Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Turner Excerpts

Tuesday 25th April 2017 Commons Chamber

[Dr Lee]

Each and every one of those cases is a human tragedy, and I have looked at a large number of them in detail. Indeed, last week I was at HMP Downview, a women’s prison at which a suicide took place. We are investing in better healthcare facilities at that prison, and I am also looking at access to secure accommodation across the country, because that might well be an issue.

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

22. What steps she is taking to tackle religious radicalisation in prisons.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Sam Gyimah)]

The Government introduced an amendment to prison rules last week meaning that prisoners can be placed in a separation centre if they are involved in planning terrorism or are considered to pose a risk to national security. Those who are spreading views that might encourage or influence others to commit terrorist crimes, or whose views are being used in a way that undermines good order and security in prisons, may also be placed in one of the centres.

[Mr Turner]

What is the Minister doing to ensure that prisoners with extremist beliefs do not oppress other prisoners for their faith?

[Mr Gyimah]

People in prison convert to religion for all sorts of reasons. As I have said, conversion does not mean radicalisation. It is important that prisons have a regime whereby people who convert are not exploited in any way. The separation centres are one way of removing dangerous people, but obviously education and the support of prison officers play a vital role.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Turner Excerpts

Tuesday 7th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Sir Oliver Heald]

As the hon. Gentleman may know, the Legal Aid Agency does investigate cases that are brought to its attention, and there have been recent examples where contracts have been removed. It is also important to make the point that, even where there is the possibility of legal aid and representation for foreign national offenders, it is limited to cases involving the refugee convention or articles 2 or 3.

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

20. What her plans are for unused land on the prison estate on the Isle of Wight.

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Elizabeth Truss)]

We are working on potentially transferring the former Camp Hill site to the Homes and Communities Agency. This is an opportunity to develop the site, build new homes and regenerate the local area.

[Mr Turner]

That is most impressive. Will the Secretary of State meet me and Councillor Richard Hollis to discuss the possibility of a car park near Albany prison?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend, as indeed would my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. As I have said, we are seeking to transfer the site to the Homes and Communities Agency. Yesterday, I had a meeting with officials to urge them to get on with it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Turner Excerpts

Tuesday 6th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

23. Given the recent attack on a prison officer in my constituency, what will the Secretary of State be doing to ensure the safety of prison officers at work?

[Elizabeth Truss]

Making our prisons safer places is my No. 1 priority. That is why we are dealing with drugs, drones and phones, and it is why we are investing in additional prison staff across the estate.

Foreign National Offenders

Andrew Turner Excerpts

Tuesday 29th November 2016 Westminster Hall

[Mr Hollobone]

I do think we should get the situation sorted out once and for all. I pray in aid the excellent report by the right hon. Gentleman’s previous Committee, which looked into the issue. I quote, I think, from that report:

“The public would expect our membership of the EU to make it easier to deport European offenders, but this is clearly not the case, and we continue to keep thousands of these criminals at great and unnecessary expense.”

There is in place an EU prisoner transfer directive, which means that countries can compulsorily return prisoners to their country of origin within the European Union. The last time we managed to wheedle a figure out of Her Majesty’s Government on how many EU nationals we had returned to their country of origin, I think the number was 101—pathetically low. Legislation, in the form of that directive, exists with which to do that, but we are simply not getting on with it. Perhaps the Minister in his response will confirm how many EU nationals are in our prisons, how many we have returned to their country of origin, and why we are not sending thousands more of these individuals back.

I have to tell the House that, beside EU nationals, there are representatives of 160 nations from around the world in Her Majesty’s prisons. Not only are we a cosmopolitan society at large, we are also a cosmopolitan city in Her Majesty’s jails.

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

Would my hon. Friend also like to elicit the numbers for Jamaica? I believe they are the highest in the world.

[Mr Hollobone]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that intervention. The figure I have for Jamaica is 567, and I, like him, would like the Minister to update us.

In a minute, I will come to a list of shame, of those countries that have the most foreign national offenders in our prisons.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Turner Excerpts

Tuesday 16th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vara]

I join my right hon. Friend in congratulating her council. We have a lot of measures to deal with trespassers. On increasing fines, we are always on the lookout for ways of improving the law and I will take that on board.

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

2. What proportion of immigration and asylum appeals were made on the grounds of alleged breaches of the Human Rights Act 1998 in the last five years.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara)]

In 2009-10, 10% of recorded appeals, lodged from inside the UK, raised human rights grounds; in 2010-11 the proportion was 28%; in the last three years the proportion has been 34%. Information is not available for appeals lodged from outside of the UK.

[Mr Turner]

Does my hon. Friend agree that incorporating the Human Rights Act into British legislation by the Labour party is rightly seen by the public as a disaster? It should be replaced with a Bill of Rights as soon as possible.

[Mr Vara]

My hon. Friend’s comments are timely given that next year we will commemorate the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta. The House will be aware that the Government agreed in the coalition agreement that no major changes would be made to the human rights framework in this Parliament, but as he rightly says, the Conservatives believe that we need major reform to the way in which human rights operate in this country. We believe that we need to curtail the ability of the European Court of Human Rights to tell our courts what to do. We have an excellent record in this area, of which we should be proud, but Conservatives believe that a new British Bill of Rights and responsibilities would remain faithful to those basic principles of human rights while restoring much-needed common sense to their application. This is a debate that we will have over the next few months and I look forward to debating it with the Opposition, when they are prepared to listen, as well as with the Lib Dems and the British public.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Turner Excerpts

Tuesday 11th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vara]

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. The Bill will send a powerful message to the public that if they are acting selflessly in an emergency to help somebody in danger and something goes wrong, the courts will always consider the context of their actions if they are sued in negligence or for breach of statutory duty.

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

21. What estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of providing legal representation for offenders accused of trivial offences whilst in custody in the last 12 months.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara)]

The Legal Aid Agency does not record whether offences were committed while the offender was in custody, as that is not relevant to assessing eligibility for legal aid. In the magistrates courts relatively minor criminal offences are generally unlikely to pass the interests of justice test.

[Mr Turner]

Will my hon. Friend reassure me and my constituents, many of whom work in the prisons, that changes made under this Government mean that inmates can no longer get legal aid for frivolous or vexatious causes, such as arguments over damaged property or the condition of their cells?

[Mr Vara]

I can certainly give my hon. Friend that assurance. Earlier in this Parliament we reformed civil legal aid so that only the most serious compensation cases are in scope—for example, where there has been abuse of a child or a vulnerable adult, a sexual assault or a significant breach of human rights. Civil legal aid applications, including for exceptional funding, are subject to a merits test, as well as a means test. From 2 December last year, treatment matters, including prison conditions, were removed from the scope of criminal legal aid for prison law.

Transforming Legal Aid

Andrew Turner Excerpts

Thursday 5th September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

What we have done is set aside a certain number of areas of special case eligibility. The point about prisoners may be a point of difference between the hon. Lady and me, but we have a prison complaints system and a prison ombudsman, and I do not believe we should also provide public funding for people to go to court because they want to be transferred to a different prison. I think that the overwhelming majority of the public would be with me, rather than with her, on that.

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

I listened with interest to the Lord Chancellor’s statement. How will his announcements affect access to legal aid for my constituents and on the Isle of Wight?

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Turner Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

My key concern is to ensure that we have universal coverage, even in tough times. I have consulted the legal profession, put forward ideas and listened, which I think is what they hoped a Government would do. I have made a modification, but nobody, and certainly not the Labour party, should be under any illusions: we have to meet financial targets and tough decisions lie ahead. The question is whether the Opposition support those changes, because I have heard no suggestion that they would reverse them.

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend and I have already spoken about this subject. I believe that there would be very great difficulties for people in need of legal aid on the Isle of Wight. The travelling times and the difficulty and cost of accessing legal advice on the mainland would be of a completely disproportionate magnitude to those experienced elsewhere in the country. Will he outline how he plans to address that problem?

[Chris Grayling]

One of the comments from colleagues in the House and elsewhere, which we must clearly factor in when developing the next stage of the proposals, is what we will do in areas that are rural or have particular geographical issues. That is something I am very mindful of—