Alex Davies-Jones MP: speeches

Speeches

• 17 Mar 2026 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  I will tell you what makes me angry, Mr Speaker: it is the fact that the last Government presided over an increase in the number of crimes of violence against women and girls of 37% in just five years. That was not a Government who tackled violence against women and girls. That was not a Government who took it seriously. As for communication and notification, it is this Government who are introducing the victim contact scheme in our Victims and Courts Bill to ensure that victims are notified, which the last Government refused to do. It is this Government who are writing to victims to ensure that they are given information. I will take no lectures about how the last Government tackled these crimes; it is this Government who are getting on with the job.

• 17 Mar 2026 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  I will take no lectures from the hon. Member about transparency when it comes to early release schemes. It was this Government who had to pick up the mess left by the last Government when we came to office, because our prisons were full. Instead of dealing with the issue, they ran away and called a general election. It was this Government who introduced risk assessments to prevent violent perpetrators of crimes against women and girls from being released early in our early release scheme, whereas the Conservatives’ early release scheme included no such protections. I will take no lectures from the hon. Member about how we protect women and girls.

• 17 Mar 2026 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend, and my hon. Friend the Member for Dagenham and Rainham (Margaret Mullane), for all their work in shining a light on this horrific issue. I was proud to meet the chief executive of Travelodge yesterday to discuss it in detail, and the Government are looking into what more we can do. We are convening a roundtable with the relevant Ministers in the Departments for Business and Trade and for Culture, Media and Sport to discuss the tourism aspect, and what better regulation and support we can provide to keep people safe wherever they are—in hotels, in the street or online. We will ensure that women and girls are kept safe.

• 17 Mar 2026 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  I welcome the scrutiny from my hon. Friend the Chair of the Select Committee. We have been resolutely clear that the violence against women and girls strategy covers everyone, including children, those under the age of 16 and men and boys. We will be ensuring that the data captures a broad spectrum so that we are able to account for things. I recently met stakeholders who are concerned about the rise in domestic crimes committed against children and pre-teens, including in relationships they are getting into, and how we can best support them. I am working with colleagues across Government on that to ensure that we capture these things correctly, so that young people are not excluded from the data.

• 17 Mar 2026 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  The funding of £6 million over two years will enable us to introduce independent legal advisers for all adult rape victims, and that is alongside the support package we are introducing in our courts system. We are expanding on Operation Soteria to ensure that rape victims get the support they need. The investment in support services is only one part of a much bigger package to ensure that victims are put back at the heart of the justice system.

• 17 Mar 2026 · Justice System: Victim Confidence · Hansard source

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  We are putting victims first with a record £550 million investment in victim support services over the next three years. Our measures in the Courts and Tribunals Bill aim to deliver faster, fairer justice to improve victim confidence across the whole system. We are also consulting, as I have previously said, on a new victims code, so that victims know exactly what they can expect from the justice system.

• 17 Mar 2026 · Justice System: Victim Confidence · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. I hope that I can also respond to the comments made by the Father of the House in the previous question; I, too, want to pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington North (Charlotte Nichols) for her brave testimony in the debate last week. It is exactly those experiences that this Government are improving by introducing Operation Soteria in our courtrooms, expanding the use of specialist measures, introducing independent legal advisers and consulting on a new victims code. When we came into office we said that we would reform the criminal justice system to put victims back at the heart of it, and that is exactly what this Government are doing.

• 17 Mar 2026 · Justice System: Victim Confidence · Hansard source

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  May I take the opportunity to wish the hon. Member a happy St Patrick’s day today? I recently had the pleasure of visiting the island of Ireland and met the Irish Justice Minister, but we have regular conversations with our Northern Ireland counterparts as well to discuss how we can improve the system for victims as a whole. Violence against women and girls has no borders and does not discriminate in the targeting of victims. That is why we need to do all we can to keep victims safe, wherever they are.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Victims of Domestic Abuse: Criminal Justice System · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady is totally right to raise that point. We talk a lot about multi-agency working, but it is difficult to put into practice. As she will be aware, just before Christmas we published the “Freedom from Violence and Abuse” strategy on how we can tackle violence against women and girls, with multi-agency working on a national level and practices and applications at the heart of that strategy. I will meet our victims’ sector advisory board later this afternoon, and I will make sure to raise this point with them as well, so that we bring them in. They are the people on the ground delivering this work, so we should learn from them directly.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Victims of Domestic Abuse: Criminal Justice System · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising this really important issue. Ensuring that witnesses and victims can give their best evidence in court is vital if we are to achieve prosecution of these awful crimes. We are introducing legislation to improve access to special measures for witnesses and victims, including permitting victims to be accompanied while giving evidence, separate entrances and exits, and the provision of pre-recorded cross-examination. I would be happy to write to my hon. Friend with more information as the legislation progresses.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Victims of Domestic Abuse: Criminal Justice System · Hansard source

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  I commend the work of brilliant police forces up and down the country doing work to tackle domestic abuse. The hon. Member will know that it was a Labour party manifesto commitment to halve the levels of violence against women and girls, and that is exactly what she is talking about with what is happening in practice in Cheshire. This Labour Government are delivering for Cheshire and her constituency. She will know that the Home Office is consulting on proposals to ensure that we maximise police efficiency and boots on the ground, ensuring that everyone is kept safe and that we have safer streets. The Home Office will update on those plans shortly.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Victims of Domestic Abuse: Criminal Justice System · Hansard source

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  It is right that victims are put back at the heart of our criminal justice system. For far too long, their views and their voices were ignored, but not by this Government. The Minister for Courts and Legal Services, my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Finchley and Golders Green (Sarah Sackman) and I have met many victims of horrific crimes to hear about how court delays have impacted on them. The Victims’ Commissioner is supportive of our reforms as outlined in Sir Brian Leveson’s report, and we look forward to part 2 being published imminently so that we can discuss how better we can support victims of these crimes going forward, ensuring that they get their day in court and see justice being done.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Victims of Domestic Abuse: Criminal Justice System · Hansard source

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  As I have stated, the Ministry of Justice is investing over £550 million in victim support services, the biggest investment in that service to date. In December, we published our violence against women and girls strategy. That strategy sets out how we will achieve our mission to halve these terrible crimes, including domestic abuse, by rolling out domestic abuse protection orders—which are lifesaving—and looking at how we can maximise specialist domestic abuse courts.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Victim Support Services: Funding · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for raising that very important case. I think the thoughts and sympathies of the whole House will be with all the victims of these most heinous crimes. Child abuse is one of the most heinous crimes, and it is right that we have the correct support services available for child victims. The Sentencing Minister is meeting colleagues in the Home Office today to discuss this case, and I will ensure that the hon. Lady gets a full update as requested on the specifics.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Victim Support Services: Funding · Hansard source

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  I commend my hon. Friend as a fantastic constituency MP and Sefton Women’s and Children’s Aid for all the brilliant work it does in supporting victims of abuse and violence. He is right to highlight that victims are now coming forward with much more complex needs—not just physical violence, but coercive and controlling behaviour—and it is right that that is properly treated and recognised. That is why we are ensuring that victims have the right to timely support. That is a key part of the Government’s mission to halve the levels of violence against women and girls. We have committed to ringfencing the funding that the MOJ provides to police and crime commissioners, and we are working with them to ensure that, post their abolition, following their term coming to an end, we can provide certainty to victim support services, so that they know they will be there whenever a victim or survivor needs them.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Victim Support Services: Funding · Hansard source

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  As I said to the hon. Gentleman in a statement, he must have a short memory, because we were brought to this House to discuss this matter. The Hillsborough law will be a landmark moment for this Government. It will be a Bill for the victims, written by the victims who have been through those heinous experiences. We will ensure that national security is upheld, and we will bring this Bill forward when it has the full backing by everyone and when it is ready.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Victim Support Services: Funding · Hansard source

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  We will be increasing funding for victim support services year on year from 2026 to 2029, recognising the need to meet the rising cost pressure of delivery and the need for long-term funding for our support services. In total, the Ministry of Justice will be investing over £550 million in victim support services over the next three years—the biggest ever investment in victim support services.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I have had positive conversations with colleagues across Government, including in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, about how we can progress on that. I will be delighted to meet my hon. Friend to discuss what more work we can do.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Gentleman for highlighting the brilliant Labour party manifesto, which we are delivering in government. He is right to highlight the need for specialist rape courts. We are working with the Courts Minister on that and looking to see how we can push this forward to ensure that rape victims who have been languishing, waiting for justice, are not waiting too long. That is why we are implementing Sir Brian Leveson’s recommendations to ensure that there is swifter justice for victims.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising this very important issue on the Floor of the House. All my thoughts are with the victims and survivors of this horrific situation in Scotland at the Queen Elizabeth university hospital. The Bill’s duty of candour will create a powerful new obligation on all public bodies and officials to help investigations and inquiries find the truth that is needed, placing them under a legal obligation to provide information and evidence with candour. The duty will apply UK-wide, including in Scotland.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I would be honoured to meet the hon. Lady to discuss the case she mentions.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I welcome this question from my hon. Friend, who is right to highlight the expansion of the victims’ right to review scheme throughout Wales so that Welsh victims have the right to review their cases. I would be delighted to meet her to discuss what more we can do for Welsh victims across the criminal justice system.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for that vital question about putting victims back at the heart of our criminal justice system. That is exactly what this Government are doing by providing free court transcripts for criminal cases, introducing new restriction zones in the Sentencing Act 2026, and consulting on a brand-new victims code to enshrine victims’ rights and ensure they have the ability to request information on parole and offender management. I would be happy to write to him with more information on how this Government are delivering for victims.

• 19 Jan 2026 · Public Office (Accountability) Bill · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right. This is a Bill for everyone who has been wronged and lied to and who has been subject to failures of the state when it was meant to protect them. This Bill is for much more than just the Hillsborough families; it is for the victims of the contaminated blood scandal, the LABRATS, the sub-postmasters, the victims of the Grenfell tragedy and, sadly, many more. It is for every citizen in this country who potentially could be caught up in this. It is about looking forward and getting this right for decades to come to ensure that when something goes wrong, the state, which is meant to protect people, tell them the truth and be open with transparency, frankness and candour, does just that. We will ensure that the Bill does that before it leaves the Commons.

• 19 Jan 2026 · Public Office (Accountability) Bill · Hansard source

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  I welcome that question from my hon. Friend, who, as the MP for Merseyside and Ellesmere Port, has been a vocal champion for the families at every stage of this process. It has been a privilege to work with him and other colleagues on this directly. He is right. This Bill might colloquially be called the Hillsborough law, and many people outside this place who are not aware of the issues might think it is about a tragic football match that happened 36 years ago, but it is about so much more than that. This Bill will provide the biggest expansion of legal aid for a generation to anyone who has been affected by a death in which the state had a role, and it will be non-means-tested legal aid for the first time ever. The Bill will also ensure that all public servants and authorities are bound by a legal and criminalised duty of candour. It will bring in new criminal offences of misleading the public and of misconduct in public office. This will be a truly landmark Bill that will change the culture of British life for the better, forever. That is what is at stake here. That is why this Bill is so important, and we are committed to bringing it forward as soon as possible, but we need to get it right for everyone. That is what the Government are committed to doing.