Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rishi Sunak and Darren Jones

Thursday 23rd October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Darren Jones]

I know that my hon. Friend has been a vocal campaigner for her constituents in relation to the injustice experienced through the Probation Service in and around her constituency. Public protection is, of course, a key priority for this Government, and serious further offences, although rare, are devastating for victims and their families. The Ministry of Justice and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service take learnings from serious further offence reviews, inspectorate of probation reports and internal audits to identify opportunities for improvement, and the Cabinet Office supports those Departments in these endeavours.

[Rishi Sunak (Richmond and Northallerton) (Con)]

In my constituency, organisations such as Just the Job, Yatton House, Northdale and Chopsticks provide valuable services for adults with complex disabilities and learning difficulties, so will the Minister join me in commending them? May I urge him to continue the work that I know his Department is doing on exploring where local voluntary and charitable organisations can play an effective and efficient role in delivering public services for local communities?

[Darren Jones]

May I join the right hon. Member in celebrating the success of the organisations in his constituency? He and the House will know that when the Government talk about delivery, we are really talking about those organisations that deliver real change for people’s lives, not about processes in Whitehall. It is organisations in the voluntary sector, as well as Whitehall Departments, local authorities and private sector businesses, that help us deliver that change across the country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rishi Sunak and Darren Jones

Tuesday 4th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Darren Jones]

Just to clarify, I did not say there was an impact assessment; I said that the impact of the changes is being considered by the Government, but we will set out the detail on that in due course.

[Rishi Sunak (Richmond and Northallerton) (Con)]

I commend the Government for their international leadership at this challenging time. Events overnight make it even clearer that Europe must find considerably more resources for Ukraine. The Chancellor has rightly continued our policy of using the interest on frozen Russian state assets to benefit Ukraine, but I believe that now is the moment to go further by actually seizing those assets. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine violates the principle of sovereign equality, providing a basis in international law for such a policy, and by acting in concert with our allies, we can ensure that there are no risks to financial stability. May I urge the Chancellor to push for co-ordinated action to seize those frozen Russian state assets and give that money to the Ukrainians so that they can defend and rebuild their country?