Oral Answers to Questions

Harpreet Uppal Excerpts

Thursday 20th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Solicitor General]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for his question. As I outlined, tech is incredibly important to help the entirety of the criminal justice system function better. The CPS, for example, is committed to delivering more technology-enabled ways of working, including piloting digital jury bundles, which will help speed up the court process. I have already mentioned the Serious Fraud Office, which is trialling technology in a number of different areas, including its case management system, and I have also spoken about the Government Legal Department. The key is better use of technology to enable better ways of working across the entirety of the criminal justice system, including in the courts, and especially by the CPS, to enable more prosecutions.

[Harpreet Uppal (Huddersfield) (Lab)]

5. What steps she is taking to help ensure the effective prosecution of serious and violent crime in Huddersfield.

[The Solicitor General]

The Government’s priority is to keep our streets safe and to crack down on the serious and violent crime that unfortunately plagues far too many communities right across the country. As well as committing to more police officers and police community support officers on our streets, we have taken swift action to tackle knife crime by creating new offences and penalties to deter the possession and sale of these barbaric weapons. Our flagship Crime and Policing Bill will go even further with the biggest package of measures on crime and policing for decades.

[Harpreet Uppal]

Making sure that town centres such as Huddersfield’s are safe and thriving is important to our residents, local businesses and the night-time economy. How is the Solicitor General ensuring that the CPS works effectively with local law enforcement to bring offenders to justice and make our residents feel safe in our towns?

[The Solicitor General]

I know my hon. Friend has raised those important issues on the Floor of the House previously. I also know how hard she is working to ensure the safety of residents in her area.

Too many town centres and high streets are plagued by antisocial behaviour and shoplifting. Those crimes are too often dismissed as low-level, but communities have to deal with the consequences. This Government are taking action: we are putting an additional 13,000 police and PCSOs on our streets and introducing respect orders to ensure that disruptive antisocial behaviour is eradicated from our town centres. I have been visiting local CPS units around the country and have seen at first hand their hard work to ensure that crimes are successfully prosecuted and that perpetrators are put behind bars.