Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Crispin Blunt and Andrew Bridgen

Tuesday 3rd July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

In 2010, 1,019 individuals were given indeterminate sentences. Will the Minister assess the rehabilitation strategies for those currently serving indeterminate sentences?

[Mr Blunt]

My hon. Friend is right. We inherited a serious administrative problem in that the capacity of the offender management system was being overwhelmed by the number of people with indeterminate sentences—[Interruption.] It is absolutely not the judge’s fault; it is the fault of the previous Administration, who failed to put in place the resources to deal with the sentences that they then passed in the House. That is one of the many problems that we are having to address. IPPs are a classic example of the shambles that we have—

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Crispin Blunt and Andrew Bridgen

Tuesday 29th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Blunt]

I am not entirely sure that my right hon. and learned Friend’s comments bear that interpretation, but what we have to do in the Ministry of Justice is ensure that we successfully imprison those people sentenced to prison by the courts and not get ourselves into the state of affairs that occurred under the previous Administration, whereby people had to be let out early because they had run out of space.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

The shadow Justice Secretary has argued:

“Playing tough in order not to look soft made it harder to focus on what is effective.”

Given that, does the Minister agree that despite record spending and the record prison population, Labour failed to improve public safety?

[Mr Blunt]

rose—

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Crispin Blunt and Andrew Bridgen

Tuesday 15th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

T3. It is reported that about 70% of prison inmates are believed to have two or more mental health conditions and that about one in 10 prison inmates have a serious mental health problem. What steps are the Government taking better to identify and help prisoners with mental illness?

[Mr Blunt]

As we made clear in the Green Paper, we will, with the Department of Health, have invested £50 million by 2014 in establishing a liaison and diversion service, both in the police stations and in courts, to ensure that people who should more appropriately be treated in the health service do not go to prison. Of course prisons and secure mental hospitals will remain the appropriate place for offenders who have committed serious offences and pose a risk to the public. Prison health services will continue to provide care and treatment for the majority of prisoners with mental illness, with the additional support of specialist mental health inreach teams.