Public Order

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley Excerpts

Tuesday 9th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

To answer the second question from the noble Viscount first, it always strikes me, when I look at the police system we have in this country and at some of the methods that police have across the world, that we are lucky to have the police forces that we do. They run into danger, rather than away from it. They keep us safe and police by consent. We are incredibly lucky as a nation to have them. By a rating system, public and private, I assume he means a system of diversity. We already have that in place across government and we talk about it regularly, particularly when we celebrate International Women’s Day, when we also talk about other types of equality. The Government cannot criticise if they are not doing their job themselves, and there is improvement in diversity across all areas of government.

[Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, what I find most disappointing about the Statement is that it focuses on the actions of the minority, whose violent behaviour we all denounce, and not on the reasons why thousands of peaceful protesters, supported by millions from their homes, were on the streets in the first place. Would the noble Baroness correct that missed opportunity today and set out what action the Government are taking to deal with the institutional racism that exists within our criminal justice system, as regards stop and search, arrests, charges and convictions?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, I agree with the noble Baroness. It is a shame that we are talking about the public order offences, which have completely overshadowed what people were trying to talk about in the first place, which was peaceful protest against the awful events that happened in America. The minority have made that impossible. The noble Baroness is right to talk about the wider point of stop and search. The Government will be working across the piece to address some of those injustices.

Windrush Compensation Scheme

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley Excerpts

Wednesday 6th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Lab)]

My Lords, given the time limit we have today, I want to make three specific points. First, the Windrush scandal has touched every part of Britain. In Lewisham Deptford where I live, my local Member of Parliament, Vicky Foxcroft, recently noted that she is now handling cases for 22 people who are part of the Windrush scandal. I pay tribute to her and her team and to the excellent but underfunded Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network, which works with local people on these issues. Sadly, in one of the cases, a constituent’s father died while awaiting a decision on his Windrush application. I want therefore to ask the Minister: where an applicant dies before a decision on their application is made, would a relative still be eligible to claim under the deceased person’s estate claim? It seems that parental status needs to be settled before an application can be considered.

Secondly, community confidence in the scheme is low. It is deeply disappointing that the scheme has paid out so little to so few. An independent system managed outside the Home Office has, sadly, been ruled out by the Government, yet some of the recommendations from Wendy Williams’s review are about changing the culture in the Home Office. For example, she states that staff should learn about,

“the history of inward and outward migration and the history of black Britons.”

Have the staff working on Windrush taskforce and scheme gone through this type of learning? If not, why not, and will they?

Finally, we need to learn from decisions already taken continually to improve the scheme. The latest figures show that fewer than one in 20 Windrush claimants have received compensation. Knowing the reasons given for negative outcomes would allow for an assessment of whether any part of the process, such as the need to gather a large amount of evidence, are barriers to successful claims. Will the Minister commit to a review of negative outcomes to inform our understanding of the scheme and how it works in practice?

[The Deputy Speaker]

The noble Lord, Lord Dholakia, is having IT problems, so we will now go to the noble Baroness, Lady Bull.

County Lines Drug Trafficking

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2020 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Kennedy of Cradley]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to deal with county lines drug trafficking.

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Williams of Trafford) (Con)]

My Lords, county lines has a devastating impact on our children and communities, and this Government are determined to crack down on these criminal gangs. We are providing £25 million of targeted investment this financial year and next to boost law enforcement efforts. This builds on previous activity, including establishing the National County Lines Coordination Centre, which launched in 2018 and has co-ordinated activity resulting in over 2,500 arrests and 3,000 people safeguarded.

[Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Lab)]

My Lords, I first thank the Lord Speaker for his wise words and wish him and all noble Lords well.

With regard to the Question, the largest rise in child victims of modern slavery and human trafficking reported by the NCA is due to county lines crimes. However, the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which was not passed with this type of crime in mind, is being used by prosecutors to try to tackle this growing problem. Given the disturbing rise in this life-changing crime, will the Home Office prioritise an investigation into the use of the Modern Slavery Act in relation to county lines cases to determine where swift improvements can be made?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I certainly take the noble Baroness’s comments on board. The Government constantly review legislation to ensure that it is working effectively, but I shall certainly look into the point that she makes. We of course want the legislation to work in the best and most effective way.

Pre-charge Police Bail: Time Limit

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley Excerpts

Wednesday 26th February 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Lab)]

My Lords, at the request of my noble friend Lord Kennedy of Southwark, and with his permission, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in his name on the Order Paper.

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Williams of Trafford) (Con)]

My Lords, on 5 February the Government launched a public consultation on proposals as part of our review of pre-charge bail. These proposals include extending the time limit on the initial pre-charge bail period from 28 days to either 60 or 90 days to more accurately reflect how long investigations take in complex cases.

[Baroness Kennedy of Cradley]

My Lords, whether a person is released on pre-charge bail or is under investigation, the aim is to gather more evidence, often using forensics. This week, the Forensic Science Regulator issued the Government with a stark warning. She stated that failures in forensic science were putting justice at risk, that the service was on a “knife-edge” and that there was a

“a woeful level of compliance”

in digital forensics. So no matter what the Government decide to do after the consultation, which the noble Baroness referred to, closes, it is clear that reform of bail alone is not enough. Does the noble Baroness agree with the regulator’s assessment and what will the Government do about the severe lack of investment in forensics, especially digital forensics, which are needed to deliver swift and fair justice?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I completely agree with the noble Baroness that this is not just about bail versus release under investigation; there is far more to concluding and charging people than just those two things. She referred to forensics and she will know, I hope, that we have put £28 million into increasing forensic capacity. She will also know, I hope, that we fully intend to put the Forensic Science Regulator on to a statutory footing.