Independent Review of Administrative Law

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Robert Buckland

Thursday 18th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Robert Buckland]

My hon. Friend is right to urge expedition. I think I need to temper his remarks with those of the Chairman of his Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Sir Robert Neill), who wants to make sure that this place and the other place have a proper opportunity to scrutinise. That of course will happen, because if there is to be primary legislation, that will need proper scrutiny.

However, I take my hon. Friend’s point. The truth is that there have not been many occasions in the last 50 years or so when we have taken a close look at these issues. Judicial review has developed quite significantly since the late 1970s, so most of our judges now will have had some experience unless, with respect, they are extremely senior. I agree with the point that he makes. We need to remember that this is very much part of the Government’s overall approach to take incremental, structured looks at aspects of our constitution to get the balance right.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

This week of all weeks, when the Government are using the law to clamp down on justice seekers protesting on the streets, they are now using the law to clamp down on justice seekers prosecuting their cases in the courts. They are taking our rights, as they run roughshod over the human rights of others, further exposing the hostile, authoritarian environment festering at the heart of Government. Will the Secretary of State publish all the submissions, including that of the Home Office, to his further consultation and an equality impact assessment on narrowing the scope of judicial reviews?

Courts and Tribunals: Recovery

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Robert Buckland

Thursday 3rd December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Robert Buckland]

I will not repeat what I said with regard to investment and case levels in employment tribunals, but I assure my hon. Friend that the extra funding we have had in year means that we can recruit 1,600 extra staff. We are allocating more resources to recruit up to 1,800 staff. So far we have recruited 800, with 200 or so of them in training, and I hope that we can use those extra resources in the employment tribunal and other jurisdictions.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

The biggest crime of all, of course, is the scale we see of criminal cases committed in the first place, which the failure in the court system is just exposing. Delaying justice is delaying restitution to victims and their families and denying defendants access to rehabilitation. What additional resources is the Lord Chancellor bringing forward to support victims over this time, but also defendants, particularly with their mental health?

[Robert Buckland]

The hon. Lady will be glad to know that the increase in victims funding continues, with an in-year increase of £15 million, which was separate from the covid funding that we have already allocated to victims groups. Next year, there will be a further £25 million increase in victim support services funding. We are working very closely with the Victims’ Commissioner and others to make sure that we are absolutely hitting the right spot when it comes to support. The new victims code has been introduced, which I believe will make things simpler and clearer for victims to know their rights. When it comes to the mental health of defendants, we are working at pace at the moment in looking at further liaison and diversion services. We have rolled out liaison and diversion services across England and Wales, but I think there is more we can do with regard to how that works to make sure that those in genuine mental health need are not caught up in the criminal justice system unnecessarily, and that we can divert them into more appropriate services.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Robert Buckland

Tuesday 3rd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Robert Buckland]

Like my hon. Friend, I am very grateful to the magistracy in County Durham and elsewhere for the part they have played in keeping our system working. All victims—none more so than those he mentions—deserve prompt justice. That is why I am grateful to every part of the criminal justice system that is working so hard to ensure case progression. To that end, we have made available £1 million to improve the recruitment process. We reviewed our planned recruitment in line with changing demands on our magistracy and are consulting on proposals to increase the mandatory retirement age of all judicial office holders.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

When somebody under the age of 18 commits an offence, they join the long list of those waiting for their case to come to a hearing, and they are then tried in the adult courts. That cannot be right. Will the Justice Secretary review this and ensure that, if a crime is committed by a youth, they are tried through the youth justice system?

Domestic Abuse Bill

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Robert Buckland

Wednesday 2nd October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Robert Buckland]

I am very interested in the hon. Gentleman’s contribution, because he makes an important point about the way tendering is administered. I certainly want to make sure that the probation reforms unlock the genius of the small organisations that can really make a difference, but there is a read-across to the way in which we provide victim services. I am taking a keen interest in the commissioning of those services. Police and crime commissioners clearly have a role, but I want fully to understand and work out the miasma that faces small organisations making those bids, so I take his point very much on board.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

rose—

[Robert Buckland]

The hon. Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) has been very persistent, so I shall give way to her.

[Rachael Maskell]

Services such as Survive in York, which provides trauma support to victims of domestic violence, are seriously under-resourced. It is crucial that the Bill gets trauma support services right, particularly mental health and psychological support services. How will the Lord Chancellor ensure that these services are properly funded as well as provided?

[Robert Buckland]

The hon. Lady draws together all the issues in her local community. The various agencies, including police and crime commissioners, have a part to play. I want to ensure that the Domestic Abuse Commissioner helps to provide a focus on where the gaps are and where things are going wrong, but my hope is that this overarching legislation can provide a framework within which we can get the greater consistency that the hon. Lady and I rightly want.

No one should have to face violence or abuse from their partner or any other family member. Millions are experiencing it, and we owe it to each and every one of those affected to do all we can to protect and to support them, to put an end to domestic abuse, and to bring offenders to justice. It might be 25 years since the case I mentioned at the start of my speech, but the fact that it lives with me—a mere observer—means that the experience is magnified 100-fold for those who have experienced the physical and emotional consequences of domestic abuse. We owe it to all those millions of people who suffer in silence to do something about it, and to do it now.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rachael Maskell and Robert Buckland

Tuesday 4th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[Robert Buckland]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, and I am more than happy to visit Her Majesty’s Prison Leyhill not just to look at that specific issue but to see the conditions in that category B prison for myself.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

In addition to reviewing the Sexual Offences Act 2003, as raised by the hon. Member for Gloucester (Richard Graham), will the Minister look at families who host international students and who are put in a position of trust over young people?