Oral Answers to Questions

John Bercow Excerpts

Tuesday 1st November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Just before we take the question, I am very pleased to announce that today we are joined by Lobsang Sangay, the Sikyong or Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in exile. It is a pleasure and a privilege, Sir, to welcome you to the House of Commons.

[Victoria Prentis]

What an honour that is, Mr Speaker.

We welcome the Secretary of State’s commitment to prison reform, but those sitting on the Justice Select Committee are very concerned about the recent statistics that she mentioned, not just in relation to the safety of prison workers, but in respect of vulnerable prisoners. What steps is she going to take to improve assessment and screening, so that those people can be identified at the beginning of their sentence?

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[Mr Speaker]

I am extremely grateful to the Secretary of State. I call Fiona Mactaggart.

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

2. How many deaths have occurred in (a) custody suites operated by G4S and (b) other custody suites in the last three years.

[Fiona Mactaggart]

Very vulnerable people are held in custody suites, and many have committed suicide. That translates into the presence of such people in prisons, where, as the Secretary of State has just acknowledged, there have been more deaths in custody than there have been for many years. More women are killing themselves than at any time since the Corston report. When we know what has gone wrong from the reports of coroners’ courts or the Corston report, which have given us real advice on what ought to happen, why is it not happening? Has the Minister read those coroners’ reports?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We really do need to make progress. This is very slow.

[Mr Gyimah]

All deaths in custody are a tragedy. They are fully investigated by the independent prisons and probation ombudsman and are subject to coroners’ inquests. As the Secretary of State pointed out, a number of women in prison have been victims of crime themselves and are incredibly vulnerable members of society. As well as modernising the women’s prison estate, we are looking into diversion tactics to ensure that those women do not end up in the criminal justice system in the first place.

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[Elizabeth Truss]

I can confirm that that is happening. We have trained 300 sniffer dogs to be able to detect new dangerous psychoactive substances, and that testing was being rolled out across the prison estate in September. [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I say very gently to the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (Richard Arkless) that I am sure his constituency has many magnificent merits but it is a long way from Chelmsford.

[Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North) (Lab)]

4. What steps she is taking to assess the effect of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 on access to justice.

[The Minister for Courts and Justice (Sir Oliver Heald)]

The coalition Government promised to review parts 1 and 2 of the Act and we remain committed to undertaking that review.

[Mr Speaker]

We are grateful to the Minister for that reply, but I think he may want to take question 15 with question 4.

[Sir Oliver Heald]

I would be very happy to do that, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

It is very good of the right hon. and learned Gentleman the Minister to be willing to do what he asked me for permission to do; that is extraordinarily gracious of him.

[Rob Marris (Wolverhampton South West) (Lab)]

15. What assessment she has made of the effect on people on low incomes of changes made to the legal aid system by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

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[The Minister for Courts and Justice (Sir Oliver Heald)]

We will set out our proposals for a Bill of Rights in due course. We will consult fully on our proposals.

[Mr Speaker]

This question is to be taken with No. 7. There is something missing from the right hon. and learned Gentleman’s briefing today.

[Sir Oliver Heald]

I am so sorry, Mr Speaker. Perhaps with your leave I could also answer question 7 in the same way.

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[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Mr Speaker]

I noted—I am sure colleagues did—that the prince of pithiness was about to leave the Chamber, and I think it ought to be noted.

[Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

T4. What action are the Government taking to protect vulnerable witnesses when they testify in court?

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[Mr Gyimah]

With trepidation, I accept the hon. Gentleman’s invitation to a joint visit to Ranby. I am grateful that he appreciates the reform. Giving prison governors real power can make a difference.

[Mr Speaker]

We learn a lot more about the opinions of the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann) on a vast miscellany of matters—of that he can rest assured.

[Mr Shailesh Vara (North West Cambridgeshire) (Con)]

The Justice Secretary will be aware that in the past couple of years considerable progress has been made in allowing UK lawyers to practise in India. Will she update the House on progress so far, particularly given that the Prime Minister will be visiting India in the next few days?

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[Mr Gyimah]

My hon. Friend is right. Technology is the problem here, and we believe that technology is the answer. We are working very closely with mobile network operators to develop a solution to stop the illegal use of mobile phones in our prisons.

[Mr Speaker]

Finally, the Chair of the Select Committee on Justice, Mr Robert Neill.

[Robert Neill (Bromley and Chislehurst) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State share my concern at the 40% increase in suicides in 2015-16 among offenders undergoing supervision in the community? Will she therefore expedite the Department’s review of the effectiveness of the transforming rehabilitation programme?