Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lucy Frazer and Kerry McCarthy

Tuesday 2nd November 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Lucy Frazer)]

I know that my hon. Friend will have campaigned hard for the funds that have come through. We will continue to support people across the House and in her constituency to level up.

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

Rather than talk about competitive bids for funding, could we talk for a moment about mainstream council finances? We know that this Budget will significantly shift the burden to local authorities and require a significant rise in council tax, which people can ill afford. We also know that councils’ finances have not fully recovered and they have not been fully compensated. What is the Chancellor doing to talk to local councils about the pressures that they are facing?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lucy Frazer and Kerry McCarthy

Thursday 1st July 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Solicitor General]

I reassure my hon. Friend that the SFO recognises the importance of whistleblowers to its work, and if appropriate I would be happy to meet him to discuss the case and perhaps the issue more broadly. In that particular case the judge concluded that it was not suitable to make a compensation order, and that is why the SFO concluded that it would not be appropriate to put Mr Foxley’s victim impact statement before the court. I hope to discuss those issues more fully with my hon. Friend.

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

What steps he is taking to implement the end-to-end rape review's recommendations for the CPS.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lucy Frazer and Kerry McCarthy

Tuesday 8th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Frazer]

We are working hard to ensure that we succeed in Wales. As the right hon. Lady mentioned, it is the first of our operations. I met representatives of Napo, GMB and Unison at the end of last month to discuss that very issue, and we are working hard to ensure that matters are in place by the end of the year.

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

10. What support his Department provides to help prison leavers secure appropriate accommodation on release.

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lucy Frazer)]

I absolutely agree with the hon. Lady that finding accommodation for prisoners at the end of their sentence is vital. That is why we have already started pilots to help offenders released from three prisons—Bristol, Pentonville and Leeds—to secure and maintain accommodation, with £6.4 million from the Government’s rough sleeping strategy.

[Kerry McCarthy]

My hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Heeley (Louise Haigh) mentioned today’s report which says that young offenders are being set up to fail when they are released. One concern raised in the report is about the quality of unregulated supported living, which is a real concern in Bristol. May I urge the Minister to talk to her counterparts in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to see how we can regulate supported housing?

[Lucy Frazer]

The hon. Lady makes an interesting point. I would like to assure her that we do liaise with MHCLG. In fact, on Thursday I am going with my counterpart from MHCLG to visit one of the pilots in Leeds, and I will raise that point with him.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lucy Frazer and Kerry McCarthy

Tuesday 6th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

17. What research his Department has conducted on the cost-effectiveness of providing legal aid for early legal help.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Lucy Frazer)]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right to highlight the value of early legal advice, which is why the Department spent £100 million in legal aid on early legal advice for civil cases last year.

[Kerry McCarthy]

Citizens Advice has estimated that for every £1 of legal aid spending on housing advice the state would save over £2, and that if the advice was on debt and housing, it would save even more. Will the Minister commit to commissioning research into the cost-effectiveness of reintroducing early legal advice in the housing sector, so that we can save money in the long run?

[Lucy Frazer]

Advice can already be taken through a telephone hotline in relation to housing. Legal aid is available where homelessness is a risk, and debt leads to homelessness. A whole variety of early legal advice is available through legal aid at the moment, but as the hon. Lady will know, we are conducting a review of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, and this issue will be considered.