Oral Answers to Questions

Catherine Atkinson Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd November 2026 Commons Chamber

[John Healey]

The Prime Minister has said that he is open to discussions about an apology for Britain’s role in the slave trade. He has also said that reparations are not the right approach. Considering a formal apology does not mean accepting that British people today should be held liable for the past, which they played no part in. The hon. Gentleman asks this question to distract from the Budget, but the questions that people are asking are these. Why does he not back the Budget action we have taken to give Britain a bit of breathing space? Why does he not back the action we are taking to fund that help this winter?

[Catherine Atkinson (Derby North) (Lab)]

T3. Before the Budget, I wrote to the Chancellor to flag that many of the challenges facing the Ministry of Justice were rooted in long-term financial pressures. Austerity saw justice spending cut by a third, and although the Government have increased funding, the Institute for Fiscal Studies says that an additional £3.6 billion would be needed if we were to return to pre-austerity spending per person. Will the Treasury work with the Justice Secretary to ensure that our justice system is properly funded and that future crises are prevented?

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Emma Reynolds)]

Can I take this opportunity to congratulate my hon. Friend on her election as Chair of the Justice Committee? As she rightly says, we inherited a prison system at breaking point after 14 years of Tory mismanagement. At the spending review, we significantly increased the funding for the Ministry of Justice, with an additional £550 million for probation, £450 million for courts and £7 billion for prison places. We have already delivered 3,000 new places through the largest prison building programme since the Victorian era. I will continue to work with the Justice Secretary on the issues mentioned by my hon. Friend.