Sarah Sackman MP: speeches

Speeches

• 12 Sept 2024 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my hon. Friend on her election as chair of the Work and Pensions Committee. The statistics that she has given are indeed worrying, and the mission of halving violence against women and girls is therefore central to the Government’s agenda. Behind each of those statistics lie heartbreaking personal stories. We need to do much better, which is why the Lord Chancellor has committed herself to introducing specialist rape courts to fast-track rape cases and why the Home Office is delivering plans to introduce specialist rape and sexual offence teams in every police force. It is measures of that kind that will address the problems highlighted by my hon. Friend.

• 12 Sept 2024 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising an important issue. He is right: Clare’s law is a powerful tool, and it needs to be applied more evenly and consistently. The domestic violence disclosure scheme, known as Clare’s law, enables the police to disclose information to a victim, or potential victim, of domestic abuse about previous abusive or violent offending by a partner or ex-partner. The police need to consider each request on its own merits. However, more needs to be done to ensure that the scheme is used consistently by police forces across the country, and I understand that the Home Office is currently engaging with the police to see how its application can be improved.

• 12 Sept 2024 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  For too long, women and girls across the country have faced routine threats of appalling violence and abuse. This Government were elected with a clear mandate to halve violence against women and girls within a decade; that is what we will deliver, and it is something to which I am personally committed. In the early stages of that process, I have recently met both the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and the Victims’ Commissioner to discuss how the Crown Prosecution Service can work closely with the police from the earliest point to build robust, victim-centred investigations that will drive improvements in conviction rates.

• 12 Sept 2024 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  We know that the availability of sufficiently experienced prosecutors is a problem that needs to be looked at. That is why, in appropriate cases, we are looking at using associate prosecutors to clear the backlog in our courts more generally, but for the most serious crimes of rape and violence against women and girls, we need specialist prosecutors. The Government will be looking closely at both recruitment and retention.

• 12 Sept 2024 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  I entirely agree with the hon. Member that this needs to be an absolute priority and that we need to drive improvements in conviction rates. That is why there is a commitment to introduce specialist rape courts, working to fast-track rape cases and driving down wait times, and why it is important, at the start of the system, to put domestic abuse experts in 999 control rooms. It is that whole suite of measures that will lead to the improvements that we all want to see.

• 12 Sept 2024 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  It is vital that we place victims at the centre of our justice system, which is why this Government are looking to strengthen the powers of the Victims’ Commissioner. As we announced in the King’s Speech, the victims, courts and public protection Bill will strengthen those powers to improve accountability and ensure that victims’ voices are centred and heard from start to finish throughout the criminal justice process.

• 12 Sept 2024 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  I absolutely share my hon. Friend’s concerns. As her constituent’s heartbreaking experience illustrates, such delays are traumatic for victims. They too often lead to what is known as victim attrition, which leads to trials collapsing and deters others from reporting these sorts of offences. This has gone on for far too long, and we need to get a grip on the situation. That is why the Lord Chancellor has committed to introducing specialist rape courts and working with the judiciary to drive down wait times. Obviously, those need to be carefully considered while navigating other pressures on the justice system, and I hope to be able to update the House on the Government’s plan in due course.

• 12 Sept 2024 · Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme · Hansard source

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  It is a privilege to be appointed as His Majesty’s Solicitor General. My fellow Law Officers and I will be working to restore public faith in government and the rule of law, and to support the Home Secretary and the Lord Chancellor in delivering our safer streets mission. Sentencing policy is quintessentially a matter for the Ministry of Justice; sentencing is a matter for our judges. Offenders already have the right to appeal to the Court of Appeal against their sentences, including when they consider them to be unduly excessive.

• 12 Sept 2024 · Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme · Hansard source

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  First, I welcome my hon. Friend and congratulate him on his election as Chair of the Justice Committee. He is right that we will be undertaking a review of sentencing. On miscarriages of justice, we will want to work with him to look into that further. I am happy to meet him to discuss such matters.

• 12 Sept 2024 · Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. and learned Member for his question, and also for his warm welcome. He is enormously experienced in these matters, as both a former Attorney General and a former Justice Minister. As he rightly notes, newly created offences, such as those created by the Online Safety Act 2023, do not currently fall within the scope of the unduly lenient sentencing scheme, and I understand that there are no immediate plans to extend the scheme further, but—again, as he rightly notes—we always look for opportunities to reform, and, along with my Department, I will keep that under review.

• 12 Sept 2024 · Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme · Hansard source

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  Decisions to prosecute, convict and sentence are rightly made independently of Government by the Crown Prosecution Service, juries and judges respectively. As I have already said, if someone wants to appeal an unduly excessive sentence, they can do so and our courts are there to handle that matter.

• 12 Sept 2024 · Street Crime: Prosecutions · Hansard source

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  This Government have made tackling antisocial behaviour, which blights our streets and threatens many of our communities, a top priority. The new crime and policing Bill announced in the King’s Speech will include strong measures to tackle antisocial behaviour, to support neighbourhood policing and to give the police stronger powers to crack down on antisocial behaviour and keep our streets safe.

• 12 Sept 2024 · Street Crime: Prosecutions · Hansard source

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  Just this week the Prime Minister met police, victims, families and media companies specifically to discuss knife crime, which plagues my hon. Friend’s community and many others across the country. The Prime Minister has promised to double down on these crimes, and to halve them in the next decade. I am part of a cross-departmental team that will work to deliver this. The Government are committed to taking back our streets by increasing the amount of neighbourhood policing, recruiting more prosecutors to deal swiftly with these crimes and bringing forward laws to ban zombie knives and machetes.

• 12 Sept 2024 · Shoplifting: Prosecutions · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this matter. Members will be all too aware of the impact that such offences have on our constituents, whether they are customers or business owners. The police are working closely with CPS colleagues to prosecute shoplifting, but we know there is more to do. Among additional measures, the Government will introduce a new offence of assaulting retail workers, in order to protect the hard-working and dedicated staff who work in those stores. There are other things that we can do, but that is a start.

• 12 Sept 2024 · Shoplifting: Prosecutions · Hansard source

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  Our safer streets mission will drive essential change to bring an end to the epidemic of shoplifting that is plaguing our high streets. Between 2018 and 2023, under the last Government, the charge rate for shoplifting offences went down significantly, by 5%, so we are seeing 10,000 fewer charges a year. Rather than criminalising vulnerable people, this Government believe that criminal gangs have been emboldened by poor enforcement and immunity for low-level shoplifting. We are not prepared to stand by and allow that to continue, which is why the time is right to take action against that unacceptable behaviour.

• 22 Jul 2024 · Economy, Welfare and Public Services · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. and learned Member for Fareham and Waterlooville (Suella Braverman). Like other Members, I am somewhat surprised by her rewriting of recent economic history. She had 14 years to fix the problems of child poverty, and did precious little to do that. I listened today to the Chancellor of the Exchequer lay out this Government’s plans to restore economic stability and growth to this country—that is what will lift millions of children out of poverty in the long term. It is a privilege to stand here today representing the place where I was born and raised, Finchley and Golders Green. I would like to start by paying tribute to my predecessor, Mike Freer. Although we disagreed on many things, Mike was dedicated to our area, both as a Member of Parliament and as leader of Barnet council. I admire his commitment to public service and, in particular, his role in securing equal marriage legislation for same sex couples—a legacy that he can take enormous pride in. But the circumstances under which Mike decided not to stand for re-election are appalling. We should have been able to face each other on the basis of our ideas, but Mike’s life and office were threatened by those who believe in the bullet, not the ballot box. It is a stark reminder of the fragility of our democracy both at home and abroad. I want to use my time in this place to stand up for the democratic values and processes that I believe in. Witnessing the dignified and smooth transition of power last week in all parts of this House is something we can take pride in. We must ensure that we work together to defend the safety of public servants. I wish Mike and his husband Angelo all the best in their future. I also pay tribute to the much missed Dr Rudi Vis, who holds a special place in the heart of my local community, not least as the first Labour Member to represent this special patch of north London. In over a century, I am only the second person from my party to be sent to this place by the people of Finchley and Golders Green. I am also only the second woman. Some Members may remember the first. When Mrs Thatcher entered this place, she was made to wait two whole years to make her maiden speech, but in our era of breakneck news cycles, and with so much work that I want to do, having to wait just two weeks has felt like a very long time. Having delayed long enough, Mrs Thatcher did not waste a second when she rose to her feet, breaking convention by making her maiden speech on a private Member’s Bill that she introduced. “This is a maiden speech”, she said, her sonorous tones echoing through this hallowed place, “but I know that the constituency of Finchley…would not wish me to do other than come straight to the point”. —[ Official Report , 5 February 1960; Vol. 616, c. 1350.] The people of Finchley and Golders Green rightly remain as demanding of their elected officials today, so I, too, will come straight to the point. Like Mrs Thatcher, I am a patriot and I want our communities and our country to prosper and be an influence on the global stage. But unlike her, I fundamentally believe that there is such a thing as society. Society is not an abstract idea to be buried in sociological essays. We can see it in the rich tapestry of communities that come together across Finchley and Golders Green. I may be the first female, Jewish, Gibraltarian MP from this constituency, but I would not be here without the support of my neighbours and my community: the Cypriot community, the Somali Bravanese, the Kosovan, the Japanese, the Irish and Hindu communities, the lawyers and the Uber drivers, the charity workers and the campaigners, the Spurs fans and the fans of some other north London team. Whereas in recent times some politicians have chosen to use “north Londoner” as an insult, my constituents and I wear it as a badge of pride. It symbolises a place that celebrates diversity, hard work and looking out for your neighbour. Our diversity comes as no surprise to anyone familiar with the history of our area. Where else can boast the parish where Archbishop Desmond Tutu honed his ministry in the terrible years of exile during apartheid in South Africa, and the childhood home of the late and great Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, a man who taught us that a good society is one that offers all its members equal access to hope? It was in East Finchley that George Michael first tinkled the ivories and Amy Winehouse first took the stage. Finchley and Golders Green has a quiet radicalism baked into its history. Take Hampstead Garden Suburb, where I grew up, a project driven by the extraordinary Henrietta Barnett in the early 20th century. One of the first garden cities, it was a groundbreaking development. She also set up Toynbee Hall in London’s east end, where I began my legal career as a volunteer at the Free Legal Advice Centre. I saw there just how important the law could be for tenants facing eviction and women suffering unequal pay. Now I want to take those values of access to justice and a commitment to the rule of law into my new role as Solicitor General. When, in 1907, we witnessed the opening of Golders Green underground station, adverts at the time dubbed our area a “place of delightful prospects”. I can vouch for the fact that never a truer word has been spoken, but this place of delightful prospects has suffered in recent years. My community has witnessed rising levels of antisemitism and Islamophobia. These are a scourge on our society and as long as I am in office I will tirelessly call them out and work to eradicate them. Our community today is increasingly becoming a place of busy food banks and empty mansions. Inequality is writ large, stunting people’s health and potential. Many across Finchley and Golders Green are struggling with the spiralling cost of living. This has to change not just in my constituency, but across the whole country. Our NHS is broken, the prisons are full, the police cannot respond when they are called out and our teachers are not supported to deliver. We need to get Britain back on track, and the Bills set out in the King’s Speech are exactly what we need to take the brakes off the economy and restore and rebuild our public services. My constituents are raring to go. Whether it is the Brent Cross Town development, one of the largest regeneration developments in Europe, or our brilliant high street businesses and local entrepreneurs, all we need to get growing is a Government who are on our side. Well, we have that Government now. So, to quote my famous predecessor, let’s get straight to the point and let’s get on with the change that Britain truly needs.