Damien Egan
Main Page: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)Department Debates - View all Damien Egan's debates with the Ministry of Justice
Prisoner Early Release Scheme
Damien Egan Excerpts(1 day, 13 hours ago)
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Jake Richards
We have debated the cohorts who are subject to the new regime at length in this place, both during the passing of the Sentencing Act and in relation to the changes that were made over the summer. When we returned to this place, the Justice Secretary rightly came to the Dispatch Box on 1 September to update the House.
Going to the heart of this issue, we release 4,500 prisoners every month in this country. We have done so for the past 30 years. Of course, there is an assessment of what measures should be in place and what notifications should be made to any victims, which is undertaken by brilliant probation staff every single day—brilliant staff who were gutted by the last Conservative Government. We are investing in our Probation Service to enable them to undertake the difficult work that they do week in, week out to keep our country safe.
Damien Egan (Bristol North East) (Lab)
Getting prisoner numbers back down to manageable levels depends in part on an effective and well-managed Probation Service, but as I have heard from probation staff in my Bristol constituency, the service is simply overwhelmed after years of cuts. What steps are being taken to support the Probation Service’s ability to manage the specific challenges posed by early release, as well as the strains facing the service more broadly?
Jake Richards
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Probation and our Probation Service do not get enough attention in this place or in public debate more generally. We have invested £750 million in the Probation Service. That is the biggest investment in the Probation Service for a generation. We can compare that with what happened under the last Government, where probation was gutted. We had the failed privatisation experiment by Chris Grayling, which was an absolute disaster. To my mind, it is one of the most acute disasters of the past 14 years. It is right that we invest in probation. We appreciate that there are more challenges to come, and we are working at pace with the Probation Service. Indeed, the Prisons Minister was speaking with our probation colleagues this morning.