Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2022-05-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: The Justice Committee recently visited HMP High Down and HMP Downview, where we saw excellent examples of businesses working with offenders to provide training and experience that will help them get a job when they are released, but there is a problem for prisoners trying to find out about job vacancies when they are still inside, because for very obvious reasons they cannot have access to the internet. Will my right hon. Friend look into ways of overcoming that obstacle so that offenders have the best opportunity to apply for jobs before they are released?; The much-heralded diamorphine assisted treatment programme in my constituency has been running for two and a half years and produced some remarkable results, including a massive reduction in crime and the call on other health services. Sadly, the funding has now been withdrawn. If this programme unravels, all that work will be undone, so will a Minister meet me at the facility to discuss how we might secure its future?; Does my right hon. Friend agree that these eco-hooligans who are causing untold damage up and down the country should be made to pay every single penny it costs for the repairs and made to arrange the work, as well as doing their community payback?; My brave constituent Claire Ball used all her strength and courage to report that she was sexually abused as a child. She endured a painful court process, where her good character was continually called into question. While her abuser was allowed multiple character witnesses to state that he was a good person, Claire was not. What is the Secretary of State going to do to make sure that victims are afforded the same rights as perpetrators?; The Government should be proud of their pioneering efforts to protect victims, and I very much look forward to seeing the draft victims Bill. Have they considered how their actions contrast with those taken by the SNP Government in Edinburgh? Victim Support Scotland says that Scotland lags behind the rest of the UK on victims’ rights.; In all nations of the UK, rape victims are being let down by criminal justice systems that make prosecuting rape extremely rare, lengthy and difficult. At present, charge rates for rape vary widely from 1.3% in Surrey, home to the Secretary of State’s constituency, to 8.2% in Durham. Some 63% of cases are closed because the victim gives up on the process and withdraws from it. Despite progress on disposals, what additional steps is he taking to address that horrific reality?; Carshalton and Wallington residents are rightly proud of Ray and Vi Donovan for their work to promote the rights of victims to go through restorative justice, which they went through after the murder of their son Chris. Can my right hon. Friend assure me, in my position as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on restorative justice, that access to restorative justice practices and services will be enshrined in the victims Bill and that funding will be outlined to go along with that?; I had the great privilege of meeting A Band of Brothers, which is a voluntary organisation based around the UK, including in Cornwall. It works with and alongside men in the community who are in trouble with the law or at risk of getting in trouble with the law. Over 12 weeks, it helps those young men to get their lives back in order. The problem is that it works completely voluntarily. It has done great work to support the criminal justice system and safety in our communities. What more can be done to help it to grow and flourish and to upskill the great work it does?
Victoria Atkins (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for raising this, and I know the concerns his community have. As he rightly says, I visited Thorn Cross to see for myself and to ask the governor what can be done to improve the abscond rate. This is an open prison, so it is right that the assessments of risk for each prisoner entering Thorn Cross must be as full as possible to understand whether they have ties that may cause them to abscond from an open prison. What I have done is commission a further look into the assessments that are conducted nationally to ensure that the team at Thorn Cross are able to manage the people who are staying there as well as possible for the local community.