Oral Answers to Questions

Luke Taylor Excerpts

Tuesday 10th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Yuan Yang (Earley and Woodley) (Lab)]

9. What steps he is taking to help tackle recidivism.

[Luke Taylor (Sutton and Cheam) (LD)]

19. What steps he is taking to improve programmes that reduce reoffending.

[The Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending (Catherine McKinnell)]

Reducing offending is vital for cutting crime and improving public safety, which is why we are working with partners across Government to improve outcomes through better access to treatment, education, employment and accommodation. We are also investing in probation and expanding intensive supervision courts for prolific offenders.

[Catherine McKinnell]

My hon. Friend raises an important point: around 60% of crimes are committed by 9% of offenders. Prolific offending is clearly a challenge that we need to address. That is why we are expanding intensive supervision courts, which combine intensive rehabilitative sentences with close judicial oversight to reduce repeated offending and ensure punishment that works, as well as investing in rehabilitation. Reducing reoffending and relieving our prison capacity challenge is a key focus for us.

[Luke Taylor]

The outgoing chief inspector of prisons said last week that organised gangs are using drones to smuggle up to 10 kg of drugs into prison at a time, and claimed that up to a quarter of prisoners admit to having developed a habit in prison because drugs are so rife. The Independent newspaper reported Charlie Taylor saying that many prisoners are leaving custody “doomed to come back” because they are not being rehabilitated. He claimed that the

“public are not being protected properly”

when prisoners are freed because their risk has not been reduced. In the year to March ’26, drugs were discovered in UK prisons 26,630 times—up by nearly a third from five years ago. Does the Minister agree that those in prison, and particularly those in for drug-related offences, stand little chance of turning their lives around and reducing their chances of reoffending on release if they are still routinely exposed to the evils of drugs?

[Catherine McKinnell]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point and a very clear case for why we have to deal with the prison system we inherited. The system has very deep and complex pressures, some of which he has highlighted: drones, security on the estate, drugs, and ensuring that we can invest in rehabilitation. All those things are made more challenging while our prison system is running at capacity, due to the system we inherited. However, they also make us more determined to achieve the outcomes for which he quite rightly advocates.

--- Later in debate ---

[Catherine McKinnell]

As my hon. Friend will know, the contract with Serco was entered into by the previous Government. Serco’s KPI measures include whether installation visits take place within contractual timescales, but being recorded without a tag does not necessarily indicate failure; it may be that the individual has returned to prison, or they may still remain within the installation window. That is why we regularly publish the statistics to ensure that they accurately reflect the situation. I will take her other points on board.

[Luke Taylor (Sutton and Cheam) (LD)]

T5. We were all disgusted by the shocking details of the Russell Brand court case this week, and we had all seen reporting of the famous man who lost his appeal to remain anonymous, who was today named as David Walliams. One of the most common lawfare tactics used to shut down investigations and block accountability are SLAPP—strategic lawsuit against public participation—orders, which have a chilling effect on media scrutiny and faith in the legal process overall. Will the Minister therefore confirm whether the Government plan to finally listen to the Lib Dems and introduce a comprehensive anti-SLAPP law to stop this harmful practice?