There is no denying something drastic need to be done. Since 1993, our prison population has doubled to 88,000 people and the Government has estimated it will continue to grow by over 3,000 annually in the coming years, reaching between 97,300 and 112,300 prisoners by November 2032.
While I am very pleased Labour Ministers have re-announced some of the previous Conservative Government’s plans to build more prison places, aiming to build 14,000 additional places by 2031, with 2,400 places coming online since the Government entered office (largely due to the opening of HMP Millsike in Yorkshire which began construction in 2021 under the Conservative Government) this is clearly not enough on its own to put the prison estate back on a sustainable footing.
So how is this Labour Government planning to tackle this inexorable rise in offending and build a better justice system?
Sadly, by putting forward a package of radical and mostly unwelcome reforms in their Sentencing Bill which will scrap short sentences and see up to 43,000 criminals avoid prison altogether, as well as releasing killers and rapists early. I was horrified to learn more than half of all offenders who currently go to jail – will, from now on, be out on our streets. In fact, a major part of this Bill is the earlier release of nearly all offenders.
The Shadow Minister for Justice, Dr Kieran Mullan MP has pointed out very clearly that while the Labour Government ensures,
'Those serving extended determinate sentences and life sentences will be excluded from the early release elements of this Bill, (…) those serving standard determinate sentences will not. Prisoners on standard determinate sentences will have their prison time cut.
Every year, more than 60% of criminals sent to prison for rape are on a standard determinate sentence. Over 90% of criminals sent to prison for child grooming are on a standard determinate sentence. Around half of criminals sent to prison for attempted murder are on a standard determinate sentence. Hundreds of criminals guilty of child rape and sexual assault, including rape of children under 13, are in prison on standard determinate sentences. In total, more than 6,500 criminals sent to prison every year for serious violent, sexual and other offences are given determinate sentences. If Labour MPs vote against our amendment 24, every single one of those criminals will be able to get out of prison earlier. Labour MPs will be voting to let rapists and paedophiles out of prison earlier.'
In the Committee Stage, Dr Mullan continued,
‘I cannot help but feel that the measures related to early release are so unpalatable that the Government are doing their absolute best to rush this Bill through the House to avoid proper scrutiny.’
Surprisingly, even the normally soft-touch Lib Dems, keen supporters of rehabilitation in the community and the presumption of a suspended sentence for terms of under 12 months, noted this with Jess Brown-Fuller MP saying,
'I am disappointed that such a large Bill, which makes fundamental changes to sentencing, was not given the line-by-line scrutiny that a Bill Committee, rather than a Committee of the whole House, could have afforded it.'
The Government’s radical proposal to effectively scrap short sentences (under 12 months) will mean many sexual and domestic abusers, thugs and violent offenders, along with prolific burglars and shoplifters will avoid prison altogether and instead be handed a community order. This clearly endangers both victims and the wider public. While short sentences can inspire a shock change in an offender’s outlook and genuine remorse, importantly they also give peace of mind and a sense of justice having been done to victims who knows their offender is safely behind bars.
My Conservative colleague, Esther McVey MP, who has tabled various amendments to change the presumption for suspended sentences, was forceful in her plea for the Government
'to seriously consider accepting my amendments 20 and 29, which would prevent those who commit knife crimes from being eligible for suspended sentences. The Government should hang their head in shame for proposing a non-prison sentence for the offence of carrying a knife on our streets, and even for those who commit the offence more than once. I am sure that many Members will know of cases where someone has been injured or killed by a knife. Everyone who votes for the Bill without amendment will be voting to enable someone who carries a knife or threatens people with a knife, even repeatedly, to avoid prison.'
The Sentencing Bill also introduces an earned progression model where criminals will be released after serving only one third of their sentence - provided they ‘behave themselves’. While Ministers kid themselves this will encourage rehabilitation and allow prison to “create better citizens rather than better criminals”, in reality this Bill fails victims and gives offenders a ‘get out of jail early’ card.
We, as the Official Opposition, are clear prison sentences should depend on the offence a criminal committed and whether they remain a threat to the public, not on whether they earn gold stars on a prison conduct chart. The previous Conservative Government strengthened sentences for many violent and sexual offenders, requiring them to serve two thirds of their term before release. The Government is now choosing to water that down again to half.
As Sir John Hayes MP (Con) said,
'the hard-working, patriotic and law-abiding majority … are frustrated by a criminal justice system that persistently excuses the worst kinds of crimes rather than punishing them as they deserve to be punished.'
I do welcome the improved rollout of technology across the criminal justice system. But tagging is not a silver bullet – the Labour Government’s own pilot scheme found that 71 per cent of tagged offenders breached their curfew. It will not prevent an offender carrying a knife, or a shop being repeatedly ransacked, or a domestic abuser returning to their victim’s front door. I note that the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales has said the measures would send "a clear message to domestic abusers that they can now offend with little consequence".
We do believe there are better alternatives that are workable and will keep communities safer.
Currently, a third of prison cells are occupied by either foreign national offenders or individuals on remand. The numbers in these two categories keep growing. We would focus on freeing up much-needed prison space by deporting the 10,800 foreign national offenders and tackling the rising remand population – those held in prison awaiting trial.
Firstly, foreign offenders are a serious risk to the British public and should absolutely be deported. Ministers should be considering every policy lever to encourage countries to accept returns of their dangerous criminals, including withholding foreign aid or worker visas.
Secondly, it is vital we reduce the remand population; however, the Labour Government is allowing the Crown Court backlogs to continue to rise following the Covid-19 pandemic, and Ministers cannot say when it will start to come down. This is not justice. The Government delayed six months before announcing meaningful increases in sitting days for the courts to hear cases – and the number still fails to meet the maximum capacity recommended by the Lady Chief Justice.
We would also abolish the Sentencing Council who, constituents may remember, were recently prevented from issuing new sentencing guidelines that would have driven a coach and horses through our world-respected judicial system. Instead of everybody being equal under the law, special treatment would have been given to criminals from ethnic and religious minorities. We would restore power over sentencing guidelines back to elected and accountable officials.
Instead, in Labour’s Sentencing Bill, we are getting the biggest reduction in sentences in British history. These reforms completely ignore the wishes of victims’ groups, who are still concerned about the mass early release of prisoners last autumn. We believe the Government should be taking all steps necessary to keep criminals off the street and increase prison capacity. Instead, the Justice Secretary is launching a recipe for a crime wave and gambling with public safety - I seriously urge him and MPs across the House to change course.
It is simply unacceptable that, as Esther McVey MP pointed out,
'Since Committee, we have had the ludicrous situation involving Hadush Kebatu, who was released from prison after being jailed for sex offences. Quite rightly, there was a public outcry and widespread condemnation from politicians. The massive irony is that if the Bill had already been passed, he would have qualified for the presumption in favour of a suspended prison sentence and would not have been in prison in the first place.'
Please do read the full transcript of the debate to see for yourselves the full extent of these proposals and the impact they will have. You can access it via the link provided here:
Sentencing Bill - Hansard - UK Parliament
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