My Lords, the impact of IPP sentences on family members is absolutely devastating, especially with miscarriages of justice, which IPPs indeed are on an industrial scale. On Wednesday 15 July, many of these families will be at Westminster again to protest against this never-ending injustice, marching…
My Lords, I know from personal experience that urgent letters, particularly those associated with hospital appointments, are not getting through in time. Have the Government made any assessment of the devastating effect that this is having on healthcare in our country?
In begging leave to ask the Question standing in my name, I declare an interest as the former general secretary of Unite the Union.
My Lords, the Government recognise the deep frustration of residents with the ongoing waste dispute. The people of Birmingham must be at the heart of resolving this issue. While the Government are not a party in this dispute, the Secretary of State has met both parties and urged them to bring about …
Of course, it is always instructive to compare different systems and work out the detail of this. Tuition fees—I am deliberately looking at the Benches opposite—have always been controversial. Having stood for Parliament in a seat with a predominantly student population and not been successful, I ha…
My Lords, I do not often say it, but I know absolutely nothing about that, so I will take it back to my department and somebody will write to the noble Lord.
My Lords, in this Second Reading debate, I will open by speaking about women who cannot speak for themselves and highlight what I think are two significant omissions. First, may I associate myself with the comments on IPP sentences made by the noble Lord, Lord Woodley, whom I have the pleasure to fo…
My noble friend is aware that we are very reliant on fantastic teachers and educators in our prisons. For me, they are some of the finest public servants. They come in, day in, day out, in often very difficult circumstances. The government procurement situation is something that I am still trying to…
My noble friend makes a very strong point. He will be aware that in the recently published immigration White Paper, the Home Office outlined the steps it is taking to reduce net migration while supporting the labour market across all sectors. On the part of the DWP, my department will play a key par…
My noble friend has done fantastic work championing the cause of IPP prisoners. It is clear that people should be released when the Parole Board determines that they are safe to be released. We are using all the levers at our disposal to make sure we do everything we can so that IPP prisoners get re…
With noble Lords’ indulgence, I wish to open this debate by saying that IPP—imprisonment for public protection—is as big a scandal as the Post Office and the infected blood scandal, as bad as they are. Almost 100 prisoners have taken their own lives, and hundreds more are being driven to insanity by…
I thank the Minister for his response. I was very pleased to forewarn him of my speech, to give him more than a fair opportunity to review and reflect on such a very serious matter, especially bearing in mind the hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals watching, listening and hoping that somethin…
My Lords, the decision by Petroineos to cease refining at Grangemouth was deeply disappointing. Before July 2024, there was no plan for Grangemouth. Within weeks, we worked with the Scottish Government to deliver a £100 million package to support the local community. This includes a training guarant…
I thank the noble Lord for his question. We welcome Unite’s continued engagement in the long-term clean energy future of the site, and long may that involvement continue. The Prime Minister is committed to creating many more green jobs. The Government share Unite’s ambition to secure a viable, long-…
My Lords, as the Minister knows, more than 1,500 current IPP prisoners have been found safe for release by the Parole Board, only to be recalled indefinitely. This is not justice. The humane policy is to see these people resentenced and given fixed-term sentences as soon as the Parole Board says tha…
I know that noble Lords will join me in paying tribute to the amazing work of police, prison and probation officers, and to the importance of our recognised trade unions in representing them. The Government inherited a justice system in crisis, which placed a huge burden on our staff. I am committed…
It is clear that we inherited a mess from the previous Government, with a prison system on the verge of collapse and decimated neighbourhood policing numbers. This Government took decisive action to alleviate the immediate capacity pressures and are committed to making sure that this situation never…