Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chi Onwurah and Damian Hinds

Wednesday 20th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Schools (Damian Hinds)]

I should be happy to. We want all children to reach their full potential.

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

T2. Will the Minister clarify when the right moment is to move on from a Tory donor calling for an MP to be shot in the context of hating all black women? Is it when there is an apology for rudeness? Is it when £5 million more has arrived in Tory coffers? Is it when she tires of explaining racism to her party? Or is it when the right hon. Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington (Ms Abbott) says that justice has been done?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chi Onwurah and Damian Hinds

Monday 29th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

T4. This month’s Joseph Rowntree Foundation report sets out how childhood poverty impacts on educational attainment, and how the consequences last a lifetime, entrenching intergenerational poverty. Forty-two per cent of children in Newcastle are growing up in poverty. Will the Secretary of State support Labour’s call for free breakfast clubs in every primary school, to give those children the best start in life?

[The Minister for Schools (Damian Hinds)]

We are investing very heavily in breakfast clubs. This is another area in which we think that targeting support matters. That includes secondary schools, not just primary schools, as the Labour party suggests.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chi Onwurah and Damian Hinds

Tuesday 27th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

5. What assessment he has made of the impact of imprisonment for public protection sentences on the criminal justice system.

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Damian Hinds)]

The number of IPP offenders in custody has fallen from 6,000 in 2012 to 2,916 at the end of March this year. That includes 1,561 who had been released but were then recalled. The Government are committed to helping IPP offenders to progress through their sentences, under the revised IPP action plan published in April, and towards safe release.

[Chi Onwurah]

At age 17, my constituent Danny Weatherson was convicted of shoplifting, with a recommended term of 15 months. Seventeen years later, he has only just been granted parole, in a justice system that seems too under-resourced to progress his case. Imprisonment for public protection is a complex area, and many who serve such sentences undoubtedly do present a threat to the public, but does the Minister agree that discussions on reform should take place on a cross-party basis, with the voices of victims and justice campaigners heard, and that a functioning probation system is a prerequisite?

[Damian Hinds]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for the tone in which she asks about this issue. Obviously, the role of the Parole Board and the probation service is vital, and the Parole Board is regularly looking at cases. I welcome what she said about continuing to look at this matter, and the Government welcome the Justice Committee’s recent report, which was an important opportunity to take stock. The Lord Chancellor will speak further on this matter in due course.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chi Onwurah and Damian Hinds

Tuesday 21st February 2023 Commons Chamber

[Damian Hinds]

I understand what the right hon. Lady says about the frustration and anger felt by her constituents when they have to deal with antisocial behaviour. In different ways, it is something that all hon. Members have to deal with, and it is important that we bear down on it. A range of out-of-court disposals is available to be used for young people, and there are diversions to help them get back on the right path. It is difficult for me to comment about the specific case of the kids throwing things at buses without knowing more about it, but I have no doubt that she will be in close contact with her local authority and her police as needed.

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

9. What steps his Department is taking to reform the criminal justice system to help tackle violence against women and girls.