Oral Answers to Questions

Alex Davies-Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 11th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Elsie Blundell (Heywood and Middleton North) (Lab)]

10. What steps his Department is taking through the criminal justice system to help to support victims of technology-assisted child sexual abuse.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Alex Davies-Jones)]

Supporting victims of child sexual exploitation and abuse is a priority for this Government. The Ministry of Justice funds police and crime commissioners across England and Wales as well as more than 60 specialist sexual violence organisations that provide local support services for all victims, including victims of technology-assisted child sexual abuse.

[Mrs Blundell]

I thank the Minister for her answer. We all know of the increasing and sinister use of technology in the appalling sexual abuse of children and young people. To address that, will the Minister consider extending the unduly lenient sentence scheme to include all TACSA offences and commit to a ban on the technologies that generate deepfake and sexually abusive images of children?

[Alex Davies-Jones]

My hon. Friend asks an important question. Parliament intended the unduly lenient sentence scheme to be an exceptional power, and any expansion of the scheme must be carefully considered. She will be aware that we had a recent debate on this issue on the Floor of the House in considering the Victims and Courts Bill. I have heard the strength of feeling in this House and among campaigners on this matter, and I am looking at it closely.

[Carla Lockhart (Upper Bann) (DUP)]

Yesterday, the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland reported that the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s cyber-crimes team lacked the capacity and capability to manage the threat posed by prolific online sex offender Alexander McCartney, whose abuse led to the tragic death of 12-year-old Cimarron Thomas in 2018 and targeted at least 70 other children. Will the Minister confirm what steps are being taken to ensure that cyber-crime teams across the whole of the UK are properly resourced to deal with online child sexual exploitation?

[Alex Davies-Jones]

The whole House will have been shocked by that horrific case, and all our thoughts are with all the victims. It is an important case that draws attention to the nature and proliferation of these crimes. I know that my hon. Friend the Minister for Safeguarding has spoken to the PSNI on this case. There are powers through the Online Safety Act 2023; however, I am aware that the hon. Lady represents a nation where there is a devolved Administration. This is imperative. These crimes have no borders, and all victims deserve protection. I am sure that this matter will be taken up by the Home Office.

[Dr Roz Savage (South Cotswolds) (LD)]

11. What steps he is taking through the criminal justice system to help to support victims of environmental crimes.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Alex Davies-Jones)]

A victim of an environmental crime can expect to receive the relevant services as set out in the victims code. Police and crime commissioners receive annual grant funding from the Ministry of Justice to commission support for victims of all crime types. I refer the hon. Lady, who I know is an avid campaigner in this area, to my ministerial colleagues in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who would be able to answer more fully on how we tackle environmental crimes specifically.

[Dr Savage]

Daniel’s Well in Malmesbury is a much-loved local swim spot, but last week the Environment Agency warned swimmers to stay away due to “strong currents”. However, Surfers Against Sewage have provided evidence that there have been a number of illegal sewage discharges and that a number of swimmers have fallen ill. Last year the Lib Dems tabled an amendment to the Victims and Prisoners Bill that would have allowed victims of environmental crime such as sewage spills to claim compensation. I wonder whether the Minister can explain why her party abstained from voting on that amendment.

[Alex Davies-Jones]

The hon. Member will know that the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 gives the water industry regulators new powers to take tougher and faster action to crack down on water companies that are not delivering for customers and the environment. She will also be aware that the victims code covers victims of crime, who are persons who have suffered harm as a direct result of being subjected to or witnessing a crime at the time that it occurred. In the vast majority of cases of the type she raises, criminal conduct in relation to sewage and waste water would be committed against the environment, not directly against the person. However, where someone has been affected as a result, they are able to access services, via the NHS for example, to seek support.

[Alex McIntyre (Gloucester) (Lab)]

Environmental crimes such as fly-tipping blight cities such as Gloucester, leaving victims across my city unable to enjoy the place they love. Will the Minister confirm what discussions she has had with colleagues in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government about how we can give local councils the powers and resources to enforce action on fly-tipping?

[Alex Davies-Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. Fly-tipping blights all our communities —mine in Pontypridd as well as his in Gloucester. Taking crime off our streets is a mission for this Government, and we are working across Government to deliver on it, including in Gloucester, ensuring that local authorities have the powers they need to go after the perpetrators of these crimes.

[Fred Thomas (Plymouth Moor View) (Lab)]

12. What steps his Department is taking to help improve rehabilitation outcomes for people with unspent convictions.

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[Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)]

13. What steps his Department is taking through the criminal justice system to help tackle violence against women and girls.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Alex Davies-Jones)]

The scale of violence against women and girls in our country is intolerable. The Ministry of Justice has already taken action by: launching a pilot of domestic abuse protection orders in selected areas; introducing new criminal offences that capture creating sexually explicit deepfakes, and spiking; announcing family court reform, such as expanding our Pathfinder programme in the family court; and commissioning the independent review of criminal courts in order to improve court timeliness and provide justice for victims.

[Anna Dixon]

As a member of the Public Accounts Committee I have been appalled at the failure of the previous Government to tackle the backlog in the courts, delaying justice for victims of domestic abuse and sexual abuse. I thank the Minister for her unwavering commitment to repairing the justice system that we inherited for victims and survivors. Will she outline the reforms specifically to the family court that the Government are introducing to protect victims of domestic abuse, including children, from further harm?

[Alex Davies-Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question and for her service on the Public Accounts Committee looking at this issue. The Government are committed to better supporting adult and child victims of domestic abuse in the family courts. The Pathfinder model already provides access to expert support for victims, and published data has shown that the backlogs are more than 50% lower and cases are resolved up to 30 weeks quicker. Importantly, the Government have announced that, when parliamentary time allows, we will repeal the presumption of parental involvement in order to protect children in our family courts.

[Sarah Pochin (Runcorn and Helsby) (Reform)]

Will the Minister confirm whether she is aware of anyone accused or convicted of a sexual offence having been granted asylum in the UK?

[Alex Davies-Jones]

I refer the hon. Member to the stats published on the Ministry of Justice website.

[Emily Darlington (Milton Keynes Central) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister and the Ministry of Justice ministerial team for repealing the £318 charge for the person at risk of violence order a couple of weeks ago—that will make a huge difference. However, I want to raise the strategy and the fact that online abuse is on the rise. Does she agree that any party that says it wants to repeal the Online Safety Act 2023 is not a party that cares about tackling violence against women and girls?

[Alex Davies-Jones]

Hear, hear. I thank my hon. Friend for the brilliant work she has been doing in championing this issue recently. The Online Safety Act ensures that online platforms are required to remove illegal content such as harassing or abusive material as soon as they are made aware of it. That is a fundamental feature in order to protect children in our country, and any party seeking to repeal that is not on the side of protecting children.

[Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)]

Across the west midlands, there is currently a backlog of 6,000 Crown court cases, many of which are sexual offence cases. In Shropshire, 759 cases are outstanding at Shrewsbury Crown court. Will the Minister commit to looking at the midlands circuit and seeing whether more rape and serious sexual offences resources can be given so that there can be suitably qualified and trained judges and advocates, and cases can be brought more quickly and swiftly to court? In Shropshire, some of those court cases are potentially two years out.

[Alex Davies-Jones]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for the question and the way in which he asked it. As he will know, the Government are doing all we can to bear down on the backlog in our Crown courts. That is why we have tasked Sir Brian Leveson with looking at how we can best get to grips with it. The right hon. Gentleman is right, however. I have sadly spoken to far too many rape and sexual violence victims who are waiting far too long for their day in court, which has an impact on them. We are straining every sinew, working with the judiciary and colleagues in the Crown Prosecution Service, to better support these victims and ensure that when they do get that day in court, they can access justice appropriately and have the best support available to them. I will happily work with him and anyone else in the House to ensure that any victim of crime has the support they need.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Dr Kieran Mullan (Bexhill and Battle) (Con)]

Last week, when told by my hon. Friend the Member for East Grinstead and Uckfield (Mims Davies) that the Sentencing Bill would cut prison time for rapists and child groomers, the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, the hon. Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips), said she that would have to “go away and check” whether that was true—the time to check was before she voted for the Bill. Surely the victims Minister knows and can tell the House what proportion of rapists and child groomers will have their prison time cut by Labour’s Sentencing Bill.

[Alex Davies-Jones]

Make no mistake: the Government had to make these choices because of the Conservative Government’s catastrophic mismanagement of our prison system. We are not abolishing short sentences, and judges will retain full discretion to keep offenders locked up. We have built safeguards into the systems to protect victims.

I remind the shadow Minister that the greatest threat to victims is the risk of not being able to lock up any dangerous offender in the first place. The measures that the Government are introducing will ensure that that will never happen again.

[Dr Mullan]

Yet again, we have a Government and a Victims Minister who cannot tell the House basic facts about the implications of their Bill. I will tell her: 60% of rapists and 90% child groomers sent to prison will have their prison time cut. That is appalling.

We also know that knives are all too often a feature of violence against women and girls. The House will have seen the tragic news that Katie Fox, the female victim of a brutal knife attack in Birmingham on Friday, has died. Over the last few weeks, the Labour Government have been talking tough on knife crime, but can the Minister tell the House what proportion of criminals sent to prison for carrying a knife will have to serve only a third of their sentence under Labour’s appalling Sentencing Bill?

[Alex Davies-Jones]

My thoughts and those of the whole House are, of course, with Katie’s family after the horrific crime that occurred in Birmingham. However, the hon. Member is clearly incapable of facing up to the reality that his Government left behind. It is this Government who are protecting victims and ensuring that violence against women and girls is a political priority, and that we are never again faced with the reality of having to let offenders out early without any safeguards in place. It is this Government who put those safeguards in place and it is this Government who are ensuring that we protect the public.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

15. What steps his Department is taking to provide adequate funding for the courts system.

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[Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester) (LD)]

Reports by charities and the Domestic Abuse Commissioner show that the family court system, which is plagued by delays, continues to provide the perfect environment for perpetrators of domestic abuse to continue to coerce and control. Training in identifying the signs of domestic abuse is not currently mandatory, so when will the Government bring forward legislation to reform the family court system, and when will they make domestic abuse training mandatory for all in the family courts?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Alex Davies-Jones)]

I thank the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for that question. She will be aware that this Government have announced that we will repeal the presumption of parental contact when parliamentary time allows—that is a priority. It is also a priority for this Government that we do all we can to protect victims of domestic abuse in the family courts. That is why we have introduced our domestic abuse protection orders pilots. However, she will know that the judiciary are independent. Training for them is a matter for the Judicial College, but we are working closely with the judiciary to ensure that they can spot the signs of coercive and controlling behaviour, so that we can do all we can to protect victims of these crimes.

[Mike Reader (Northampton South) (Lab)]

I am fortunate to get thorough updates from my police, fire and crime commissioner, Danielle Stone. In the latest update, she told me that she sees real improvements in the Probation Service, but Northampton still has a 40% staff vacancy rate. What is the Department doing to support recruitment and retention of the skilled staff that we need in the sector?

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

T2. A 2022 victim survey found that only 10% of victims believed that the criminal justice system was effective. What steps are the Government taking to support victims of violence against women and girls, and will they ensure that all police and prosecutors receive training in understanding the impact of trauma on survivors?

[Alex Davies-Jones]

The hon. Member will know that this Government have made it a priority to put victims at the heart of the criminal justice system, and we are looking specifically at crimes committed against women and girls. We are working across Government with the Home Office, the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Attorney General’s Office to ensure that all agencies of the state and all of society get to grips with these crimes to bear down on the issue, so that we can all live safe, wherever we are.

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)]

Court backlogs cause painful waits for survivors of rape and sexual assault. The system fell apart under the previous Government, meaning that only around 3% of rape reports result in a charge. What is the Minister doing to reduce the waiting times for cases of rape and sexual assault?

[Alex Davies-Jones]

Rape charges have doubled since 2019. We have asked Sir Brian Leveson to propose bold reforms to deliver swifter justice for all victims, and we are funding a record allocation of sitting days in the Crown court. This Government are spending £350 million on supporting victims of crime this year, and we are determined to do all we can for these victims.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

T4. Following on from that, still less than 3% of rape cases result in a charge. It takes 400 days for resolution—painful delays for the victims. We have talked about this for so long, so often. What are the barriers to change?

[Lorraine Beavers (Blackpool North and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

Sasha Marsden was 16 years old when she was murdered, raped and then set on fire by David Minto. Sasha’s sister, Katie—who is my constituent and who joins us today—is campaigning for victims’ families to have fairer access to sentencing appeals. Despite the need for closure in sentencing, perpetrators are given multiple appeal opportunities, while victims’ families have just one chance. What will the Government do to ensure that victims’ families do not have fewer rights than perpetrators in this process?

[Alex Davies-Jones]

This Government are determined to put victims at the heart of the criminal justice system. I commend my hon. Friend for representing Katie Brett and her family. I have had the extreme honour of meeting Katie both this morning and previously to discuss Sasha’s law and her campaigning on it. I am determined to work with her and all the other Justice for Victims families to ensure that we get this right. The Victims and Courts Bill is currently moving through Parliament, and I am determined that we do all we can to support victims.

[John Cooper (Dumfries and Galloway) (Con)]

T5. Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney is not often right, and he is wrong again with his slavish devotion to the European convention on human rights. If this place is to update the ECHR to make it fit for the 21st century, what steps can the Justice Secretary take to ensure that soft-touch Scotland does not become a back door for article 8 applications?

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

Thanks to incredible campaigners on the Labour Benches, the Victims and Courts Bill protects children by putting important restrictions on parental responsibility following certain serious sexual offences. One of my constituents is a fierce campaigner for services and safety measures for children whose parent has committed a sexual offence against a child outside the family home. Children in the home are victims even though they were not directly abused. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that all children of child sex offenders are offered better protection and support?

[Alex Davies-Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend’s constituent for their incredible campaigning on this issue. Children are victims in their own right—the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 put that in law—but there is a discrepancy in what sort of services and support children can get. The victims code currently sets out the minimum level of service that victims of crime should receive. We will consult on a new victims code shortly, and I am determined to ensure that we get that new code right for all victims, including the children of those heinous criminals.

[Bradley Thomas (Bromsgrove) (Con)]

T8. Why did the Government vote against releasing migrant crime data?

[Tonia Antoniazzi (Gower) (Lab)]

My constituent Richard Pyke was the victim of a violent attack at his workplace in March of this year. He was given his victim impact statement when he met the Crown Prosecution Service barrister five minutes before going into court on the day of sentencing. It had been amended: he was not allowed to say how he felt that the perpetrator tried to murder him, he was no longer allowed to say that he was manipulated into a vulnerable position, and he was not allowed to state how he felt about the perpetrator’s release. What assurances can the Minister give victims of serious crimes, such as attempted murder, that they will not be censored in such a way?

[Alex Davies-Jones]

It was a pleasure to meet my hon. Friend to discuss Richard’s case, and all my thoughts are with him as he seeks to recover from that horrible crime. It is important that victims’ voices are represented in the courtroom and in sentencing. As she will know, the victim impact statement is classed as a piece of evidence and must be carefully worded. However, I have heard the strength of feeling from her constituent and others on this matter, and we are working with victims to ensure that they get the support they need to set out articulately and clearly exactly how the crimes have affected them.

[Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)]

Two weeks ago, at the statement on prisoner release checks, the Secretary of State called my question “ridiculous”. Let me try a different tack: has he spoken to the affected family in Epping?

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[Dr Al Pinkerton (Surrey Heath) (LD)]

I have been contacted by a Surrey Heath resident who has not just endured and survived appalling domestic abuse but is now enduring and attempting to survive the family court process, with multiple hearings over child contact arrangements. Will the Minister commit today to implementing the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s recent recommendations to better protect children at risk?

[Alex Davies-Jones]

This Government are clear that child safety during court-ordered contact is vital. We are improving multi-agency working to support early identification of risk and enable referral to specialist domestic abuse support. We are carefully considering the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s report, and we will publish our response by the end of this year.

[Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

What does the Deputy Prime Minister have to say about the unprecedented letter in The Times today from nine recent former heads of the armed forces, stating that the Government’s Northern Ireland troubles and legacy legislation breaks the compact between service personnel who do their duty and the Government, who should stand up for them, not open them up to endless litigation and persecution?

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[Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)]

Sexual exploitation is being perpetrated on an industrial scale by pimping websites, which currently enjoy near-total legal impunity, moving sexual exploitation off the street and into locations like flats and hotels, where outreach is harder and the coercion of vulnerable women can thrive. Given that advertising prostitution in a phone box was made illegal 25 years ago, can the Government explain why they are yet to outlaw the same advertising online?

[Alex Davies-Jones]

We need to tackle violence against women and girls in all its forms everywhere. I regularly meet my counterparts at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and the Government will publish our violence against women and girls strategy shortly.

[Jack Rankin (Windsor) (Con)]

Old Windsor is a small village in my constituency with an approved premises that has morphed to include high-risk offenders. It causes problems. Does the Minister agree that, first, probation services have responsibility for residents’ behaviour when they are outside that facility and, secondly, the police should have more focus on Old Windsor than they might otherwise have, given the location of that facility?