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.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jessica Morden Excerpts

Tuesday 10th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)]

T5. Like other hon. Members from south Wales, I regularly hear from constituents with relatives in Parc Prison of their concerns about safety, the state of the facilities and the difficulty of getting medication and mental health support. I know the Victims Minister—the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Pontypridd (Alex Davies-Jones)—and the Prisons Minister visited on Thursday, and I thank them for being proactive, because this has been going on a long time. Can the Minister report back on what the management are doing to improve things?

[Sir Nicholas Dakin]

I can assure the House and my hon. Friend that HMP Parc is receiving targeted support. She points to the recent visit by my hon. and noble Friends to the prison, and the Minister for Prisons in the other place is providing full evidence about this and other matters to the Welsh Affairs Committee tomorrow.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jessica Morden Excerpts

Tuesday 10th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Heidi Alexander]

I hesitate to answer the right hon. Gentleman’s question, given that my boss is a former barrister—I say that we cannot have too many.

Only last week I discussed the adequacy of numbers of legal professionals in the Crown court with the chair of the Criminal Bar Association, Mary Prior, and I will be working with the profession to ensure not only that we are recruiting sufficient barristers to work in the courts, but that we are retaining barristers at the criminal Bar.

[Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)]

Our team in Newport East are trying hard to raise the issue of how long cases are taking for constituents—we inherited those delays from the Conservatives—but even the CPS is taking months to answer basic queries about where the delays are in cases. Will the Minister urge the CPS to respond faster?

[Heidi Alexander]

I will take that away and do that.

--- Later in debate ---

[Shabana Mahmood]

I have committed to the review, because that is the appropriate way, and I will not make early promises that might not be kept. I have committed to both transparency and a review. We will publish all the data on a quarterly basis and I will return to the House with the results of the review and the approach that we will take at that point.

[Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)]

T5. The Minister will understand that, often for very personal reasons, victims of sexual assault, such as my constituent, do not always feel comfortable reporting their attack to the police. She then found it extremely difficult to access specialist support services at what was clearly a very distressing time. What can we do to improve the accessibility of support services for those victims of sexual assault who do not report it to the police? Will she meet me to discuss this case further?

[Alex Davies-Jones]

The victims code sets out the services and support that victims of crime are entitled to receive from the criminal justice system in England and Wales. That includes the right to access support, which applies regardless of whether they decide to report the crime to the police. I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend to discuss this further.