Lords
Proceedings
2 July 2026
2 contributions
Employment Tribunals
My Lords, it is the unqualified duty of His Majesty’s loyal Opposition to hold the present Government to account—not the previous Government.
With the backlog in the employment tribunal now exceeding 50,000 cases, the Law Society has warned that lengthy delays leave employees and businesses in prolonged uncertainty. What target have the Government set for reducing the outstanding case load, and by what date do they expect waiting times to…
Lords
Proceedings
2 July 2026
Imprisonment for Public Protection
My Lords, the Independent Sentencing Review chaired by David Gauke recognised the unique challenges posed by the remaining IPP population and recommended further reforms to support progression towards release. What progress have the Government made in implementing those recommendations, and will the…
Lords
Proceedings
1 July 2026
Prisoner Early Release
My Lords, victims of rape and child sexual exploitation have now received letters informing them that their attackers and abusers are soon to be released from custody, much earlier than would have been expected. Yet during the recent passage of the Sentencing Act, which paved the way for such reduct…
Lords
Proceedings
21 May 2026
Youth Offending
My Lords, the team leader for children and young people at His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons said recently that what is needed is not further diagnosis but action, in the form of immediate investment in a functional youth custody estate. Why are the Government ignoring his advice and instead ind…
Lords
Proceedings
20 May 2026
Youth Justice
My Lords, we on these Benches welcome any measures that genuinely and effectively prevent young people falling into a life of crime. Every young person diverted away from violence and offending is welcome. The continued reduction in the number of children held in custody is welcome. The fall from ar…
Lords
Debate
15 April 2026
6 contributions
Victims and Courts Bill
My Lords, I am grateful to noble Lords for their contributions and for the thoughtful way in which they have engaged with this issue. I recognise the commitment and valuable contributions that all have made during the passage of the Bill. To those who spoke powerfully about the need for victims bett…
My Lords, I turn first to the issue of private prosecutions, which is the contentious area in this group. I say at the outset that we on these Benches agree with Motion D1, and the Amendments 4B and 4C in lieu, proposed by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Keen.
I start with a brief general point th…
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
10 March 2026
10 contributions
Victims and Courts Bill
My Lords, Amendment 5 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, reflects a commitment to ensuring victims are entitled to free transcripts on the route to verdict and bail decisions and conditions that are relevant to their case. In Committee, we supported the broader amendment, which include…
My Lords, within this group are amendments from the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, regarding the victims’ code, and from the noble Lord, Lord Russell, with regard to incidental matters thereto.
Perhaps I may begin with the amendments in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Russell. These address the imp…
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
3 March 2026
Assisted Dying Legislation: Isle of Man and Jersey
My Lords, I understand why the noble and learned Lord asks that question, but it would be entirely premature of the Government to work out what the situation is going to be, since we do not know whether or if that Private Member’s Bill will pass through your Lordships’ House.
Lords
Proceedings
11 February 2026
2 contributions
Court Reporting Data
My Lords, the Courtsdesk court reporting data has been a great success in providing access to data from our courts. It has been reported that about 1,500 journalists have used the platform. It has proved particularly important in collating information about grooming gangs and in properly investigati…
My Lords—
Lords
Proceedings
10 February 2026
Separation Centres Review
My Lords, I welcome the opportunity to respond to the Government’s Statement on separation centres and the independent review by Jonathan Hall KC. While the review itself contains important material, we must be frank about several critical issues that have been raised both in and out of Parliament.
…
Lords
Statutory Instrument
10 February 2026
6 contributions
Scotland Act 1998 (Modification of Schedule 5) Order 2026
Can the noble and learned Lord explain what he means by that? I think he is saying that there is no impact assessment of the effect of the regulation of devices and substances being in Scotland rather than England. That is all that paragraph 9 deals with.
No, I am saying that there is no impact assessment in respect of the effect of this legislation in Scotland on the regulation of the medical profession, which is also an expressly reserved matter under paragraph G2 of Schedule 5 to the Scotland Act 1998. Because that will be impacted by virtue of th…
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
9 February 2026
3 contributions
Victims and Courts Bill
My Lords, Amendment 39 in my name would require the Secretary of State to issue revised guidance on victim personal statements, clarifying what victims may include and ensuring that the courts appropriately disregard prejudicial material.
Victim personal statements are a valuable and important part…
My Lords, clearly, we have to achieve a balance between preserving due process in the justice system and empowering victims. We have to be able to reassure victims but, at the same time, protect the judicial process. We must reduce the risk of misunderstanding, or indeed even of appeal, in the conte…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Debate
9 February 2026
7 contributions
Victims and Courts Bill
My Lords, this group of amendments in my name relates to Clauses 1 and 2. I start by observing that we on these Benches are broadly supportive of most of the provisions in the Bill. Many of the amendments tabled in my name, save one or two exceptions, have the aim of strengthening the Bill’s existin…
My Lords, I thank noble Lords for their thoughtful contributions to the debate, and indeed the observations with regard to the timing of any extension of these powers.
I would observe, with respect to the submissions made by the noble Lord, Lord Marks, that if these provisions help victims in the C…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
21 January 2026
Sentencing Bill
My Lords, my noble friend Lord Marks will no doubt repeat some of the niceties, but I too am glad to see this step forward. I shall ask the Minister some questions on the government amendment.
First, there is the phrase
“sentencing remarks … relevant to”
the victim will be supplied. From what the…
Lords
Oral Questions
21 January 2026
Age of Criminal Responsibility
I say to the noble and learned Lord that the Government keep all these matters under review.
Lords
Debate
6 January 2026
3 contributions
Sentencing Bill
My Lords, these amendments address the most complex and sensitive of legacies in our sentencing framework. Few issues illustrate more clearly the challenge of balancing public protection, fairness to victims, management of risk and the injustice to individuals who have already served far beyond thei…
My Lords, we welcome the inclusion of the additional condition proposed by the noble Lord, Lord Russell of Liverpool, in Amendments 83 and 86, to ensure that, for a transitional period, an offender who has breached a licence condition or court order in relation to their victim is not automatically r…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Debate
6 January 2026
15 contributions
Sentencing Bill
My Lords, my Amendments 1 and 27 concern the interaction between the presumption of suspended sentences in Clause 1 and the application of credit for a guilty plea at the first opportunity.
In Committee, I raised what I consider to be a straightforward but important point of drafting and of princip…
I am obliged to the Minister for his observations. However, I have a number of points.
First, the apparent use of statistics comparing repeat offending by those who suffer a suspended sentence with those who are given a prison sentence is, potentially, very misleading. In general, repeat offenders …
+13 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
16 December 2025
3 contributions
Victims and Courts Bill
So does my noble and learned friend; that is a free drink that he is not going to get.
Unusually for a modern criminal justice Bill, which was ably introduced by the Minister, this is, relatively speaking, a remarkably short one. It has only 18 clauses. It is rather spoiled, however, as there are 5…
My Lords, I thank your Lordships for the helpful and constructive approach taken to the Bill—and I really mean it when I say that. Many of those who have spoken this evening have enormous expertise in this area and the contributions are very welcome. Many of the points made have given us food for th…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Proceedings
10 December 2025
Restriction of Jury Trials
My Lords, the Secretary of State for Justice recently stated, in the context of rape prosecution delays, that 60% of victims pull out of their cases because
“the trauma of waiting is too hard”—
a claim that was repeated in government briefings. The overwhelming response from experienced criminal l…
Lords
Debate
26 November 2025
9 contributions
Sentencing Bill
My Lords, we on these Benches fully support the principle that victims’ rights, safety and experiences must be considered. Included already in the statutory purposes of sentencing is the protection of the public. In practice, courts make an effort to take victims’ interests into account. The explici…
My Lords, I speak briefly to Amendment 46 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee. As I read it, the amendment seeks to treat domestic abuse as an aggravating factor when determining all sentencing. Of course domestic abuse is a serious pervasive crime and it clearly has profound long-term im…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
26 November 2025
7 contributions
Sentencing Bill
My Lords, I will speak to the set of amendments in my name. I am sure that, throughout the course of this Committee, many noble Lords will debate and question precisely which offenders they think should be excluded from the numerous provisions for suspended sentences included in the Bill. The Govern…
My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have contributed to this part of the Committee debate, and I thank the Minister for explaining the position of the Government with regard to these proposed amendments.
On early guilty pleas, it appears to me, respectfully, that if the Government are going to ma…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
25 November 2025
Separation Centres: Terrorist Offenders
My Lords, we are told that the independent review into separation centres’ operation, following the attack at His Majesty’s Prison Frankland, has been completed but remains unpublished. Given that the continued non-disclosure of its findings undermines transparency and accountability, will the Minis…
Lords
Oral Questions
20 November 2025
Child Grooming Victims: Compensation Awards
The Government were extremely saddened by the resignation of those victims, and they are always welcome to rejoin and re-engage with the process—we very much hope that they will. The process of appointing the chair is well under way. As I have already said, the noble Baroness, Lady Casey, is assisti…