The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice — Hansard

Lords Oral Questions 20 November 2025 11 contributions

Child Grooming Victims: Compensation Awards

I thank the Minister for that very helpful reply and for our earlier meeting, but might I request a further meeting? These young ladies, who may not all have the strength of Madame Pelicot, will still be living in a highly corrupted community in terms of the activities that were perpetrated upon the…

My Lords, will the Government set up a unit to start assessing the numbers of the victims of the grooming gangs, and in particular their distribution and their personal situation, and then start learning from the problems of the previous schemes, such as the Post Office Horizon and infected blood sc…

+9 more contributions in this session

Lords Debate 19 November 2025 4 contributions

Crime and Policing Bill

My Lords, I acknowledge the intention of the noble Lords, Lord Davies of Gower, Lord Cameron of Lochiel, and the noble and learned Lord, Lord Keen of Elie, to oppose Clause 39 standing part of the Bill. I have listened with care to what has been said by the noble Lord, Lord Davies, but we firmly bel…

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Davies of Gower, and the noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Rolfe, for tabling Amendments 215 and 216 respectively. I have great respect for both the noble Lord and the noble Baroness. The noble Baroness’s background means that she knows more than most about…

+2 more contributions in this session

Lords Debate 17 November 2025 2 contributions

Crime and Policing Bill

I thank the noble Lords, Lord Davies of Gower and Lord Cameron of Lochiel, and the noble and learned Lord, Lord Keen of Elie, for tabling Amendments 51 and 52. These amendments are proposed and supported by three Members of your Lordships’ House who, between them, have considerable experience in wha…

The difficulty is that if somebody were to put something on a fence, for example, and they were not aware that this was associated with a gang, they would potentially be criminalised by it. Thirdly, the requirements of the proposed new offence mean that expert evidence would need to be adduced in o…

Lords Oral Questions 13 November 2025

Hillsborough Law

My Lords, it would be customary to begin by thanking the noble Lord, Lord Alton, for securing this debate, but I am sure he will agree with me when I say that I should open my reply on behalf of His Majesty’s Government by paying tribute to the victims of the Hillsborough disaster and their families…

Lords Oral Questions 10 November 2025 5 contributions

Financial Provision on Divorce

I hesitate to interrupt, but does the Minister not appreciate that marriage is a status but non-marriage is not a status, and that the time has come for the two to be looked at separately: divorce on the one hand and how you look after those in other relationships on the other? The Law Commission ha…

Perhaps I might point out to the Minister that the consultation on cohabitation was carried out very thoroughly by the Law Commission. It did it some years ago and, as far as children go, you cannot protect them if the splitting couple—which is very often the case with cohabitants—have no money, and…

+3 more contributions in this session

Lords Oral Questions 10 November 2025 8 contributions

Trials: Timeliness

I thank the Minister for that Answer, but defence companies, the MoD and businesses they work with were attacked by Palestine Action almost 400 times before it was proscribed. This is an industry of huge strategic importance; it keeps our country safe and is helping to defend Ukraine. These attacks …

My Lords, the Minister will remember from her time as a Crown Court judge that the time between a case first coming before a Crown Court and being listed for trial has got longer and longer. Now, perhaps in her old court, trials are being listed for 2028 and 2029. This is unacceptable for victims, f…

+6 more contributions in this session

Lords Statutory Instrument 28 October 2025

Private International Law (Implementation of Agreements) Act 2020 (Extension of Operative Period) Regulations 2025

That the draft Regulations laid before the House on 2 September be approved. Relevant document: 36th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee. Considered in Grand Committee on 21 October.

Lords Debate 24 October 2025

Secure 16 to 19 Academies Bill

My Lords, seldom have I heard such unanimity in this House in any debate at any time over many years. I warmly thank all those who have taken part in this important debate. It is important, because this is such a crucial subject for our country and our future. I particularly thank the Minister for h…

Lords Committee Stage 21 October 2025 3 contributions

Private International Law (Implementation of Agreements) Act 2020 (Extension of Operative Period) Regulations 2025

My Lords, the purpose of the instrument before your Lordships is to extend the powers to make regulations to implement private international law agreements for a further five years from 13 December 2025. This instrument may not have a very snappy title, but it is an important one because, if these p…

My Lords, I thank the Minister for her introduction of the regulations, which extend the powers conferred by the Private International Law (Implementation of Agreements) Act 2020 in order that Ministers may implement private international law provisions contained in international agreements in accor…

+1 more contribution in this session

Lords Debate 16 October 2025 2 contributions

Crime and Policing Bill

My Lords, I do not want to disappoint anybody, but I am not my noble friend Lord Hanson of Flint; it would not be a very convincing impersonation, not least because he is sitting next to me. Noble Lords will all have the pleasure of hearing from him later on. This Bill reflects not only our manifes…

My Lords, it is a pleasure to open this debate on behalf of His Majesty’s Official Opposition. It will come as no surprise to noble Lords on the Government Front Bench that we on these Benches broadly support the Bill, because large parts of it are a copy-and-paste job from the previous Conservative…

Lords Statutory Instrument 18 September 2025

Compensation for Miscarriages of Justice (Alteration of Overall Compensation Limits) Order 2025

That the draft Order laid before the House on 15 July be approved. Relevant document: 34th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee.

Lords Committee Stage 17 September 2025 3 contributions

Compensation for Miscarriages of Justice (Alteration of Overall Compensation Limits) Order 2025

My Lords, miscarriages of justice have a devastating impact on those who suffer them. It is no exaggeration to say that such people are in fact victims of the state, so it is right that the state should support those people in rebuilding their lives. Although miscarriages of justices are, thankfull…

My Lords, it is an enormous privilege to welcome the Minister to the Dispatch Box on her first appearance. I welcome the fact that such an experienced lawyer now holds this position. I turn now to the substance of the debate; the Minister has explained everything in such lucid detail that I can go …

+1 more contribution in this session

Lords Committee Stage 9 September 2025

Interpreting Services in the Courts (Public Services Committee Report)

I will not take many minutes to wind up—there is another debate to begin and we have heard a wide range of speeches from noble Lords with a whole range of experiences. I congratulate my noble friend on her inaugural speech as a Minister. She showed that her experience, and the fact that she still re…

Lords Debate 25 June 2025

Planning and Infrastructure Bill

My Lords, I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. I declare my interest as honorary president of National Energy Action, vice-president of the Association of Drainage Authorities, and as an officer of the water and flooding all-party parliamentary groups. I have to ask where the interests …

Lords Oral Questions 13 May 2025 2 contributions

Uncollected Financial Penalties

My Lords, it is essential that financial penalties are collected and enforced. His Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service uses robust methods to do so, including taking money from an offender’s benefits or salary and seizing and selling goods. Offenders can be sent to prison for non-payment to the…

I thank my noble friend for that supplementary question. Of the £4.4 billion that she referred to, £2.7 billion is from confiscation orders. Of the £2.7 billion, £1.2 billion is purely interest—interest is paid at 8% on the confiscation order amount. There are legislative changes in the Crime and Po…

Lords Oral Questions 1 May 2025 2 contributions

For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers: Interim Update

My Lords, the Government did not receive advance sight or notice of this interim update from the EHRC. The Government had requested a meeting with the chair to discuss its approach to developing an updated statutory code of practice, which will reflect the implications of the ruling and support serv…

The approach that my noble friend set out is precisely the one I outlined last week in responding to the statement. The Government have set out our expectation that service providers follow the clarity that the ruling provides. The EHRC’s interim update provides a perspective on how the judgment and…

Lords Oral Questions 1 May 2025

NHS: Single-sex Spaces for Staff

My Lords, until the blink of an eye ago, it would have been considered extraordinary to have a debate about whether staff changing rooms in the NHS should be mixed-sex spaces. Many have been unaware of the challenges, including legal challenges, currently taking place in our health system regarding …