by the Conservative party. We are working as quickly as we can to bring back to justice the two prisoners who absconded. My thoughts are with the victims. We have made contact with two of the victims and their families via the victim contact scheme. I encourage the public to get behind the police’s public appeal to bring those prisoners to justice.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Catherine Atkinson and Alex Davies-Jones(6 months, 1 week ago)
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Catherine Atkinson (Derby North) (Lab)
Derbyshire Victim Services does really important work supporting victims, including those who have experienced sexual assault and domestic violence, but given the court backlog inherited from the Conservative Government, the service has told me that many of the victims are in need of support for longer, with many having complex needs that public services can struggle to meet. What steps is the Department taking to help support services to provide support to victims with complex needs that are exacerbated when justice is delayed?
Alex Davies-Jones
I place on record my thanks to all the brilliant victim support services that do tremendous work in incredibly difficult circumstances to ensure that victims get the support they need to stay engaged with the criminal justice system. We have protected dedicated Ministry of Justice spending on victims of violence against women and girls by maintaining the 2024-25 funding levels, ringfenced sexual violence and domestic abuse support for this year, and commissioned a 24/7 rape and sexual abuse support line, providing victims and survivors with access to vital help and information whenever they need it. We are carefully considering how best to allocate the current budget from the spending review to look specifically at VAWG alongside other departmental priorities.