Oral Answers to Questions

Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts

Tuesday 10th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Alex Norris]

That is an important point. It is great to start Question Time on a note of unanimity, and I am sure that one view that we all hold in common in this place is that when people leave prison, we do not want them to return and reoffend. The key to that is a multi-agency approach locally, starting before individuals leave prison. We are working closely with local government partners to ensure more effective pre-release planning work.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Justice Committee.

[Catherine Atkinson (Derby North) (Lab)]

The public are safer when people leave prisons with the skills to find work and stay out of crime. Despite the Coates review calling for education to be put

“at the heart of the prison regime”,

a decade later, cuts have halved the number of education hours in some of our prisons. Today, Ofsted and the chief inspector of prisons have both published a letter calling on Ministers to act on the review’s recommendations, and to tackle poor performance on purposeful activity in prisons. What is being done to ensure that prisoners receive the education that they need to find work and stay out of prison?

--- Later in debate ---

[Alex Norris]

First, I pay tribute to the work that Devon and Cornwall police do to keep the hon. Member’s constituents and everyone across Devon and Cornwall safe. We work very closely with chief constables on the support that they need, in the light of their experiences. He will know about, and I am sure will have welcomed, the support given by the Home Office during the preparation for the progression model. With that record investment for our policing, we will make sure that officers—rather than being behind desks, as they used to be during the previous Parliament—are out in the community, keeping his constituents safe.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Justice Secretary.

[Nick Timothy (West Suffolk) (Con)]

Today, the Government will let another 650 criminals out of prison early, on top of 1,350 last month and tens of thousands under their original early release scheme. When the Justice Secretary launched this scheme, he promised that there would be a presumption that every released criminal would be tagged, but that is not happening. I have asked Ministers about this many times, in letters, written questions, oral questions and urgent questions, but to no avail. He talks about waiting for the release of data in January, but waiting for January is his choice, so I ask again: how many released criminals have been tagged, and if he will not tell us, will the public not conclude that he is just hiding his broken promise?

[Alex Norris]

The hon. Gentleman cannot have this both ways. I have heard him say, and I am sure the whole House tuned in to listen to him in recent podcasts, that he accepts—he never accepts it in the Chamber, but is more willing to do so in public—that we are in these circumstances because the Conservatives did not build enough prison places, and he also refused to rule out an emergency release scheme. I put this to him gently, because I like him: perhaps he is not quite walking the walk, though he is talking the talk.

On the presumption of tagging, we will in due course have the full data; that has been the position of successive Governments, including ones in which the hon. Gentleman had important roles. However, I made a commitment about the presumption of tagging, and I also made a commitment that this would be the biggest expansion of tagging in history, and I look forward to having a conversation about the data when it is available.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester) (LD)]

The Sentencing Act 2026 had a very clear aim, which was to stabilise the prison capacity crisis and to prevent victims from having to go through the ordeal of finding out that their perpetrator was being released not because they had served their time, but because there was a capacity crisis. However, the Government’s own capacity projections depend on both building capacity and keeping current cells operational. In the Budget, the MOJ’s capital for maintenance was reduced from £2.3 billion to £1.9 billion for 2029-30, but the cost of the maintenance backlog sits at £2.8 billion and cells are regularly being taking out of use. Can the Lord Chancellor confidently and categorically rule out, at the Dispatch Box, any more early release schemes before the end of this Parliament?

--- Later in debate ---

[Sarah Sackman]

I was very pleased to meet the hon. Lady and the heads of the Mental Health Lawyers Association, when we were able to discuss these issues. It is why, as a matter of priority when the Government came in, we invested in increases in fees for legal aid, criminal solicitors, prison lawyers and a forthcoming increase in fees for criminal barristers. But I accept that there is more work to do on the civil side, including in mental health. There are changes we can make through the transformation of the legal aid system and we are making that investment too, so that those providers are working within improved systems and not on the old legacy systems that have so hampered the delivery of access to justice.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Sarah Bool (South Northamptonshire) (Con)]

Employment tribunal backlogs have reached record levels, with more than 70,000 open single claims and some hearings outside of London delayed until 2029. The Employment Lawyers Association estimates that the phased introduction of the Employment Rights Act 2025 over the course of the next year will increase the tribunal caseload by up to a third. Does the Minister accept the concerns of the legal sector that extending employment rights without the ability to enforce, due to court backlogs, is meaningless and making access to justice in these life-changing disputes a postcode lottery?

--- Later in debate ---

[Alex Davies-Jones]

The hon. Gentleman is right to raise the issue of post-separation abuse. I hope he will have heard the answer from my hon. Friend the Minister responsible for sentencing and family courts about our strategy to tackle this issue. Domestic abuse protection orders are a flagship policy of this Government, which we are rolling out nationally later this month. They are our strongest ever protective order, and I will happily work with him, stakeholders and victims and survivors to see what more we can do to strengthen support for those experiencing post-separation abuse.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Justice Secretary.

[Nick Timothy (West Suffolk) (Con)]

The Russell Brand verdict surprised nobody, and all those who allowed his behaviour to go unchecked should reflect on their own culpability. The truth is emerging also about Mohamed al-Fayed; David Walliams remained anonymous for years thanks to an injunction; and there are many similar cases. Following the attack by Brand’s barrister on journalists who reported similar allegations concerning different victims before the case began, what will the Government do to prevent these abuses of process, and stop the abusive injunctions and super-injunctions, which stop scrutiny, accountability and the work of the free press?

--- Later in debate ---

[Alex Davies-Jones]

The case at RAF Lakenheath, and others that have subsequently come to light, are extremely concerning. As the Minister responsible for international justice and the rule of law, I take the issue extremely seriously. Decisions on jurisdiction are made by the relevant police force in response to the claim by a visiting police force, and should be taken in accordance with the Visiting Forces Act 1952. However, following that case, the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council has written to all forces to remind them of their responsibilities under that Act. We must ensure that such cases are heard in the correct jurisdiction. I reassure the shadow Secretary of State that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence are also engaging with the United States on the matter. I will happily work across party lines and across Government Departments to see what more we can do to protect victims.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

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

The ability of powerful men to exert control over and exploit women is again at the forefront of our minds. But it is not just rich and powerful men: we recently debated in this place a petition by Paris Shears, who campaigns against coercive and controlling behaviour. During the debate, the Minister refused to give Paris the common courtesy of explaining whether those convicted of coercive and controlling behaviour are eligible for Labour’s early release programme. Can the Justice Secretary show proper respect to Paris and other victims and at least answer that question now?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The last question was very long. This is topicals. I have to get all colleagues in, and I am struggling. To help me get through, the questions have to be short, as do the responses from Front Benchers.

[The Minister for Courts and Legal Services (Sarah Sackman)]

The Government recognise the profound financial and psychological impact that SLAPPs have on individuals, and their corrosive effect on our democracy and public discourse. As the hon. Gentleman will know, we commenced the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, and we remain committed to introducing legislation. I recently met the right hon. Member for Maldon (Sir John Whittingdale), and am grateful to him for the constructive discussions that we are having. I will set out the Government’s position on Second Reading of his private Member’s Bill on 27 November.