Oral Answers to Questions

Susan Murray Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dr Danny Chambers (Winchester) (LD)]

13. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of rehabilitative programmes in prisons.

[Susan Murray (Mid Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

15. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of rehabilitative programmes in prisons.

[Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)]

18. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of rehabilitative programmes in prisons.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sir Nicholas Dakin]

The hon. Member is right to emphasise all those programmes. They are clearly extremely important, and we publish and monitor a range of performance metrics linked to rehabilitative programme delivery, including employment at six weeks and six months post-release, or at the start of a community order, and engagement with substance misuse treatment. All those measures are in place and are properly monitored, but as always, there is more to be done in this area.

[Susan Murray]

In my constituency of Mid Dunbartonshire, the community justice team are having some success in preventing reoffending by working with offenders in a trauma-informed way. Given the success of that trauma-informed approach to rehabilitation, what discussions has the Minister had regarding the differing approaches that are taken to offender rehabilitation across the UK?

[Sir Nicholas Dakin]

The hon. Member is right to highlight the good work going on in her constituency. As I said, I saw trauma-informed activity in operation at HMP Humber. It is something we need to learn from across the prison estate.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sir Nicholas Dakin]

Every week I get a report of the number of girls in our youth estate, so I am monitoring it. There are no girls in a YOI, and there have not been since the girl who was in a YOI moved out soon after we came into government.

[Susan Murray (Mid Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Shabana Mahmood)]

I know the House shares my anger at recent attacks against prison officers. After the awful events at HMP Frankland, I commissioned a review into the use of protective body armour, and today I can announce that I will mandate its use in close supervision centres, separation centres, and segregation units in the high security estate. That is my initial response to the review, but I will set out further action on body armour in due course. When Jonathan Hall’s independent review into the Frankland attacks reports, I will take any further steps necessary to protect our brave staff.

Crime must be punished, but on the rare occasions that a miscarriage of justice has taken place, the Criminal Cases Review Commission exists to uncover and rectify that injustice. In recent years the commission has lost the trust of the public. It must now win it back, so today I have appointed Dame Vera Baird, a former Victims’ Commissioner, to be its interim chair. She will review the commission, its governance and leadership, and ensure that it delivers once more for those who have been victims of injustice.

[Susan Murray]

What discussions have the Government had regarding the International Court of Justice’s 2024 judgment on Israel and Palestine?

[Shabana Mahmood]

The hon. Lady will know that that is a matter primarily for the Foreign Secretary. We keep under review all judgments of all courts, domestic and international, and adopt our policy position accordingly. I will ensure that her concerns, if there are any, are raised directly with the Foreign Secretary.

Oral Answers to Questions

Susan Murray Excerpts

Tuesday 5th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Shabana Mahmood]

The data on how we track the experiences of women across England and Wales will be work that the women’s justice board—once it is up and running—will be able to look into and make recommendations on, which we will pick up in the spring.

[Susan Murray (Mid Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

16. What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the early release scheme.

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Shabana Mahmood)]

The immediate purpose of the emergency release scheme was to stop us running out of prison places and to avert a total breakdown of law and order. If we look at the prison population today, it is clear that we have managed to avert the immediate crisis, but this was only a short-term measure; we have also set out a long-term plan to build the prison places that the last Conservative Government failed to build. I have also launched a landmark sentencing review so that we are never forced to look into emergency releases again.

[Susan Murray]

In my Mid Dunbartonshire constituency, the community justice team are having success in preventing reoffending by working with offenders in a trauma-informed way. It is recognised that short sentences, as has already been mentioned, do not prevent reoffending. Does the Minister agree that the prevention of reoffending is central to reducing costs, job losses, family breakdowns and homelessness?

[Shabana Mahmood]

It is clear that we have to do better on reducing reoffending, given that 80% of offenders are reoffenders. Cutting reoffending is a strategy for cutting crime, keeping the public safe and helping ex-prisoners to turn their lives around. I am sure that the sentencing review will look carefully at short sentences.