Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Tami Excerpts

Tuesday 28th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Blunt]

What is in the Act is that date, as I understand it, and the forward-looking scheme will operate from there. If it is not on the face of the Act, it was the clear statement of the Government at the time, and the policy of the then Opposition was to support it, so I can confirm that it would be our intention for any forward-looking scheme to deal with victims from that time.

[Mark Tami (Alyn and Deeside) (Lab)]

14. Which organisations his Department has consulted on future procedures for remanding defendants in custody.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Crispin Blunt)]

More than 1,200 individuals and organisations contributed to the consultation on the Green Paper, “Breaking the Cycle: Effective Punishment, Rehabilitation and Sentencing of Offenders”. Numerous criminal justice organisations commented on the remand proposals in the Green Paper, both in relation to restricting the availability of remand in custody and to new arrangements for defendants under 18. The latter were also discussed in a series of consultation events that the Youth Justice Board undertook following publication.

[Mark Tami]

What does the Minister say to the senior judges who rightly point out that it is wrong to link decisions on remand with the eventual sentence received?

[Mr Blunt]

What the hon. Gentleman has to understand is that in magistrates courts 10,098 people were remanded into custody, a very substantial number of whom did not receive a custodial sentence, so we have to deal with that reality.