Oral Answers to Questions

Jake Richards Excerpts

Tuesday 16th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

6. What steps he is taking to ensure Serco delivers prisoners on time at Bournemouth Crown and county court.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Jake Richards)]

The HM Prison and Probation Service prisoner escort and custody services team ensures that Serco meets its contract obligations and takes action when it falls short. Delays at Bournemouth courts are often caused by issues across the wider criminal justice system. The contract management team continue to work closely with partners to resolve problems and improve service delivery.

[Tom Hayes]

We must ensure that courts like Bournemouth are not being kept idle at a cost of thousands of taxpayers’ pounds every day. After all, we have a backlog that we have got to clear thanks to the Conservative party. Bournemouth piloted the pathfinder model, and it wants to do more, but it is being held back by private contractors such as Serco. Will the Government reconsider their approach and consider alternative ways to deliver prisoners to court on time, thereby saving the taxpayer valuable money?

[Jake Richards]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise the shocking situation in our Crown courts and civil courts that the Government inherited from the Conservative party. We must take action. That is why my hon. and learned Friend the Minister for Courts and Legal Services will be setting out a wide-ranging package that will get a grip of the backlog and ensure that our criminal justice system is fit for the future.

[Andrew Rosindell (Romford) (Con)]

7. What steps he has taken to improve the security of prisons.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Jake Richards)]

Prison security is a top priority. We constantly update our countermeasures to keep pace with criminals who try to undermine them. This year, the Government are investing over £40 million in physical security. That includes £10 million on anti-drone measures. Prisons also have X-ray body scanners, airport-style enhanced security and X-ray baggage scanners.

[Andrew Rosindell]

I thank the Minister for his helpful reply, but as he knows full well violence, illegal drug dealing and escapes are on the rise in prisons, with a shocking 12% increase in breakouts across England and Wales since 2024. That is risking the safety of all our communities. Dangerous criminals are also being released in error. When will the Justice Secretary take responsibility for this utter shambles, get a grip on the situation to ensure that dangerous criminals remain locked up behind bars and do the job he is supposed to be doing to keep the British people safe?

[Jake Richards]

I am constantly aghast at the chutzpah of the Conservatives, who left the prison system in utter crisis after 14 years. Prison officer numbers reduced under them, and prison places hardly rose at all. We are stabilising the prison system and investing in security measures to ensure that we have a prison system that is fit for the future and safe for the public.

[Mr Peter Bedford (Mid Leicestershire) (Con)]

8. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed ending of jury trials for certain offences on the right to a fair trial.

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[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Jake Richards)]

We have extended the period of time that certain prisoners on standard determinate sentences are eligible for moves into open conditions. We know that open conditions can lead to better outcomes for offenders and confront reoffending. That is because open prisons give offenders better opportunities to find work and re-establish relationships with friends and family, both of which are significantly proven to reduce the chances of reoffending.

[Mr Snowden]

I agree with what the Minister just said, but through the early release programme, and given the “third, third, third” model that the Government want to introduce to split sentencing in custody, prisons such as Kirkham in my constituency in Lancashire are seeing a much higher turnover among their open prison population; prisoners are increasingly serving shorter sentences and in such prisons for much shorter periods. They are effectively becoming cat C prisons but without the walls, the security or the resources. We are concerned about the knock-on effect that that will have on the ability to run rehabilitation programmes, which are designed for significant amounts of time at the end of prisoners’ sentences. What additional resources will the Government put in place to support rehabilitation programmes in open prisons?

[Jake Richards]

The hon. Member raises an important point. The Sentencing Bill will hopefully receive Royal Assent next year, and there are certainly operational challenges to ensure that those reforms and changes to sentencing in our prison system work smoothly. One of the major measures in the Bill, which the Conservative party opposes, is to reduce short-term sentences for the reason that the hon. Member set out. I am happy to have a discussion about the prison in his constituency, and ensure that the Department is working with it closely, so that it is ready for the changes that, hopefully, will come into effect next year.

[Michelle Welsh (Sherwood Forest) (Lab)]

13. What steps his Department is taking to improve safety in prisons.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Jake Richards)]

We are enhancing security measures and easing crowding to curb violence and improve safety in prisons, as well as looking at measures to improve meaningful activity to increase welfare. We are investing around £15 million in protective equipment to help keep frontline staff working in prisons safe, including expanding the use of Tasers and providing more protective body armour.

[Michelle Welsh]

Lowdham Grange prison in my constituency is a failing prison, and I have been inundated with correspondence from prisoners, families and staff who on a regular basis inform me about unsafe conditions and a toxic culture of bullying, as well as incidents of violence, drugs and self-harm, many of which are not recorded; and there is no access to healthcare professionals. Since the last inspection in 2023, 10 prisoners have died. The prisoners have also had 32 days of lockdown in the past two years, and the prison has the worst possible rating for safety. Does the Minister agree that it is time for the Government to make a direct intervention in this prison?

[Jake Richards]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that important case, which is very much on the radar of the Ministry of Justice. I will raise the issue personally with the Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending in the other place. I am personally committed to this issue, and I will visit Lowdham Grange in the new year, hopefully with my hon. Friend, to meet the governor and others to discuss those critical issues.

[Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Ind)]

The Minister will be aware that a number of prisoners are currently undertaking a hunger strike. They are remand prisoners, and some of them do not have a trial date until 2027. Deep concerns have been expressed by them, their families and their legal representatives about access to medical treatment, as well as how they have been treated when taken to hospital. Would the Minister be able to meet their legal representatives, and their families if necessary, to discuss the situation and try to help with the safety of these prisoners?

[Jake Richards]

No. Luckily, the Ministry of Justice and the Prison Service have robust and proper guidance and procedures for when such scenarios come to fruition. I am satisfied, and the Ministry is satisfied, that those procedures are being enacted, and we will continue to keep that under review.

[Matt Turmaine (Watford) (Lab)]

14. What steps his Department is taking to support magistrates.

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[Sir John Hayes (South Holland and The Deepings) (Con)]

16. What estimate he has made of the number of prisoners eligible for early release under the earned progression model.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Jake Richards)]

Following the changes in the Sentencing Bill, there will be more criminals behind bars than ever before. Those convicted of the most serious crimes will be unaffected, and will remain in prison for as long as they do now.

[Sir John Hayes]

The salient difference between the Government and the people is that the public expect vile, vicious, violent people to be locked up, so that they can ruin no more lives, whereas the Government want to let them free. About two thirds of rapists and 83% of child sex offenders will be eligible for early release. Is it any wonder that the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and the Victims’ Commissioner have criticised these plans? Will the Government at least exclude those kinds of offenders before implementing this policy? Otherwise, they will wreak harm, hurt and hate on every part of our country.

[Jake Richards]

I had the great pleasure of hearing the right hon. Member’s contributions on Report and in Committee on the Sentencing Bill. I remind him, as I did then, that we inherited a prison system on the brink of collapse. The worst way to fail victims would be to have no prison places, and to be unable to keep the worst offenders behind bars, and we will not allow that to happen. I remind him again that the Sentencing Bill is informed by the independent sentencing review, led by a former Conservative Lord Chancellor, who offered sensible reforms to ensure that our prison system can cope with demands and is fit for the future. Finally, I remind him that this is not a case of being soft on crime; by the end of this Parliament, under this Labour Government, there will be more criminals behind bars than ever before.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Dr Kieran Mullan (Bexhill and Battle) (Con)]

This week, the Government pledged action on violence against women and girls—an issue that I know many Members across this House care deeply about, including many Labour Members—but this so-called earned progression model will see thousands of rapists, child groomers and paedophiles let out of prison earlier. Shockingly, last week a Government Minister said that the reason why they could not be excluded from the model was that it would increase the risk of inaccuracies in release calculations. Does the Minister think that a single victim of rape should expect the offender to be let out of prison earlier because the Government cannot calculate the release date properly?

[Jake Richards]

We will not take any lessons about violence against women and girls from the Conservatives. Prosecutions for rape went down under the last Conservative Government, but we are taking action to protect women and girls. I will repeat this point: the scenario we faced last summer was that when those who committed the worst offences were convicted, there was not space in prison to keep them behind bars. That is wholly unacceptable, and this Government will never let that happen again.

[Dr Mullan]

The House will have heard that the Government are refusing to exclude those types of offenders. I am pleased to say that a number of Labour Members share my discomfort about the measures that the Government are taking; in fact, the hon. Member for Amber Valley (Linsey Farnsworth) tabled an amendment to exclude existing offenders from the measures. Why does the Minister think that she did that?

[Jake Richards]

I speak regularly with my hon. Friend the Member for Amber Valley (Linsey Farnsworth), who was an experienced Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor. When I speak to her, she tells me that the worst scenario for prosecutors who are trying to keep our streets safe is prisons being full, so that offenders cannot be kept behind bars. That was the situation in this country under the last Government, and we are fixing their mess.

[Uma Kumaran (Stratford and Bow) (Lab)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

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[Robert Jenrick (Newark) (Con)]

I commend the Justice Secretary on the Government’s decision to extend whole-life orders to those who kill prison officers. Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of meeting the parents of Lenny Scott when they came to Parliament. It is absolutely right that we extend whole-life orders to cases in which brave prison officers are killed, either in the course of their duties, or in the exceptional circumstances that faced Lenny Scott after he had left the service. The Justice Secretary can be assured of the support of Conservative Members.

Two weeks ago, the Justice Secretary appeared on Sky News and revealed that 12 more prisoners had been mistakenly released, and that two remained on the run. I have two very simple questions: since then, how many prisoners have been mistakenly released, and how many more remain on the run?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Jake Richards)]

The Deputy Prime Minister has set out a five-point plan to deal with the long-standing issue of releases in error in our criminal justice system. There were 800 releases in error when the Conservatives were in government, and never once did they come to this House and give an update. We will release much more of that data over the coming months.

[Robert Jenrick]

In all the years that I have been in the House, I have never known a Secretary of State fail to answer the first question from his opposite number, but that says a lot about the man. The Justice Secretary was fine answering questions in the media two weeks ago, when the police investigation was under way, but now he says—or his Minister says, in his stead—that it would be inappropriate to comment in the House of Commons. What utter nonsense! Does he seriously think anyone is buying that excuse? He either does not know the details, or he is covering up his failure, both of which are a dereliction of duty. How on earth can the public assist in the manhunts that are presumably under way across our country and clear up his mess if he will not publish the names or mugshots of the prisoners mistakenly released? Once again, he is endangering the British public.

[Jake Richards]

Utter nonsense! We do not take advice from the Conservative party on the operational challenges that we face when we encounter these issues; we engage with the police directly. We will not give a running commentary on this long-standing issue in a criminal justice system that is failing after 14 years of the Conservative party in government. We have set out a five-point plan, through which we are attempting to grapple with this problem, and Dame Lynne Owens will report back to the Government early next year. We look forward to hearing her recommendations.

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[Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)]

To build on the excellent questioning by the shadow Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Newark (Robert Jenrick), how many prisoners have been mistakenly released, and how many will it take before the Justice Secretary considers his position?

[Jake Richards]

We have already made it clear during this Justice Question Time that we will not be giving a running commentary on the numbers. This Government are taking action to deal with this problem in our criminal justice system, which, by the way, the Conservatives did nothing about over their 14 years.

[Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)]

In Rochdale, our police work closely with staff from the sexual assault referral centre in St Mary’s in Manchester, who help rape victims through every step of the legal process. For many rape victims, the most traumatic thing is facing their rapist in court, so will the Government explain how they will help stop victims being smeared by defence lawyers as money grabbers? How can we take evidence of previous domestic abuse into account in court?

[Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) (SNP)]

Ministers have responded helpfully to me on two previous occasions regarding the “68 is too late” campaign. On both occasions—last January and most recently in writing in September—the Government indicated that they were prepared to amend or at least review pension provisions. Indeed, a working group was established to examine similar terms currently in place within the Ministry of Defence. Can the Minister provide an update on the working group’s proposals and the Government’s intentions?

[Jake Richards]

The Government regularly meet trade unions and the Prison Officers Association. I will take this opportunity to put on record again our thanks to prison officers, who do an extraordinarily difficult job in difficult circumstances, and we will be updating the House on that issue in due course.

[Lola McEvoy (Darlington) (Lab)]

Earlier this year, a man was convicted by a jury of sexual assault of a child under the age of 13. This vile perpetrator was given a suspended sentence, with his mental health cited as the reason. He was spared prison and, crucially, his mental health had no impact on his culpability for this horrible crime. My constituents have sought justice, and I agree with them that the sentence is outrageously lenient. Will the Secretary of State please write to the Sentencing Council to stress that this Government believe that those found guilty of sexual crimes against children should go to prison, and that suspended sentences must only be granted in the rarest and most extreme mitigating circumstances?

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[Michelle Scrogham (Barrow and Furness) (Lab)]

Forests With Impact is delivering innovative prisoner rehabilitation through horticulture, paid work and accredited training at HMP Haverigg, helping people to gain skills for employment on release while also contributing to environmental recovery. Would the Minister be willing to pay a visit and observe this work at first hand, and will he meet me to discuss how similar schemes could be supported more widely?

[Jake Richards]

I thank my hon. Friend for her important question. That sounds like a really important initiative. A big swathe of this Government’s agenda is trying to tackle reoffending, which means improving rehabilitative services within our prisons. I look forward to meeting this service with my hon. Friend in the new year.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

One in three rape trials end up being postponed, in some cases more than six times, and 73% of rape survivors say that police treatment worsened their mental health during the process. What improvements will be made in how the police treat rape survivors?

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[Jim Allister (North Antrim) (TUV)]

Has the Ministry of Justice had any contact with the Justice Minister in Northern Ireland in relation to the looming crisis in criminal justice arising from the fact that on 5 January the criminal barristers will go on strike because there has not been an uplift in legal aid rates since 2005? If contact is made, will the Justice Minister in Northern Ireland be asked why, given her statutory duty to review the rates, she paused the last review in 2022, and why the interim uplift that she announced last year has never been paid?

[Jake Richards]

The hon. and learned Member will know that this is a devolved matter. I met the Justice Ministers from all the devolved nations last week, and we continue to have that dialogue to ensure that justice is served across all four countries.