Protection of Prison Staff

Esther McVey Excerpts

Monday 12th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Nicholas Dakin]

My hon. Friend is completely right to say that prison overcrowding makes addressing these issues far more difficult. That is why the Government have pledged to continue building the remaining 20,000 prison places, which the last Government failed to deliver. In 10 months, this Government have already added more than 2,000 prison places. The Conservative Government added 500 places in 14 years.

[Esther McVey (Tatton) (Con)]

Surely as a minimum, any prisoner who assaults a prison officer should automatically forfeit any right to early release and all privileges. Does the Minister agree? If so, when will he introduce that change? If not, why not?

[Sir Nicholas Dakin]

The right hon. Member is right to say that anything that happens should be dealt with immediately by the prison authorities, and that is exactly what is happening. That is why these reviews are in place: to learn the lessons so that appropriate action can be taken and appropriate steps put in place for the future, taking into account the issues she raised, among others.

Sentencing Council Guidelines

Esther McVey Excerpts

Monday 17th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Nicholas Dakin]

I agree with my hon. Friend that the last Government appear to have been asleep at the wheel, rediscovering their mojo only once they were in opposition.

[Esther McVey (Tatton) (Con)]

Last week, the Prime Minister announced that he is abolishing NHS England to make sure the NHS is brought back under democratic control. Will the Minister be lobbying the Prime Minister to abolish the Sentencing Council to make sure sentencing is brought back under democratic control?

[Sir Nicholas Dakin]

I thank the former common sense Minister for her question—

[Esther McVey]

You wouldn’t understand common sense.

Oral Answers to Questions

Esther McVey Excerpts

Tuesday 11th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Nicholas Dakin]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point, and the Ministry of Justice will play a full part in the inter-ministerial group.

[Esther McVey (Tatton) (Con)]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s attempts to prevent the Sentencing Council from changing the sentencing process, which would lead to a two-tier justice system. If, however, the council will not budge—as appears to be the case—a two-tier justice system will arrive in just 21 days, contradicting the key principle of the legal system that everyone should be equal before the law without discrimination. Will the Secretary of State introduce legislation immediately to ensure that that two-tier justice system does not come about?

[Shabana Mahmood]

I have already set out exactly what I am going to do. I have written to the Sentencing Council, using the powers that I have to do so, and I will be meeting it later this week. I have made it very clear that I will consider its role and powers, and if I need to legislate, I will not hesitate to do so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Esther McVey Excerpts

Tuesday 5th September 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gyimah]

It is always the case that people will leave an organisation voluntarily or due to retirement or—[Interruption.] May I finish my point? In some cases, people may leave because they have not been too happy with what has been happening in our Prison Service. A retention plan is available, but the numbers that I gave earlier—868 net new prison officers so far this year—take account of people leaving the service, so we are actually up on last year’s figures.

[Ms Esther McVey (Tatton) (Con)]

Having recently met the governor of Styal prison in my constituency, I know that drones are an increasing problem in prisons, as is the illegal use of mobile phones. The two are linked because mobile phones allow for greater frequency and accuracy of drone activity. Does the Minister agree that the way to curb drone activity and stop illegal mobile phone use is to block phone signals in prison? Will he support my private Member’s Bill to do that? The Second Reading is on 1 December.

[Mr Gyimah]

I fully support my right hon. Friend’s Bill. It is what we need to deal with the illegal use of mobile phones, which are used to carry on criminal activity from behind bars.

Oral Answers to Questions

Esther McVey Excerpts

Thursday 5th September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries and Galloway) (Lab)]

5. What recent progress she has made on promoting equality for disabled people.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Esther McVey)]

Recent progress includes our cross-Government disability strategy, “Fulfilling Potential—Making it Happen”, which was published on 2 July, and the launch of our two-year Disability Confident campaign on 18 July, engaging employers and giving disabled people more opportunities in business. I am pleased to say that key measures and indicators show reduced inequalities and improvements in key outcomes.

[Mr Brown]

In recent years, I have on three occasions stepped in when disabled people were on the receiving end of verbal abuse. Recent polling indicates that 17% of disabled people have had such an experience, and that 7% have been physically abused or attacked. What are the Government doing to tackle disability hate crime?

[Esther McVey]

The hon. Gentleman is right to raise this important issue. The Government are doing a lot to enable people to understand what a disability hate crime is and to make it easier to report. We are doing a lot in this area.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

In July, Ministers said that the London Paralympic games had improved attitudes to disabled people. However, a recent report from Scope says that their legacy hangs in the balance. Some 22% of disabled people say that public attitudes have got worse, and 17% say that they have experienced hostile behaviour, or even been attacked. That is not surprising when Ministers abuse statistics about disabled people and benefits. The Hardest Hit campaign shows that disabled people have been hit nine times as hard as non-disabled people by austerity cuts. Is it not time that the Minister got her Government colleagues into line? Disabled people are equal and valued participants in society. When will the Government start to deliver positive messages about the contribution they make and give them the support they need to participate in society?

[Esther McVey]

What I would like to do is paint the correct picture, which the hon. Lady is not doing. I can give her either the latest international statistics, which show that out of 55 countries the UK is leading in all 23 indicators, or the latest national statistics, from 2 July, which show that the gap closed in nine out of 14 headline indicators. In 2005-06 and 2009-10, that was true of only seven categories. I can therefore tell the hon. Lady that, on the very latest statistics from 2 July this year, inequalities have reduced and equalities have increased in education, employment and social inclusion, and we also have lower rates of relative poverty. Please get the facts right.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

6. What recent representations she has received from the women’s sector on tackling violence against women.

Oral Answers to Questions

Esther McVey Excerpts

Thursday 18th April 2013 Commons Chamber

[Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)]

5. What assessment she has made of the cumulative effect of the Government’s policies on disabled people.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Esther McVey)]

The Government provide equality analysis of policy changes routinely, as required by the Equality Act 2010. It is not possible to publish a robust cumulative impact assessment separately for disabled people because a number of overlapping reforms are continuing until 2017-18. The caseload is dynamic, and, as under the previous Government, the data are limited. The previous Government did not do it because they did not want to put out incorrect information, and neither do we.

[Bill Esterson]

Let me tell the Minister about a constituent of mine. He was assessed as fit for work after being disabled for 12 years as a result of a degenerative disease. While he appeals, he loses £25 a week in benefits. He has now lost a further £14.71 a week through the bedroom tax and £34 a month as a result of the council tax reduction scheme. That is over £200 a month in total. Like thousands of people with disabilities—

[Bill Esterson]

Does not my constituent’s example show that it is time the Government admitted they have got it wrong about the impact on disabled people?

[Esther McVey]

I would like to refresh the hon. Gentleman’s memory about a couple of points. The work capability assessment was brought in under the previous Government, and we are trying to get it right. Equally, the cumulative impact on housing under the previous Government shows that 1.8 million people were left on waiting lists, a quarter of a million people were in overcrowded housing, and the housing bill doubled. The intention of our cumulative impact is to get it right.

[Paul Maynard (Blackpool North and Cleveleys) (Con)]

Virtue is not found solely in the amount of money that is spent. Does the Minister agree that it is as important to enable disabled people to fulfil their aspirations and live fully in society as it is to focus on financial payments to a proportion of them?

[Esther McVey]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend, who does so much in this area. This is about fulfilling potential, protecting the most vulnerable, and helping those who would like to get into work. The budget remains at £50 billion, which is a fifth higher than the average in Europe, over double that in America, and six times more than in Japan. We are world leaders and I am proud of our record.

[Dame Anne Begg (Aberdeen South) (Lab)]

The Minister’s answer to the question illustrates why we need a cumulative impact assessment. She said that it is a dynamic, changing situation. A huge amount of reform is coming in, and that is exactly why we must have a cumulative impact assessment.

[Esther McVey]

I agree on certain points, but I want to ensure that correct and robust information is handed out and, for the reasons I have given, that is not possible. We do not want to trade in inaccurate information. Our intention is to ensure that we support the most vulnerable people, and that is exactly what we are doing.

[Yvette Cooper (Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford) (Lab)]

Two thirds of families hit by the bedroom tax are disabled, according to the Minister’s own figures, and for many of them there is nowhere to move to. In Wakefield district, 5,600 households are being hit by the bedroom tax, there are fewer than 200 smaller homes available, and Wakefield and District Housing estimates that it will take seven years to re-house everyone. It is even more difficult for disabled families, because most of the homes do not have disabled access. The discretionary housing fund will not help all of those families. Why do not the Minister and all her colleagues stop hiding behind the nonsense in their briefing papers and go out and hear from the families who are being hit? They have nowhere to go and no way to pay. What does she tell them to do now?

[Esther McVey]

I listened carefully to the right hon. Lady. The discretionary payments, which we have trebled, are going to the right people. We need to make sure that local authorities are very clear in what they do. We have also exempted pensioners, and if a disabled child cannot sleep in the same room as another child, that room will be exempted. Rather than making inaccurate comments and perpetuating myths, the right hon. Lady should get her facts right and get behind the reforms that we are making to replace the mess that she left behind.

Oral Answers to Questions

Esther McVey Excerpts

Tuesday 13th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con)]

4. What plans he has to promote work in prisons.

[Esther McVey (Wirral West) (Con)]

6. What plans he has to promote work in prisons.

[Mr David Evennett (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Con)]

9. What plans he has to promote work in prisons.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Clarke]

One of the things about which we try to be scrupulous is ensuring that work in prisons does not undercut the work done by businesses employing honest employees outside. We would not be able to persuade organisations such as the CBI and our private sector partners to work with us if they thought that we were undercutting British competitors. We will not pay the minimum wage, because the taxpayer would find that he or she was footing the bill for it all. However, the costs of running a business in prison are considerable because of the security that is imposed. We intend to ensure, by means of a code of practice, that fair and proper competition is maintained and that we do not undercut ordinary honest businesses.

[Esther McVey]

Given that, at present, 47% of offenders are receiving out-of-work benefits two years after their release from prison, I fully support what the Secretary of State is doing. What plans has he to ensure that there is a smooth transition from work preparation in prison to actual work outside prison?

[Mr Clarke]

Along with the Department for Work and Pensions, we have just embarked on a system whereby people who are released from prison go straight on to the Work programme. Their receipt of benefits is tied to a programme aimed at getting them back to work if that is at all possible, as it would be for anyone else. I entirely agree with my hon. Friend: all the evidence shows that having a job is one of the main factors that determine whether someone stops returning to crime, and it also stops the taxpayer having to pay benefits to such a high proportion of ex-prisoners.

Transparency and Consistency of Sentencing

Esther McVey Excerpts

Thursday 2nd February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Philip Davies]

If my hon. Friend does not mind, I will make some progress, because many other Members wish to speak and I want to draw my remarks to a close.

My final point is on the automatic release of offenders halfway through their sentence, which is one of the shameful things the previous Government sneaked through in the last Parliament. Prisoners are now not just eligible for release halfway through their sentence; they are automatically released. I think that that is a terrible situation. When I visited Denmark, whose criminal justice system is always seen as very liberal, I found that they do not have that system. They have the system we used to have, whereby prisoners became eligible for release halfway through their sentence. In fact, 30% of their prisoners were refused parole altogether and served the full sentence handed down by the courts, and they think that that is one of the major reasons why they had such low reoffending rates. I urge the Secretary of State not to have a system where we automatically release prisoners willy-nilly halfway through their sentence and irrespective of their behaviour in prison or their risk of reoffending. We should make proper judgments about people’s fitness for release before we agree to release them. I think that we can learn from Denmark in that regard.

[Esther McVey (Wirral West) (Con)]

Having worked with and represented many victims of crime and their families, I know that what they find most upsetting and offensive is when a sentence that they feel is just or suitable for the perpetrator of a crime is halved, which they say is an extra insult. In the case of a family I represent, the halving of a sentence is a double blow on top of the murder of their child.

Oral Answers to Questions

Esther McVey Excerpts

Tuesday 13th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Clarke]

I will make announcements on what we propose to do for the victims of terrorism when we produce our package on victim support generally. We will certainly produce a package, and we will respect the previous Government’s proposal of an interim award for those injured in incidents such as that in Mumbai.

[Esther McVey (Wirral West) (Con)]

Delays to cases caused by defendants not appearing in court can be very distressing for victims. What guidance is given to the court to continue with the trial in the absence of the defendant?

[Mr Clarke]

This is the second reference in questions to delays in court, which cause immense inconvenience and sometimes considerable distress to witnesses and others, as well as to the victims of crime. We are looking urgently at how to improve the efficiency of the system and how best to proceed if people fail to co-operate. It is always possible to proceed with a trial in the absence of the defendant, but only once the judge is satisfied that the interests of justice will not be prejudiced. There is no point in starting a trial only for it to have to be started a week or two later when it is challenged.

Oral Answers to Questions

Esther McVey Excerpts

Tuesday 28th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Djanogly]

I can confirm that I have had discussions, correspondence and a meeting with the devolved Administration to discuss the implications for legal aid and to ensure that we are all moving in the same direction.

[Esther McVey (Wirral West) (Con)]

Following the Milly Dowler trial, does the Secretary of State agree that measures need to be taken to protect the families of the victims of crime from intensive questioning in court? If a footballer can be afforded privacy from the public arena, cannot the father of a murdered child?

[Mr Kenneth Clarke]

It is obvious that members of the public generally were appalled by the experience through which that family were put as a result of that criminal trial going ahead and the nature of the defence. Such cases are exceedingly difficult, because any defendant has the right to put forward a defence, however distasteful or distressing that may be to the victims. That sometimes happens. The straightforward process of calling the victim a liar can be extremely offensive to someone who has suffered grievously at the hands of the accused.

The judge has a discretion to cut out all irrelevant and unnecessary lines of questioning. I have no reason to doubt that the judge considered his discretion in that case. The Crown Prosecution Service actually applied for an order to ban the reporting of the relevant pieces of the cross-examination. I respect the decision of the judge, who decided that the principle of open justice should prevail. It was therefore all reported. The newspapers made their own judgments on the extent to which they reported those incidents.

In that case, which was exceedingly distressing, there was never a question of an early guilty plea, but it is useful to remind ourselves of just what an ordeal it can be when victims and witnesses have to go to a court to face someone who is denying the crime.