Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Prinsley Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Solicitor General]

My hon. Friend makes an incredibly important point. I am sure that the whole House will want to pay tribute to Claire Throssell for her tireless campaigning and to the memory of her two children, Jack and Paul. Every child deserves to be safe and every family deserves a justice system that they can trust. We need to make sure that what happened to Claire and her children never happens again. That is why this Government are introducing the measure to repeal the presumption of parental involvement. Courts will no longer start from an assumption that parental involvement is always in a child’s best interests, and instead adopt an open-minded inquiry into what is in a child’s best interests. This Government are putting children’s welfare and safety first.

[Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)]

I welcome the Government’s reforms to the criminal justice system, but I would like to ask what measures will be taken to increase cultural, class and age-group diversity in magistrate recruitment, so as to increase confidence in our reforms?

[The Solicitor General]

As always, my hon. Friend makes an incredibly important point. I understand that measures are being taken to recruit more magistrates from more diverse backgrounds. Magistrates are the cornerstone of local justice and it is right that they represent the communities in which they are taking decisions.