"I am grateful to all right hon. and hon. Members who have contributed to the debate. As Minister for Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls, I pay tribute to the victims and survivors of the grooming gangs scandal who have so bravely spoken about their ordeal, some of …..." Catherine Atkinson - View Speech
"It adds to the seriousness of the offence—it is considered an aggravating feature when it comes to sentencing. Obviously, sentences are determined by judges, as is absolutely right, to ensure that we maintain the rule of law. However, grooming is an aggravating aspect, as opposed to binding the final sentence …..." Catherine Atkinson - View Speech
"There is no specific offence on grooming gangs. This Government have been absolutely clear that we will ensure there will always be prison cells for people when they are convicted and sentenced to custody. The Conservative Governments committed to delivering 20,000 additional prison places by the mid-2020s...." Catherine Atkinson - View Speech
"I have listened very carefully to this debate. I will always listen to victims, but I want to ensure that I can look them in the eyes and know that when offenders are convicted and sentenced to custody, there are prison cells for them. That is where we were left …..." Catherine Atkinson - View Speech
"I trained to be a barrister and spent my first years in practice at a time when victims waited months for their court trials, rather than years. At that time, the previous Labour Government were delivering the prison places we needed, but I then watched from inside the profession as …..." Catherine Atkinson - View Speech
"I am going to make some progress. I did work experience with the police as a teenager, back when this country had a Labour Government who were recruiting thousands of additional police officers...." Catherine Atkinson - View Speech
"I am going to make some progress. Conservative Members have talked many times in this debate about how we got here, but they have not been honest about how we got here...." Catherine Atkinson - View Speech
"I will ensure that the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Rother Valley (Jake Richards), writes to the hon. Lady...." Catherine Atkinson - View Speech
"No one in the Government takes decisions about release from custody lightly. These decisions affect public confidence, victims, communities, and those responsible for managing offenders in the community. That is why, at every stage, our overriding priority has been clear: protecting the public, while ensuring that the criminal justice system …..." Catherine Atkinson - View Speech
"I want to finish the point, because it is essential that we know where we started, which was with the cutting of 20,000 police officers from our streets. It took a decade to claw back what austerity destroyed in a few years. Conservative-led Governments closed 295 courts and tribunals, including …..." Catherine Atkinson - View Speech