argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Youth Justice System — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Phillip James Lee (Conservative, Centre-right): The youth offending team budgets are the same in cash terms this year as they were last year. The issue of ghastly knife crime to which the hon. Gentleman refers is clearly serious and, sadly, it is occupying the news headlines almost on a daily basis. Our approach to this is not just about youth offending teams; there is also a broader issue with regard to serious violence. We need to address the motivation of young people to use those knives. Going back to the previous question, dealing with this will require a cross-Government approach.
Youth Justice System — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Phillip James Lee (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not have the exact figure, but I am pretty sure that it is a large proportion and I wish that it was smaller. We recognise that the performance of the youth system in improving reoffending is not good enough, which is why we are introducing new ways of holding young people, through secure schools. I am under no illusion about how difficult this is, but it is better that we intervene early in a young offender’s "career" than letting them go on to have a lifetime of offending.
Personal Independence Payment Appeals — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Labor
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): I am aware of the important issue that the hon. Gentleman highlights. I recently met the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work to discuss how our Departments can work together, and I was pleased to see that the Department for Work and Pensions is taking several measures to ensure that it gets decisions right the first time.
Personal Independence Payment Appeals — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): The DWP is taking a number of measures to ensure that it gets decisions right the first time. It has recruited an extra 150 presenting officers and is taking feedback from the tribunals to ensure that the reconsideration process is as effective and as right as possible.
Personal Independence Payment Appeals — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. and learned Lady makes an important point. Nobody wants people to go to court unnecessarily and nobody wants the most vulnerable to be put under unnecessary pressure. Many parts of the system are doing their best. We are looking at digitisation to improve the process and to make the system easier to use, and we are also trying to get clearance times down. The judiciary is also working closely with the DWP to try to ensure that people get decisions right the first time and quickly.
Personal Independence Payment Appeals — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): I discussed getting decisions right the first time with Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, and we talked about the importance of getting feedback from the tribunal that can be fed into the DWP’s decision makers to ensure that they get decisions right the first time. I also liaise with Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service to ensure that all aspects of the process are managed effectively.
Prisons: Mobile Phones — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): To prevent mobile telephones from getting used in prisons, we need to do four things: we need to prevent them getting into prisons, which is about searching at the gate; we need to detect them in cells; we need to intercept transmissions; and we need to jam those telephones. We are doing all those things.
Prisons: Mobile Phones — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert Alexander Courts (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Minister for that answer, but criminals are often ingenious in getting items, such as mobile phones, or drugs, such as former legal highs, into prisons. Will he assure me that prison officers have access to the latest investigative technology to ensure that we can stamp out this trade?
Prisons: Mobile Phones — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute both to my hon. Friend and to my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (Maria Caulfield), who is taking through a private Member’s Bill to make it easier to jam and intercept mobile phone transmissions. Technology is changing all the time, and there are some challenges, particularly in heavily built-up areas, but we are absolutely committed to having the appropriate technology in different prisons to jam and intercept those phones.
Prisons: Mobile Phones — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): I pay tribute to the right hon. Gentleman, whom I spoke to about this issue over the weekend. The director of operations, Phil Copple, is on his way to Exeter as we speak. I have also spoken to the prison’s governor on the phone, and we are bringing him up to have another conversation with the chief inspector of prisons. It is vital that we address all the issues within the urgent notification, and the central issue is preventing violent assaults on prisoners and prison officers.
Court Closures — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): We are looking at a number of ways to reform and improve our justice system through technology, through our court estate and through people. We are spending £1 billion to upgrade our justice system. In 2016-17, 41% of courts and tribunals were used at less than half of their available hearing capacity. In circumstances where money raised from the sale of any court building will be reinvested into our justice system, it is appropriate to ask whether spending on physical buildings is the best use of money.
Court Closures — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): I am aware that the hon. Gentleman’s court was closed in December 2016, and I have read his detailed response to the consultation from October 2015. I understand that, when courts are closed in a particular area, the people in that area feel particularly affected, but I assure him that, as we bring in video technology, we are assessing the use of that technology and trying to improve it at every stage.
Court Closures — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend has raised her potential court closure with me on a number of occasions. I have also read her response to the recent consultation, in which she raises a number of points, including the one she has just identified. We will look at using other buildings in the community.
Court Closures — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady highlights the ambition of the programme, which the NAO report identifies. It is a very ambitious programme, and it is right to be ambitious about our justice system. The NAO report acknowledges the early progress that has been made and makes recommendations about how we can strengthen the process. We will be taking all those recommendations on board.
No Body, No Parole Law — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): I pay tribute to my hon. Friend and to the hon. Member for St Helens North (Conor McGinn) for the incredible energy that has gone into this campaign. There is something peculiarly disgusting about the sadism involved when an individual murders somebody and then refuses to reveal the location of the victim’s body. There have been delays in framing the right kind of legal response, but I am absolutely confident that we can overcome that. Officials are now bringing forward advice that I hope will achieve, through a different method, exactly what hon. and right hon. Members have been campaigning for.
No Body, No Parole Law — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Stephen James Metcalfe (Conservative, Centre-right): The introduction of a no body, no parole law, known as Helen’s law, is very important to my constituent Linda Jones, as the location of her daughter Danielle’s body has never been disclosed by her killer. Can my hon. Friend therefore tell the House what impact assessment has been commissioned or carried out to support this introduction?
No Body, No Parole Law — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): The Department has now proposed two options, which the Secretary of State and I will discuss over the coming days in order to get a solution. We are clear that refusing to reveal the location of a body is an absolutely disgusting practice, and we ought to be able to use legal methods to impose consequences on individuals who refuse to do so.
No Body, No Parole Law — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): Perhaps I could sit down with the hon. Gentleman to discuss that in more detail. It is a very important subject, but I think the issue of miscarriages of justice is slightly different and perhaps we could take that offline.
Prison Officer Safety — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): The safety of prison officers is of paramount importance. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant), who introduced a private Member’s Bill to double the sentence for assaults on prison officers and other emergency workers. There is much more we can do in this area—we are testing pepper spray and looking at body-worn cameras—but fundamentally this is about having the right staffing numbers and a proper, predictable regime in a prison to calm the prison down and prevent these completely unacceptable attacks.
Prison Officer Safety — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Michael Jon Wood (Conservative, Centre-right): Despite the number of assaults on prison officers, very few offenders are prosecuted. Will the Minister ensure that anyone who attacks an on-duty prison officer faces the full weight of the law and can expect the punishments that those crimes would attract elsewhere?
Prison Officer Safety — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): Absolutely, and this was debated in this House when we discussed that private Member’s Bill. At the moment, people are getting a sentence of 22 weeks for spitting at a police officer, but it is rare for such prosecutions to be brought for assaulting a prison officer. We therefore wish to work closely with our colleagues in the police to make sure that prosecutions are brought and that prison officers are properly protected. I have been talking to my right hon. Friend the Minister for Policing and the Fire Service to ensure that we can get more police officers into prisons.
Prison Officer Safety — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
David Anthony Evennett (Conservative, Centre-right): When I recently visited Pentonville prison, I was naturally concerned about reports of a number of attacks on its prison officers. The safety of our prison officers is of paramount importance, so what further steps is my hon. Friend taking to ensure that they have all the support they need to keep themselves safe?
Prison Officer Safety — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend for visiting Pentonville prison. I was lucky enough to be there two weeks ago, and I pay tribute to its excellent governor for the very good work he is doing. It is one of the most testing, busy London local prisons, and it faces a huge number of issues, but protecting prison officers is fundamentally about having a predictable, stable regime, enough prison officers on the landing, the right kind of training and relationships to calm things down, and, ultimately, protection.
Prison Officer Safety — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Gentleman is a very experienced predecessor in my job. Clearly there is a strong correlation with these new psychoactive substances; it is difficult otherwise to account for the huge rise in violence. The substances seem to drive both self-harming behaviour and extreme violent behaviour. I will give a written answer on exactly when we will fulfil the body-worn camera programme.
Prison Officer Safety — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): This is a very good challenge. Numbers are clearly one of the issues, but there are others, such as psychoactive substances, which have been mentioned. That is why we have recruited an extra 2,500 prison officers. We believe that that gives us the right numbers, because it allows us to have one prison officer for six prisoners to run our keyworker scheme. We see already in key prisons that that is beginning to have a real impact on violence.
Court Modernisation — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): We are making significant progress on modernising our courts system and upgrading our justice system. We are spending £1 billion on our reform programme. For example, we have recently established the online court for civil claims. Claims of up to £10,000 can now be made via an online claim form, which is an effective and easy-to-use process.
Court Modernisation — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Philip Martin Dunne (Conservative, Centre-right): The Minister is aware that capacity concerns were expressed about the removal of all remand cases in West Mercia from magistrates courts in Shropshire, Telford, Herefordshire and Worcestershire to Kidderminster. Although that might have created some efficiencies for the courts, it has also created considerable inefficiencies for the other vital elements of the criminal justice system. If somebody on remand misses the 7.30 am van from Telford, they might now have to wait an extra 24 hours in custody, whether they are innocent or guilty. Can that be right?
Court Modernisation — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): I know that my hon. Friend is concerned about this issue. I was pleased to meet him and neighbouring MPs before Easter. He has campaigned diligently on this issue on his constituents’ behalf and I look forward to meeting him later this week to discuss it. I should also let him know that officials from Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service have arranged a review meeting on 13 June with the principal agencies affected by the change. I know that my hon. Friend has submitted evidence for that meeting.
Offenders: Education and Employment — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Labor
David Michael Gauke (Conservative, Centre-right): On 24 May, we launched the education and employment strategy to create a system in which each prisoner is set on a path to employment from the outset. This is vital because reoffending costs society around £15 billion each year. Effective rehabilitation needs prisoners to be willing to commit to change, take advice, learn new skills and take opportunities to work, and if they participate in learning and get a job, they are less likely to reoffend.
Offenders: Education and Employment — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
David Michael Gauke (Conservative, Centre-right): Our approach is to encourage employers to take on ex-offenders. Some employers do marvellous work and not only make a real contribution to society, but find that they get very good employees. There are also employers who, frankly, are not engaging at all. There has been a change in public mood on this issue and we want to encourage much more engagement. We all have a role to play.
Offenders: Education and Employment — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Education
Alan Mak (Conservative, Centre-right): Digital and technology skills are now vital in every workplace. They help those released from prison to secure better jobs, thereby reducing reoffending. What support is my right hon. Friend’s Department giving for such important skills training?
Offenders: Education and Employment — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Education
David Michael Gauke (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend raises an important point. Information and communications technology forms part of the prison common core curriculum. It will be increasingly important, which is why it is right that we provide training in digital and technology skills. It is worth pointing out that from April 2019, governors will be given increased flexibility to commission the right education mix for their prisons. We expect that digital and technology will feature highly in governors’ plans.
Offenders: Education and Employment — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
David Michael Gauke (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the hon. Lady for raising that point. She is absolutely right about the repeat-offending nature of domestic abuse. She will be aware of the Government’s consultation on domestic abuse, which concluded at the end of last month. We are looking at ways in which we can bring down reoffending, and getting the right courses and training in prisons, including on domestic abuse, is very important.
Offenders: Education and Employment — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
David Michael Gauke (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman raises an important point. On the prisons for which we are responsible, I have set out the education and employment strategy, and the focus is on ensuring that governors have greater control over how they provide education within their prisons. His point about the link between education and employment is absolutely right. Of course, employment is linked very strongly to reoffending rates.
Offenders: Education and Employment — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
David Michael Gauke (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman raises an important point, because there is evidence showing links between brain injuries and offending. If I may, I will take away his suggestion about testing across the board to see whether that is the right use of resources—that is something that we would have to look at—but he makes an important point about understanding the link between brain injuries and offending.
Offenders: Education and Employment — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Pauline Elizabeth Latham (Conservative, Centre-right): When there are employers who wish not only to help people when they come out of prison but to train them while they are in prison, will my right hon. Friend ensure that no prison puts barriers in place because of risk assessments so that we ensure that they can actually help prisoners?
Offenders: Education and Employment — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
David Michael Gauke (Conservative, Centre-right): We do want to encourage employers to get into prisons to work with prisoners before they are released. It is important that there is not a huge cliff edge from being in prison to then being released. We need to look at the best ways in which we can do that.
Offenders: Education and Employment — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Labor
David Michael Gauke (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the Opposition’s support for our focus on education and employment, but may I say to the House that Dame Sally Coates noted in her 2016 review of prison education that the National Careers Service was delivering a service in an increasingly crowded environment, with multiple employment advice and support services operating in custody and through the gate? That was why the decision was made to reform this area. It is right that we do so, but I am determined to ensure that we provide the right support to prisoners so that they can get a job when they are released.
Prisons: Rehabilitation Technology — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
David Michael Gauke (Conservative, Centre-right): As a pilot, we have introduced basic computers and telephones into prison cells in HMPs Berwyn and Wayland so that prisoners can manage some of their day-to-day tasks such as ordering meals, making healthcare appointments and booking social visits. This technology also gives prisoners access to learning opportunities and basic educational content, and enables them to telephone their families in a private environment. Prisoners are not given access to the internet.
Prisons: Rehabilitation Technology — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
David Michael Gauke (Conservative, Centre-right): I can provide my hon. Friend with that assurance. The digital technology currently available in prisons provides strictly controlled access to learning and training facilities. It is also used to provide opportunities for prisoners to access services within the prison environment to enable them to manage their time and activities while inside. There is no access to the internet, and strict security control prohibits access to the wider digital world.
Victims Law — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Phillip James Lee (Conservative, Centre-right): The dreadful incidents in Rotherham, which sadly have been replicated across the country, have proved a challenge both to local government and to the national Government. The ongoing independent inquiry into child sexual abuse—IICSA—is throwing up a significant level of incidents. The Government are clearly engaged with the process of trying to assess what is needed to help these victims of child sex abuse, both as children and as adults. I am under no illusions that this concerns not only the Ministry of Justice but the Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. All Government Departments are going to have to wrestle with this issue in the coming years because there has been significant child sex abuse over recent decades.
Victims Law — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Phillip James Lee (Conservative, Centre-right): I have just said that the strategy is going to include legislative measures to underpin the victims code. I am interested in legislation that is going to work, not legislation for legislation’s sake. Be in no doubt of my determination to improve the offering to victims both at the time of their abuse and in subsequent decades.
Victims Law — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Rachel Helen Maclean (Conservative, Centre-right): Two of my constituents have experienced tragic cases. They have been bereaved after the loss of a close relative, and their distress has been added to by the length of time that they have had to wait for the body to be released for a second post-mortem decision. The Minister has been very sympathetic, but will he commit to reviewing the law and raising this issue again with coroners on behalf of my constituents?
Victims Law — House of Commons, 2018-06-05
Topic: Law and Crime
Phillip James Lee (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend and I met to discuss these cases recently. The challenge is that coroners hold an independent judicial position, which is important and invaluable. It is their responsibility to determine the cause of death. I clearly cannot talk about individual cases. The responsibility ultimately rests with the chief coroner. I do understand the deep distress that can be caused by any unnecessary delay, and I have passed this on to the chief coroner.