Prisons Strategy

Debate between Victoria Atkins and Tony Lloyd

Tuesday 7th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Atkins]

I thank my right hon. and learned Friend for all the work he has done on this issue. We are very appreciative of his commitment to it and of his particular commitment to neurodiverse prisoners. We are considering and learning from the joint inspectorate’s call for evidence, and we will very much take those findings into account when we are designing new prisons. The need for continuity of treatment is also central to the White Paper. We want to ensure that treatment that is given in prison continues beyond the prison gates, so that people have the best chance possible of leading lives that are free from crime and safe for the rest of the community.

[Tony Lloyd (Rochdale) (Lab)]

The Minister said that the cost of reoffending was some £18 billion, but it is the victims of those crimes that we should think of first. If we know that women’s centres are more effective than prisons in cutting reoffending, we need to ensure that the necessary resources are going into those women’s centres. Also, what is good for women in this case would be good for many men as well.

[Victoria Atkins]

In fairness, I went on to say that the human costs were far greater. On women’s centres, only last week I was extolling the success of the Greater Manchester commitment to looking after and treating female offenders in a holistic way and the dramatic decreases in reoffending in that area. Of course there are lessons that can be applied in the male estate from what we are undertaking in the female estate. I very much want this policy to be applicable to all prisoners, but I have a particular focus on the vulnerabilities of some—not all, but some—female prisoners.

Strategy for Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls

Debate between Victoria Atkins and Tony Lloyd

Wednesday 21st July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Atkins]

I probably ought not to support the application, given that I am a Minister in the Department handing out the bids. What I will do is warmly encourage the efforts of police and crime commissioners who are focusing on violence against women and girls as part of their priorities, having recently been elected. It is critical that the national expectations that we have set in this strategy and continue to set in other pieces of cross-Government work are met at a local level. I look forward to the help of my hon. Friend and other colleagues in ensuring that police and crime commissioners are able to do that.

[Tony Lloyd (Rochdale) (Lab) [V]]

Female genital mutilation is a spectacularly horrible crime, yet the possibility of perpetrators—or even those aiding the crime —being brought to justice is very tiny in our society. In the past, I have worked with women who have been victims of this crime, who do not want it for their own families or for other women, but we need a national strategy to combat it. It is not enough to deplore FGM. We have to ensure the multi-agency working that gives us the opportunity to change the culture and ensure that the cutters are brought to justice. What can the Minister do to make sure that we take this agenda forward?

[Victoria Atkins]

The hon. Member will know the work that has been done in recent years—indeed, by my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead—to tackle female genital mutilation and ensure cross-agency working. It is difficult, in that the victims are often very young; they are children, and are facing that criminal behaviour from close family members or friends. Through the mandatory reporting duty, we have set out what we expect of agencies that discover such injuries in the course of their public service. We very much want to support victims—if they feel able to do so—to support prosecutions.

Domestic Abuse and Hidden Harms during Lockdown

Debate between Victoria Atkins and Tony Lloyd

Thursday 14th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Atkins]

I most certainly will meet my hon. Friend, and I thank him for raising a case that demonstrates the complexity of many people’s experiences of abuse, even after a relationship has ended. The Bill contains a number of measures to address that sort of abusive behaviour, including the introduction of domestic abuse protection orders that will put positive requirements on offenders, as well as negative ones. I am happy to meet him, and I hope that, through his work and support from services, his constituent is able to find a solution to the terrible situation he has described.

[Tony Lloyd (Rochdale) (Lab) [V]]

There is a lot to commend in the statement, in particular the “Ask for ANI” scheme, but I put it to the Minister that what is really important is early detection of abuse and abusive behaviour, because that is most likely to lead to behaviour change on the part of the perpetrator. That is why it is so important, particularly during lockdown, that victims are at least given credibility and that early action is taken to support them and to work with perpetrators to break the cycle. That is vital during covid, as it is in normal times.

[Victoria Atkins]

I agree. May I say that it is a pleasure to see the hon. Gentleman again? He is absolutely right to say that this is not just about supporting victims; we want to deal with perpetrators’ behaviour as well and to stop the cycle of abuse. That is why in addition to all the work we are doing during the pandemic this year, we are investing £7.1 million in perpetrator programmes. We want to tackle that offending behaviour.

I want to highlight the existence of a helpline, the “Respect” helpline, which can help people worried about the way they are beginning to behave. The number is on the gov.uk website. Sadly, it has seen an increase in calls during the pandemic, but it offers help for people who are worried about their own behaviour—to stop a situation from spiralling, as the hon. Gentleman describes so eloquently.