Andy Slaughter MP: speeches

Speeches

• 15 Jan 2026 · Prisons: Illegal Drugs · Hansard source

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  First, I am pleased that my hon. Friends are making links with their prisons. I hope all Members who have a prison will visit it regularly; I had the Scrubs in my patch for 20 years. I am also pleased that my hon. Friend wants to set targets for the Committee, rather than leave that for the Committee to deal with. We will monitor this and follow it up on a regular basis because, as I have said, without control of the drugs problem in prisons, so many other things become impossible to do. If he wants to set some benchmarks, I will ensure that we try to keep to them.

• 7 Jan 2026 · Jury Trials · Hansard source

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  The background to this debate is well known. Against that background of a historically high and growing backlog of cases in the Crown court provoked by the previous Government, the former Lord Chancellor commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to undertake an independent review of the criminal courts with the aim of bringing the backlog down. Part 1 of the review was published in July 2025, and suggests structural and policy changes. Sir Brian made 45 recommendations, a few of which concerned changes in mode of trial; those have become the main issue of contention, because they restrict the right to jury trial. The policy changes proposed came first because some require primary legislation, but in a matter of weeks we will also have part 2, which will look at greater efficiency in the Crown court and may be less contentious. Sir Brian makes clear that all the recommendations and both parts of his report are a package, not a pick-and-mix selection. That is because he believes that the crisis in the Crown court, with trials for serious offences waiting three or four years to be heard, is so severe that every lever must be pulled to control and then reduce it, and in that he is surely right. Moreover, this is not a short-term problem. Changes in the complexity and detail of criminal cases mean that longer and more legally and factually difficult trials are here to stay. For that reason, Sir Brian does not recommend that changes should be temporary or curtailed, for example by a sunset clause, in any legislation. So what happens now? First, we must have Sir Brian’s full report to consider, and, as I have said, part 2 is due imminently. Secondly, we must have the Government’s response to the report, saying which recommendations they accept entirely or in part and which they reject. Then will come the Bill putting necessary recommendations into law and accompanied, we are told, by an impact assessment giving greater statistical colour to the effect of the proposals on the backlog.

• 7 Jan 2026 · Jury Trials · Hansard source

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  I will give way once, but I am aware of time.

• 7 Jan 2026 · Jury Trials · Hansard source

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  I am coming on to that. The number of sitting days has already increased substantially in comparison with what the last Government did, and I think that it should increase further, but I also think that when Sir Brian says “every lever”, that is exactly what he means. The likely date for all the documents that I have mentioned to surface will be some time in the spring, ahead of the end of the current parliamentary Session, with the Bill carried over into the next Session and becoming law later this year. On 14 October 2025, the right hon. and learned Member for Kenilworth and Southam (Sir Jeremy Wright) led a debate in Westminster Hall on “the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts: Part 1”. I commend to Members the report of that debate, which was well informed and measured on all sides. I do not think that today’s debate will take the matter further in the absence of the documents that I have described, but here we are. In the meantime, there have been some loud protests about certain of Sir Brian’s proposals from parts of the legal profession and from some Members of this House. They include replacing the right to a rehearing of a case decided in the magistrates court with a limited right of appeal, and extending trial by judge and magistrates to more serious offences than is currently the practice of district judges in the magistrates and youth courts by creating a Crown court bench division. The Government have said that they wish to go beyond Sir Brian’s proposal for a judge to sit with two magistrates in some cases currently tried by judge and jury, and allow a single judge to decide guilt or innocence in cases likely to attract a sentence of up to three years’ custody. They also go further than Sir Brian in proposing to extend magistrates’ sentencing powers to 18 or possibly 24 months, and removing entirely the defendant’s right to elect. Where the Government seek to go further than the independent review, they should set out clearly their reasons for so doing. The most controversial proposal is to curtail the right to trial by jury in between a quarter and a half of cases where it is currently available, while retaining it for more serious offences. My own view is that trial by jury is not an absolute or immutable right. The availability of jury trial has varied and generally become more constricted over the ages, in criminal and civil cases—those involving defamation and inquests—through the reclassifying of offences from either way to summary only. I am pro-jury. I think that a lay element in the criminal justice process is reassuring, introducing a more democratic element into a profession regarded by some as elitist and homogeneous. I think that the involvement of citizens in the criminal justice system, whether jurors or magistrates, is good not only for the individuals and the legal system but for society generally. However, where we draw the line between jury trial and other modes of trial is a matter of degree and judgment, not of legal or moral principle. I think that there is nothing wrong with reviewing the appropriate forum for trial, as has been done many times, whether in its own right or because it is a piece of the jigsaw that will create a better system overall. I would like to see more evidence to support the contention in Sir Brian’s review that significant time will be saved and a significant increase in the number of cases heard will result. I would like to hear that there is more money for sitting days, for trial counsel and for functioning courts; that courts are run more efficiently; that listing is as good at every Crown court as it is at the best; and that Serco and Amey deliver prisoners to court in good time to start the day’s proceedings, not halfway through the afternoon. We are not going to get the answers to all these questions today, although I hope that we will before long. I prefer the Government amendment, which anticipates the provision of this information, to the Opposition motion, which prejudges what it will contain, and I acknowledge that the Government have already increased the budget and have already introduced greater-efficiency measures. The Justice Committee is seized of this issue. We heard evidence from Sir Brian Leveson in November and interrogated the Lord Chancellor in December, and next week we will hear from opponents and supporters of the proposed reforms and from the Minister for Courts and Legal Services, who opened this debate. We may have some criticism of the Bill or of the Government’s response to the review and seek to amend, but, like the Government and, I think, Members in all parts of the House, we hear every week of fresh indignities heaped on victims of crime, and on defendants too, who are made to wait for years beyond what is humane, often in a physical or mental prison, for a resolution of their cases. Not to consider them is not to be serious either about the damage that delay is doing to individuals or about the damage that it is doing to confidence in our courts. This is not a one-way valve; there are gains and losses, whatever course we take. For the present, I am prepared to give the Government the benefit of the doubt that they are looking for every possible measure to repair our battered justice system. I certainly prefer their honest endeavour to the gamesmanship of the Conservative party, which broke the system and now seeks to use its dilapidated condition as a political tool.

• 5 Jan 2026 · HMP Leyhill: Offender Abscondments · Hansard source

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  In the light of these escapes from a class D prison, will the Government look again at the policy and process for moving prisoners to open prisons earlier in their sentence as a consequence of prison overcrowding? Does the legacy of the previous Government mean that prisoners may be located in prisons because of the space available, rather than their suitability for the type of offender?

• 5 Jan 2026 · Venezuela · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s statement that she will abide by international law. I would not expect her to publish the legal advice that she has received from the Law Officers and others, but I would expect her to set out the Government’s own analysis of whether and how the acts of US forces towards Venezuela comply with the rule of law, so will she now do that?

• 5 Jan 2026 · Middle East and North Africa · Hansard source

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  This morning I had the honour to attend the official opening of the Palestinian embassy in my constituency by His Excellency Ambassador Husam Zomlot and also by 14-year-old Obeida, who was evacuated to the UK for medical treatment after losing two of his limbs in Israeli bombings. I thank the Minister for his work in achieving recognition, which his predecessors failed to do in the past 80 years, and also for supporting the medical evacuation, but can I press him on the point about action against settlements? When the Israeli Government have a declared policy of using settlements to prevent the very Palestinian state that we have just recognised, what reason can he give for not taking action to stop investment in settlements and to stop trade with settlements?

• 18 Dec 2025 · Jury Trials · Hansard source

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  Restricting jury trials may help to reduce the Crown court backlog, but there is no evidence that the use of juries caused the current delay. However, there is evidence, starting under the previous Government, that a lack of advocates—prosecution and defence—is a significant cause of delay. What steps is the Solicitor General taking to ensure that the Crown Prosecution Service is decreasing, rather than increasing, the wait for trial, which is such a blight on our criminal justice system?

• 18 Dec 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls Strategy · Hansard source

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  We are all aware of the delays in the criminal justice system. Those can occur at any stage, but they are particularly severe when cases move from the police to the Crown Prosecution Service and then to the courts, each under a separate Department. What mechanism or, better still, individual will ensure joined-up government in tackling violence against women and girls and doing so quickly and effectively?

• 17 Dec 2025 · Local Government Finance · Hansard source

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  The Minister mentioned Hammersmith and Fulham council in her statement, so I hope she will not mind my reminding her that it is one of the most efficiently run councils in the country. Despite having had 50% of its funding cut under the Tories, it has made £138 million in savings since 2014. It has pulled most of the levers that it has had available, such as the second homes premium, to deal with that, and it has some of the most deprived areas in the country within it. I invite her to come and visit Hammersmith and Fulham to see how a well-run council works, particularly when it has high levels of need and high-cost areas.

• 16 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Is the Secretary of State aware that there is a crisis in family mediation, with no confirmation of mediation vouchers going beyond next April and over half of legal aid providers having been forced to give up in the last eight years? Does he agree that this is short-sighted, as mediation saves time, money and families, and will the Government work with the Family Mediation Council to rescue the sector?

• 16 Dec 2025 · Legal Aid · Hansard source

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  The Select Committee has just begun an inquiry into access to justice. The evidence we are getting suggests that civil and family legal aid in particular are in a dire position, with fees now approximately half what they were 28 years ago. There have been welcome increases in housing and immigration fees, but what wider plans does the Secretary of State have to review legal aid fees, particularly in the area of civil and family law?

• 8 Dec 2025 · Restriction of Jury Trials · Hansard source

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  There is no reason why the Government should not consider mode of trial as part of their reform of the criminal courts, but they would find more support if they could better evidence the effects of the proposed changes to jury trial. To what extent will they reduce the backlog? What proportion and types of cases will no longer be eligible for jury trial? If courts are to be swifter and have greater sentencing powers, what effect will that have on the prison population?

• 3 Dec 2025 · Official Secrets Act and Espionage · Hansard source

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  The Joint Committee, of which I am a member, approached this issue in a non-partisan way, and I agree with the Minister that it is a pity that the Conservatives have not taken the same approach, particularly as it started on their watch. The strong impression that I form from the inquiry is that everyone thought they were doing the right thing, but in reality they were tip-toeing around the issues and staying in their own silos. Whether the Minister agrees with that analysis or not, can he tell us what organisational lessons he has learned that will prevent any repetition of, in his own words, this “deeply disappointing” outcome?

• 2 Dec 2025 · Criminal Court Reform · Hansard source

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  May I recognise the commitment of the Lord Chancellor and the Minister of State in grasping the issue of the Crown court backlog, which, as Sir Brian Leveson says, is a threat to our whole system of criminal justice? The criticism of these proposals from those on the Opposition Benches comes with no solution whatsoever. I also acknowledge the Lord Chancellor’s decision to stay within the limits proposed by Sir Brian for cases that will be tried without a jury in the future. None the less, these are profound changes to the criminal justice system that not only restrict the role of juries, but substantially extend the powers of magistrates and judges sitting alone. Will the Lord Chancellor therefore evaluate the effects of these changes to see whether they, along with other measures such as increased investment, bring down the backlog and whether they do so fairly, without bias and without increasing conviction rates or sentence length? If they do not deliver on all these points, will he think again?

• 27 Nov 2025 · Packaging: Extended Producer Responsibility · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

• 27 Nov 2025 · Packaging: Extended Producer Responsibility · Hansard source

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  The Minister has a deep understanding of this issue, and we all support the objectives that she is aiming for, but obviously we have come along to bring our problems to her. I hope she will not mind dealing with the two issues that have been raised: double charging for pubs, which is estimated to cost them £50 million, and the fee for glass—the weight versus volume equation—which is estimated to cost brewers £124 million a year. Those are real costs to businesses, many of which are up against the margins and are dealing with other pressures in the hospitality industry.

• 27 Nov 2025 · Packaging: Extended Producer Responsibility · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is making a very good point. The famous Griffin brewery is in my constituency, as is Fuller’s, with its substantial on- and off-trade. We all want to see recycling increase, but there is the issue of fees and whether it will involve the use of materials that are less recyclable than glass, which is an important manufacturing tool for the brewing industry.

• 27 Nov 2025 · Right to Trial by Jury · Hansard source

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  The Minister is right that we cannot go on as we are with 80,000-plus cases in the backlog and growing, and four-year delays in serious cases. She is also right that there is nothing sacred about jury trial for any particular level of offence. But if the Lord Chancellor is thinking of going beyond Sir Brian Leveson’s proposals, he will need to produce some clear evidence as to why that is necessary and why that does not offend our system of justice, of which we are all still very proud. That is not only about more serious offences; if the leak is to be believed, it is also about extending magistrate courts’ powers beyond the 12 months, which they have only just gone up to, and a massive extension of judge-only trials. I appreciate that the Minister might not be able to answer all those questions today, but when will we hear those answers and get the response to Sir Brian’s report?

• 20 Nov 2025 · Separation Centres: Terrorist Offenders · Hansard source

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  May I thank the Minister for reaffirming the Government’s support—which it should not be necessary to do—for the rule of law and the ECHR? Will she concentrate on the key points here? The first is making sure that the most dangerous prisoners are held securely and the second is ensuring the safety of prison officers. Will she also say what the status of Jonathan Hall KC’s review is? I understand that it has been with the Lord Chancellor for some months. When will we see that and when will we implement the recommendations of the report?

• 20 Nov 2025 · Reoffending: Rehabilitation in Prisons · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady is the newest member of the Committee, and I am pleased to see her here today. She has obviously got behind the brief very quickly: we are waiting for an update on the neurodiversity action plan. Many levels of societal problems are reflected to a much higher level in prisons, whether that be around people with learning difficulties, literacy problems or neurodivergence. That is not a coincidence, but it is a wake-up call to the fact that such issues have to be addressed. Rehabilitation is for all prisoners, and special steps need to be taken, particularly in relation to neurodiverse prisoners. I hope that we are going to see that. The very capable Minister for Courts and Legal Services is in her place, listening to all this, and I am sure that she will tell us soon when that action plan will be updated. Bills Presented Tax Reliefs (Evaluation) Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57) Bobby Dean presented a Bill to require the Secretary of State to establish and maintain a framework for the regular evaluation of tax reliefs, including in relation to their effectiveness, cost and value for money and to require annual reporting under that framework; to require the Secretary of State to review all existing tax reliefs; and for connected purposes. Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 16 January 2026 , and to be printed (Bill 335 ). Declaration of Income and Gifts by Candidates for Elected Office (Russian Federation) Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57) Max Wilkinson, supported by Lisa Smart, presented a Bill to place a duty on candidates for elected office to declare any past or current income or gifts from the government of the Russian Federation or from any person or organisation connected to that government; to place a duty on political parties to ensure that their candidates have made this declaration; and for connected purposes. Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 10 July 2026 , and to be printed (Bill 334 ).

• 20 Nov 2025 · Reoffending: Rehabilitation in Prisons · Hansard source

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  The numbers of women and, indeed, young people in prison are a small percentage of the prison population, but they give particular cause for concern. As I mentioned in my statement, the health and mental health needs of women prisoners and the levels of self-harm are both higher. There is a clear need there and it is one that, to be fair, the Government have recognised and which they have policies to address. It is the practicality that we are lacking at the moment, because of the levels of support required. I welcome that the Government have clearly said that they want to see fewer women in prison, but we need to know how that will be achieved from this point onwards.

• 20 Nov 2025 · Reoffending: Rehabilitation in Prisons · Hansard source

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  It is certainly true that there is a close relationship between the crisis in the courts and the crisis in prisons. A good example is that, as I mentioned in my statement, the number of people on remand is at a 50-year high, with remand prisoners occupying prison places for far longer than they should be. It is also true that if we can break the cycle of reoffending—as I have said, 80% of offences are reoffending—the numbers in prisons will come down. That in itself will make rehabilitation in prisons a lot easier, which will mean that fewer people will be coming before the courts. We are in a downwards spiral at the moment, and we have to not only stop that but reduce it; lower numbers of offences against the public at large mean fewer people in prison and fewer people before the courts. It is a big ask, but if we do not start with that, we will not get there.

• 20 Nov 2025 · Reoffending: Rehabilitation in Prisons · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member, who is an effective and active member of the Committee, for her question. We should not ignore the fact that youth custody is one of the successes of the prison system in the sense that over the past few decades, the number of young people in custody has gone down from over 3,000, I think, to around 400. However, those who remain in youth custody, in a rather confused variety of institutions, are not being well served. It is the intention of the Committee to look at youth custody and young people in prison itself, but we can only examine and recommend; it is for the Government to look as a matter of urgency at the crisis in the youth estate for those who remain in custody.

• 20 Nov 2025 · Reoffending: Rehabilitation in Prisons · Hansard source

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  I thank the Backbench Business Committee for allocating time for me to make a statement on behalf of the Justice Committee. This is the seventh report of the Committee and its subject is rehabilitation in prisons. This time last year, the Justice Committee began its principal inquiry to look at the crisis of reoffending against the backdrop of a broken criminal justice system. Around 80% of all offending is reoffending. That figure alone suggests there is a serious issue, and that His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service is not currently serving its stated mission of rehabilitating the people in its care. The purposes of prisons are clear: punishing, protecting the public, and rehabilitating offenders. The opportunity for offenders to be rehabilitated in prison should not be considered a luxury; it is a fundamental necessity to ensure that those who have done their time can return to society as law-abiding citizens. The evidence we received, however, paints a starkly different picture. Instead of being places of reform, too many of our prisons have become places of stagnation, where offenders languish and rehabilitation opportunities are scarce. Our inquiry into rehabilitation has taken place amid a prison capacity crisis. Overcrowding, staffing shortages and deteriorating infrastructure have created conditions that actively undermine rehabilitation. The Committee found that the current conditions across the prison estate are simply not conducive to reform. Overcrowding has led to arbitrary prisoner transfers, disrupted sentence progression, and reduced access to purposeful activity, education and family contact. With the demand for prison places set to keep increasing, the Government must set out the steps they will take to ensure that rehabilitation is not compromised, alongside how they intend to manage demand and supply. The challenges do not end there. In the 12 months to 30 June 2025, there was a leaving rate of almost 12% among prison officers. These staffing shortages are not just an operational inconvenience, but a public safety risk. As we heard recently, in the year to March, 262 prisoners have been released in error. Overworked staff, outdated systems and inadequate training have meant that when officers are stretched to breaking point, the likelihood of administrative errors skyrockets. Current levels of wrongful releases are not isolated blunders, but symptomatic of a system under intolerable strain. Alongside that, high turnover, poor recruitment processes and limited professional development have all contributed to a culture that hinders rehabilitation. Governors lack the autonomy to lead effectively, and the current staffing model is unsustainable. The Committee recommends that prison staff should receive training at least annually, with more frequent support as they progress through their careers. Furthermore, the prison estate is in a state of disrepair. Dilapidated buildings and broken infrastructure limit access to rehabilitative spaces and contribute to poor mental health. Despite recent capital investment, it remains unclear how the Government intend to address the £1.8 billion maintenance backlog. That backlog is not just a financial figure; it represents real barriers to rehabilitation. We call on the Government to provide a clear breakdown of how funding will be used to address the backlog and to ensure that investment is targeted at improving prison conditions and rehabilitative activities. The Committee is deeply concerned by the widespread failure to meet the statutory minimum for time out of cell. Many prisoners are locked up for 22 hours or more each day, with limited access to fresh air, showers or rehabilitation. This lack of time out of cell undermines efforts to reduce reoffending and contributes to poor mental health and disengagement. Purposeful activity including education, work and offending behaviour programmes is central to rehabilitation, yet it is inconsistently delivered and often deprioritised. The Sentencing Bill rightly aims to incentivise good behaviour and engagement in purposeful activity through its earned progression model, but this ambition will fail if purposeful activity remains inaccessible. The Committee calls for a renewed focus on ensuring that all prisoners have access to meaningful activity, for time out of cell to be formalised and standardised, and for data on it to be published. Education is the cornerstone of rehabilitation, yet prison education is underfunded and poorly delivered. Participation rates are low—50% of prisoners are not in education or work. For those who do take part, Ofsted ratings remain poor, with 75% of prisons inspected in 2024-25 rated “inadequate” or “showing no improvement”. It is therefore unsurprising that two thirds of offenders are not in education or work six months after release from prison. Given that, we are alarmed by reports of significant real-term cuts to prison education budgets of up to 50%. We expect the Government to clarify the rationale of any budget reduction. Conditions across the youth estate are also in decline. Children in custody are entitled to 15 hours of education a week, yet the Committee heard that that minimum is routinely not met and that children are spending up to 23 hours a day in cell due to the failure of HM Prison and Probation Service to manage behaviour effectively. As well as making every effort to meet the statutory minimum of 15 hours of education, HMPPS must set a statutory minimum for time out of cell in young offender institutions. Health and wellbeing services are failing to meet the needs of prisoners. Mental health support is inconsistent and operational pressures prevent timely access to care. Women in prison face acute and complex health needs, yet the system is failing to provide even basic support. Although the Government have set out their ambition to reduce the number of women in custody, it is unclear what action will be taken for those currently in prison. The Committee expects the Government to respond with a clear plan for how they will meet the health and wellbeing needs of the women currently in their care. Remand prisoners now make up 20% of the prison population—the highest level in at least 50 years—yet they remain excluded from much of the prison regime, including access to education. We heard that remand prisoners often spend extended periods in custody only to be released directly from court following conviction, without any support or intervention. This raises serious concerns about how the Government expect these individuals to avoid reoffending. Rehabilitation must be available the moment someone enters custody, and remand prisoners should therefore have access to all parts of the regime, should they choose to participate. There is plenty more to be done to improve outcomes for offenders. The Committee will shortly commence part 2 of its inquiry by examining how rehabilitation continues in the community for those released from prison, as well as those serving non-custodial sentences. A further report will follow, making not only recommendations for changes in how community sentences work, but long-term recommendations for structural reform across the criminal justice system in order to once and for all end the cycle of reoffending. Let me be clear: the time for action cannot wait. The Sentencing Bill represents a welcome opportunity to rethink how we reduce reoffending, but legislation alone will not deliver rehabilitation. I apologise that it is a bleak prospect that I set out, but that is the reality of prison life—prisons are simply not working, and that is particularly true in the field of rehabilitation. As this report sets out, legislation must be matched by renewed focus from HMPPS to deliver better time out of cell, education, and health and wellbeing services. I urge the Government to take these recommendations seriously, to promote rehabilitation effectively and to ensure that our prisons are places of reform, not despair. The Government have inherited a very difficult situation here. They are trying to address that in a number of ways, but the prisons crisis cannot be underestimated—we have seen the symptoms recently in wrongful releases and other tragedies in prison sentencing. We have to deliver a system that truly serves the public good, and that will come in the longer term only with effective rehabilitation in prisons.