Oral Answers to Questions

Jessica Morden Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Shabana Mahmood]

First, I share the hon. Member’s outrage over the crimes that were committed in his community, and the fact that two of those individuals have been able to leave the country, and therefore evade the full force of the law and serving their sentence here. He will know that the decision to remand an individual in custody or on bail is solely a matter for the independent judiciary, and courts are already required to consider the likelihood to abscond as part of that decision.

More broadly, courts have the power to impose a broad range of robust bail conditions, including the surrender of passports, electronically monitored exclusion zones and curfews. He knows that I cannot comment on the specifics, because that is a matter for the independent judge who sat on that case and made that decision, but those are the rules that apply, and I would be happy to discuss that further with him if he wishes.

[Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)]

17. What steps her Department is taking to reform the prison system.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Sir Nicholas Dakin)]

We inherited a system in crisis from the previous Government. With prisons over 99% full, we took immediate action to prevent the collapse of the prison system by changing the automatic release point for standard determinate sentences. We are building 14,000 new prison places, and we published our 10-year capacity strategy in December. However, we know that we cannot build our way out of this crisis, which is why we have also launched an independent sentencing review to ensure that we will never run out of places again.

[Jessica Morden]

As Ministers will know from previous questions about Parc Prison, parents in Newport East have very serious concerns about the welfare of family members there, with worrying reports continuing to emerge in recent months. Can the Minister give an update on any progress being made on prison safety, mental health support and drug interception since Parc has been receiving targeted support?

[Sir Nicholas Dakin]

Safety in prisons is a key priority, and we are working hard to make prisons as safe as possible. My hon. Friend is right to highlight the concerns at Parc. I have recently visited HMP Parc, as has the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Pontypridd (Alex Davies-Jones), and the Prisons Minister in the other place. On that visit, I saw how seriously the director is taking these issues and engaging closely with families on their very real concerns.