Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between James Murray and Feryal Clark

Tuesday 9th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[James Murray (Ealing North) (Lab/Co-op)]

What steps he has taken as part of the early prison release scheme to ensure that potential victims of violence in domestic settings are protected during the covid-19 lockdown period.

[Feryal Clark (Enfield North) (Lab)]

What steps he has taken as part of the early prison release scheme to ensure potential victims of violence in domestic settings are protected during the covid-19 lockdown period.

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Robert Buckland)]

Domestic abuse is an abhorrent crime, and I am determined to better protect and support the victims of abuse and their children and to bring perpetrators to justice. I also recognise that measures announced to tackle covid-19 can cause anxiety for those experiencing or feeling at risk of domestic abuse, and therefore I have excluded any prisoner convicted of an offence relating to domestic violence, including harassment and stalking, from the scheme. I have also excluded anyone who is identified by prisons, police or other agencies as a domestic abuse risk from release under the scheme.