Lords
Proceedings
6 July 2026
10 contributions
Imprisonment for Public Protection Prisoners
The IPP sentence is a stain on our justice system. I believe the best way to support IPP prisoners towards a safe and sustainable release is via the IPP action plan, well-run and well-resourced prisons, and a Probation Service that is thriving. The good news is that, according to the inspectorate, 7…
From March 2025 to March 2026, there was an 11% reduction in the number of never-released IPP prisoners, but I want to get more men and women out for the first time and post recall. We need to do more, and we are doing more. We are rolling out IPP advocates to 12 prisons where there is a large conce…
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
1 July 2026
7 contributions
Prisoner Early Release
First, I would like to express my sincere sympathy with the victims of all these appalling crimes. Convictions for child sex offences are at a record high, and we as a Government have made grooming an aggravated factor so that perpetrators face longer sentences. Without the Sentencing Act, the court…
The noble Lord is right to raise the point about prison building, because we have to keep building these prisons. There is a role for them but there is also a role for technology. I have been keen on pushing technology in all parts of the justice system. I am pleased that we have £82 million going i…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
24 February 2026
8 contributions
Prisons: Education
My Lords, I am sure we can all agree that education will play a crucial part in trying to reduce the incredibly worrying reoffending rates. The Minister has been very kind in giving me detailed responses to Written Questions. I am sure Members will be concerned and worried, in relation to our educat…
My Lords—
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
12 February 2026
Better Prisons: Less Crime (Justice and Home Affairs Committee Report)
My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have spoken, not least those who have given us five excellent and thought-provoking maiden speeches. I am sure that all will make valuable contributions to the work of your Lordships’ House. I was somewhat concerned on their behalf by the opening remarks of the …
Lords
Proceedings
10 February 2026
2 contributions
Separation Centres Review
My Lords, I welcome the opportunity to discuss with your Lordships this evening Jonathan Hall KC’s independent review of separation centres and the Government’s response to it. I am grateful to the noble and learned Lord, Lord Keen, and the noble Lord, Lord Addington, for their contributions.
On 12…
I would be delighted to write to the noble Lord about the de-escalation training. He is right that human relationships are important in these closed environments. In fact, in all prison and probation environments, human relationships are what matters in turning what can be very difficult situations …
Lords
Oral Questions
2 February 2026
9 contributions
Prisoners for Palestine: Hunger Strikes
My Lords, with many Prisoners for Palestine protesters held on prolonged remand without bail for non-violent offences, having undertaken life-threatening hunger strikes, what immediate measures are there to protect the lives and health of future hunger-striking political prisoners? Over 100 years ag…
My Lords, further to the Question from the noble Lord, Lord Hain, in the absence of clear statutory guidance on how to balance prisoners’ autonomy with the duty of care, what steps have the Government taken to ensure that prison governors and healthcare professionals have a legally sound ethical fra…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
21 January 2026
3 contributions
Sentencing Bill
My Lords, it is a pleasure to see the Sentencing Bill return to your Lordships’ House for, I hope, the final time. Subject to your Lordships’ agreement, the Bill will have completed all its stages and will shortly become law. That moment will be hugely significant for our prison and probation servic…
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his remarks and the explanation he gave for the government amendment in lieu of our own amendment. I also thank him for his sustained engagement with Peers across the House, both in and outside the Chamber.
The Government have now committed to publishing sentencin…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Committee Stage
14 January 2026
3 contributions
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2025
My Lords, as many noble Lords will be aware, I am passionate about the rehabilitation of offenders. I have seen at first hand how transformative employment can be for those seeking to rebuild their lives after offending.
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, which I will refer to as the ROA, go…
My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for his clear exposition of this matter. From these Benches, we are supportive of the order before us. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act has, for more than 50 years, played an important role in supporting rehabilitation and enabling people who have offended …
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Debate
12 January 2026
3 contributions
Sentencing Bill
Before I begin, I can update the House that the Scottish Government have granted an LCM. This covers the provisions in the Sentencing Bill on the treatment of national security offenders, which affect the executive competence of Scottish Ministers. I am very grateful to the Scottish Parliament for w…
My Lords, I start by thanking the noble Lord, Lord Timpson, for his kind and generous introduction. This is an important Bill and we on these Benches have supported its principal purposes throughout—those being to address the extreme prison capacity crisis, to move away from reliance on more and lon…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Debate
6 January 2026
3 contributions
Sentencing Bill
My Lords, I thank all noble Lords for their amendments on IPP sentences and for their impassioned speeches this evening. As the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, kindly said, I share their commitment to addressing this issue with compassion, evidence and tenacity. I thank the many noble Lords who have part…
My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Lords for tabling these amendments. Although we are still convinced that the approach in the Bill is right, it is only right that it receives thorough scrutiny. In drafting these measures, we have sought to strike a balance between ensuring that offenders ca…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Debate
6 January 2026
9 contributions
Sentencing Bill
I start by setting out my appreciation for the support that the Government have received for Clause 1. Throughout the Bill’s passage, noble Lords have highlighted evidence showing that those given a community order or a suspended sentence reoffend less than similar offenders given a short prison sen…
While the Government understand the concern that underpins this amendment, we do not believe it is necessary. It was not included by the last Conservative Government when they originally introduced this measure. Let me be clear: we are not abolishing short sentences. Public protection is our main pr…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
26 November 2025
3 contributions
Sentencing Bill
I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, and the noble Lord, Lord Marks, for drawing attention to this important topic. They, along with their colleagues in the other place, have campaigned tirelessly on this issue.
I want to reassure the noble Baroness that we believe that this will impro…
My Lords, I am extremely grateful to the noble and learned Lord, Lord Keen, for raising this matter. I pay tribute to Helen Grant MP and her constituent, Paula Hudgell. They have campaigned tirelessly and movingly on this important issue. Earlier this week, the Deputy Prime Minister had the great ho…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Debate
26 November 2025
10 contributions
Sentencing Bill
My Lords, it is a great honour to have the opportunity to speak for the Government in Committee on the Sentencing Bill. As noble Lords know, I have devoted much of my life and career to criminal justice reform, in particular the question of how to reduce reoffending. Therefore, I am particularly ple…
I thank the noble and learned Lord, Lord Keen, and the noble Lords, Lord Sandhurst and Lord Jackson, for the further amendments they have tabled to Clause 1, which has allowed for another engaging debate on the presumption to suspend short sentences. I begin by reiterating that we are following the …
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
25 November 2025
7 contributions
Separation Centres: Terrorist Offenders
The Government are carefully considering the findings of Jonathan Hall KC’s independent review into the operation of separation centres, which was commissioned following the dreadful attack at HMP Frankland in April. We will publish Mr Hall’s report and our response in due course—I would add imminen…
Separation centres protect the public from the most serious offenders. A small number of prisoners are held in these centres. The regime is purposeful activity, limited association and rehabilitation; the noble Lord will know that rehabilitation is really important to me. Having met the staff who wo…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
13 November 2025
12 contributions
Prisoner Releases in Error
My Lords, I thank the noble and learned Lord, Lord Keen, and the noble Lord, Lord Marks, for the points they have made on this important issue. On Tuesday at 3.30 pm, the Deputy Prime Minister set out in the other place that we were aware of three releases in error from prison. We were also investig…
My noble friend is right that we have an opportunity to simplify and make more accurate decisions in the justice system. We have to grasp this, and we have to grasp it quickly. AI is one of the most important factors that we need to embrace. My noble friend is right that we need to ensure that we do…
+10 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
12 November 2025
4 contributions
Sentencing Bill
My Lords, it is my pleasure to bring this Bill for its Second Reading. I start by thanking the former Lord Chancellor, David Gauke, and his team for his independent sentencing review; this has informed many measures in the Bill. I thank another former Lord Chancellor, too, the now Home Secretary, fo…
My Lords, I say at the outset how sorry I was to learn of the death of the noble Baroness, Lady Newlove. She will be much missed around the House. She was a powerful champion for victims.
I am grateful to the Minister for introducing the Bill, but I must say that it does not live up to the expectat…
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
10 November 2025
14 contributions
Accidental Prison Releases
My Lords, for the absence of doubt, I am asking the Question in relation to Mr Brahim Kaddour-Cherif. Can the Minister please identify a timeline of, first, when officials were first notified of the accidental release of this gentleman, and, secondly, when the Secretary of State was first notified o…
My Lords, will my noble friend the Minister explain what, if any, impact the previous Government’s austerity measures and policies over a decade or more have had on the Prison Service today?
+12 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
5 November 2025
11 contributions
Prison Services: Insourcing
I thank my noble friend for that Answer. As a former trade union leader, I have seen time and again what privatisation does. The public end up paying a higher price for poorer-quality service while private profits soar. Prisons are no exception, with outsourced maintenance and education examples of …
My Lords, the noble Lord’s Government were elected on a promise of 50% of all food being sourced locally to prisons, hospitals, schools and other such local bodies. How close are they to meeting that target?
+9 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
3 November 2025
9 contributions
Adult Prison Estate: Support for Young People
I thank the Minister for his reply. I am encouraged by his support for rehabilitation and for reducing reoffending by young offenders. The state helps to look after looked-after children until they are 25, recognising that the effects of every young adult’s immaturity are amplified by adversity, fam…
My Lords, I understand that the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme plays a significant role in the transition the Minister has spoken about. Can he tell us a bit more about the role that that very well-respected awards scheme plays?
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
29 October 2025
5 contributions
Prisoner Release Checks
I thank the noble Lords, Lord Wolfson and Lord Marks, for their contributions on these incredibly important issues. I will of course respond to as many of the points raised as possible.
I begin by thanking the Metropolitan, Essex and British Transport Police for their swift response in apprehending…
Decisions such as on the noble Baroness’s last point are far above my pay grade, but I shall just mention two points. First, on release in error, any release in error is far too many and there is clearly a problem here that needs to be addressed. My style is very much, “Let’s deal with it and let’s …
+3 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
21 October 2025
8 contributions
Education in Prisons
I thank the Minister for his reply. I chair the Justice and Home Affairs Select Committee, and our recent report on prisoners made clear that we want to see a much wider range of education opportunities in our prisons, for more people, to help reduce reoffending and to make the public safer. As the …
My Lords, the Minister mentioned reading, but he knows that nearly 70% of people entering prison are assessed as having numeracy levels below that of a primary school child. This both hinders rehabilitation and increases recidivism. Is the Minister aware of Shannon Trust’s model of support? It uses …
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
14 October 2025
8 contributions
Prisoners: Reoffending
My Lords, I am grateful for that very positive Answer. I do not think anyone in the House underestimates the personal and professional concern the Minister has with reducing reoffending, which is why he is probably as concerned as the noble Lord, Lord Hain, and I that four out of every 10 prisoners …
My Lords, does the Minister agree that the biggest problem facing the rehabilitation work in which he has been so involved for decades now is that many of the prisons in which the training and other support is offered are overcrowded, dangerous, Victorian slums? As our incarceration rate is now the …
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Statutory Instrument
15 September 2025
Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Removal of Prisoners for Deportation) Order 2025
That the draft Order and Regulations laid before the House on 25 and 26 June be approved. Relevant document: 31st Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (special attention drawn to the instrument). Considered in Grand Committee on 8 September.
Lords
Oral Questions
15 September 2025
9 contributions
IPP Sentences
My Lords, the new Justice Secretary, David Lammy, wrote to a constituent in 2021:
“As IPP prisoners spend longer and longer in prison without any prospect of release, their mental health continues to decline, and they start to display behavioural traits which makes their release even less likely”.
…
My Lords, will the Minister inform the House of how many of these prisoners are now refusing to engage with the processes required to satisfy the Parole Board’s current tests for release because they have lost confidence in the system? If they have, is it not time to think again?
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Committee Stage
8 September 2025
3 contributions
Sentencing Act 2020 (Amendment of Schedule 21) Regulations 2025
My Lords, in December last year, my noble friend Lord Ponsonby made a Written Statement to the House announcing the Government’s plan to implement two outstanding recommendations made in the independent domestic homicide sentencing review, which was undertaken by Clare Wade KC.
In opposition, we we…
My Lords, it is perhaps ironic that the first statutory instrument we considered was designed to relieve the pressure on the prison population, but these measures are calculated to increase the prison population. They will add to the list of aggravating features that a judge will have to take into a…
+1 more contribution in this session