Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Smith and Lord Herbert of South Downs

Monday 21st May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Nick Herbert]

I will happily join my hon. Friend in congratulating Staffordshire police on that achievement. They, like many other forces, have seen an overall fall in crime—in their case, of 7%—despite having to make savings, and the chief constable has made a particular commitment to protect neighbourhood policing.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Binge drinking by young people is a serious public health issue. “Men in Black 3” will be on our screens soon, and cinemas are important channels for alcohol marketing, so will the Home Secretary take the lead on more effective controls on advertising in cinemas?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Smith and Lord Herbert of South Downs

Tuesday 8th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Nick Herbert]

I think that the whole House agrees that reoffending rates are too high. They have been persistently high, and we need to tackle that issue. That is why the rehabilitation revolution is important, and I am sorry that the hon. Lady does not appear to support it. We have particular proposals on payment by results, and we are now seeing them extended throughout public sector and private sector prisons, where we will ensure that we pay for what works and incentivise providers to reduce reoffending. We are determined to reduce reoffending by using innovative means, not the familiar means that Labour always proposes, which involve simply spending more public money.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

8. What estimate his Department has made of the future size of the prison population.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Smith and Lord Herbert of South Downs

Monday 7th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

T4. Given media reports that police patrols are being scaled back because of the price of fuel and that Gwent police spend £4 million on their car fleet, including fuel, what action are the Government taking to help our local police officers to keep their patrols on the road?

[The Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice (Nick Herbert)]

I am not sure whether the hon. Gentleman’s question is about fuel prices, which are not a matter for me, or taxation, or patrols. I repeat, however, that we are committed to working with police forces to maintain, and indeed to improve, the visibility and availability of police officers on patrol by making savings elsewhere in police forces.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Smith and Lord Herbert of South Downs

Tuesday 15th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Nick Herbert]

I strongly agree with my hon. Friend. By failing to plan properly for the necessary prison accommodation, the previous Government were forced to resort to the end of custody licence scheme. More than 1,600 of those 80,000 prisoners released committed further offences while on the scheme, including very serious offences. One of those offences was murder.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

How confident are the Government that fast-tracking the release of prisoners with sentences of imprisonment for public protection—IPP prisoners—will not put the public at increased risk of serious crime?

[Nick Herbert]

We will take no risks in this respect. All prisoners who have to be released under the IPP scheme will be properly risk assessed. I repeat that the problem with the previous Government’s approach was that these prisoners were released automatically simply because the previous Government had run out of space. However, that scheme was cynically brought to an end just before the last election.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Smith and Lord Herbert of South Downs

Tuesday 23rd November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Jenny Chapman (Darlington) (Lab)]

17. What recent estimate he has made of the number of offenders with an alcohol dependency.

[The Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice (Nick Herbert)]

In a survey carried out in 2005-06, 23% of prisoners sentenced from one month to four years reported having drunk alcohol four weeks prior to custody and said that they would find it quite difficult or impossible to stop drinking. We also estimate that 37% of offenders subject to community orders have an alcohol-related problem linked to their offending and their risk of reconviction.

[Nick Smith]

I thank the Minister for that reply. Given that alcohol misuse is estimated to cost £7.3 billion in crime and antisocial behaviour, and that it was a factor in 18,000 incidents of violent crime in Wales in 2008, can he assure the House that help for prisoners with alcohol problems will be given the same priority as help for offenders with drug problems?

[Nick Herbert]

It is important that alcohol problems are tackled, both among offenders given community orders and those in custody. We know that treatment for alcohol problems is cost-effective; the United Kingdom alcohol treatment trial found that for every pound spent on treating problem drinkers £5 is saved on costs to health, social and criminal justice services. That is why, in the long term, providing such services on a payment-by-results basis is the answer.