Online Harms White Paper

Debate between Jeremy Wright and Roberta Blackman-Woods

Monday 8th April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Wright]

Harking back to a former life, in my experience there is always a risk of court involvement, but we should seek to be as clear as possible about the responsibilities of online companies. Whatever we choose to call them—platform, publisher or something else—it is their responsibilities and what they are engaged in doing that matter. That is what we are seeking to achieve, and once we have defined that with clarity, the necessary powers will need to be available to a regulator to deal with when that does not happen.

[Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods (City of Durham) (Lab)]

This is an important White Paper; greater online regulation is long overdue. As the Secretary of State said, over 8,000 sexual offences against children with an online element were reported in 2017, and the tragic massacre in New Zealand showed just how quickly illegal, terrorist and extreme content can spread, so is publication by the Home Office of interim codes of practice for terrorist content and online abuse later this year soon enough or strong enough?

[Jeremy Wright]

We think it is important to get those codes of practice right; therefore, it would not be feasible to produce them overnight. However, the hon. Lady makes a fair point, which is that we should not be waiting for these measures to be taken to see an improvement in the behaviour of online platforms. Online companies will be able to see the nature of the regulation that will come—they will also hear from this Chamber the support that exists for this kind of approach—so they will need to start to change their behaviour now. That is because when a regulator starts its work, it will want to know not just whether the online company has behaved itself for a week but for how long it has had in place the practices and procedures that we and the regulator will expect to show that it is doing its best to keep its users safe from harm.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Wright and Roberta Blackman-Woods

Tuesday 1st July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Wright]

The answer to that is yes. As my hon. Friend knows, the excellent work in Peterborough has formed a large part of our thinking in rolling out our transforming rehabilitation reforms across the country. What is being done there is a very good example of what can be achieved if rehabilitation is followed through out of the gate and into the community.

[Roberta Blackman-Woods (City of Durham) (Lab)]

The Minister will know I have grave concerns, which are shared by the chief inspector of prisons, about the negative impact of overcrowding in Durham and in other prisons in my constituency. What specific steps is the Minister taking to alleviate this problem?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Wright and Roberta Blackman-Woods

Tuesday 18th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Roberta Blackman-Woods (City of Durham) (Lab)]

4. What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the probation service.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Jeremy Wright)]

As Minister with responsibility for probation, I have had the opportunity to see the hard work and dedication of many probation officers and I do not think the probation service always gets the credit it deserves for helping to keep the public safe. Probation officers will continue to have a key role. However, reoffending rates are still too high and we need to explore new ways of delivering rehabilitation and reducing reoffending.

[Roberta Blackman-Woods]

I am sure that the Minister is aware of the most recent report from the inspectorate of probation, published today, which shows that vulnerable and troubled young people are not being adequately supported by the care or probation system. How will the Minister respond to the serious resource issues raised in that report?

[Jeremy Wright]

The hon. Lady is right to draw attention to that report, which deals with the interests of children who have been in care. We will study it in detail and respond accordingly, but the report makes the point that this is not simply about money—it is also about attitudes. A great deal of work needs to be done to ensure that we meet our very important responsibility to those children who have been in care, who have particular requirements. We will consider the report and respond accordingly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Wright and Roberta Blackman-Woods

Tuesday 13th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Wright]

The right hon. Gentleman will know that we are looking at ways in which we can deliver a better probation service, more rehabilitation for offenders across the board and better outcomes, because this is the key. It is not just about the processes we go through; it is about the outcomes we achieve. We are seeking to reward those who provide rehabilitative services in a way that also reduces reoffending. Doing that will help the offender and the wider community. It is also, incidentally, a good deal for the taxpayer.

[Roberta Blackman-Woods (City of Durham) (Lab)]

4. What progress he has made in developing an evidence-based policy to reduce reoffending.