Speeches by Fox.

“The hon. Lady makes a good point, but before curtailing that restriction further I would want to be persuaded that there are very real benefits. I am afraid that I see none, or at least I see no evidence of any. As my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Kenilworth and Southam pointed out, each of the trials un…”

“It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Efford. I am grateful to my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Kenilworth and Southam (Sir Jeremy Wright) for securing this debate. Increasing delays in Crown court trials are a very real problem. They pose a problem for victims, witnesses and those defendan…”

“Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that Sir Brian’s proposals to change access to jury trials represent a distinct restriction of freedom for citizens facing trial, yet he does not offer convincing evidence that that will save an enormous amount of time or speed up the trial process, and that that lack of evid…”

“Has the Minister’s Department done any analysis of how much time would be saved by adopting Sir Brian’s proposals on jury trials, and if so, what was the result?”

“I am pleased to speak in favour of the Government amendment in lieu of Lords amendment 21, which commits the Government to reviewing whether to add special constables to the list of roles that entitle an employee to request unpaid time off work from their employer under the Employment Rights Act 1996. Special constable…”

“Is the hon. Gentleman aware that many small businesses are fearful of day one rights because they worry that they might take someone on, only for it to become apparent within a few days that they are not appropriate for their business, and they then fear an employment tribunal for procedurally unfair dismissal, and the…”

“My constituents want the performance, accessibility and quality of bus services to be improved, and that is why I support new clause 34. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Broadland and Fakenham (Jerome Mayhew) for re-tabling it. When the Secretary of State spoke to the Bill on Second Reading, she said that improvin…”

“Does the hon. Gentleman agree that it is odd that the provisions apply to people who travel on trains but not on buses? Does he understand why the Government made that distinction?”

“On that point, does the hon. Lady accept that increasing the fare cap from £2 to £3 is likely to reduce ridership, whatever is contained in the new clause?”

“Minister, I think I am right in saying that you are also responsible for the probate service.”

“Excellent. The covid pandemic caused significant delays in the probate service, largely returned to normal except for the number of complex cases taking more than a year. That backlog has doubled and is not getting better. What steps are you taking to resolve this issue of complex cases?”

“I asked for evidence that victims support your policy and you have not replied to that question.”

“From 2027 the Chancellor is going to include pensions within taxable estate. That will create an extra layer of complexity in probate applications. The estate will have to get in touch with every single pension company that an individual might have a relationship with. What contingency planning is your Department under…”

“I am not doubting that you have held a lot of meetings. I was asking whether victims supported the policy.”

“Minister, what evidence do you have that the changes that you are making with regard to the early release of offenders at one third or one half of their sentence is supported by victims and their representatives? What engagement have you had with victims and their views on this policy?”

“Have you done any modelling as to what the 2027 changes will cause?”

“Okay. The Daily Telegraph reports that up to 43,000 criminals a year will avoid jail if most 12-month sentences are scrapped. Do you recognise that figure? Has your Department done any analysis of how many criminals will not go to prison as a result of suspending almost all sentences of fewer than 12 months?”

“I am drawn to the conclusion that you did not have evidence that they supported this policy.”

“Minister, I think I am right in saying that you are also responsible for the probate service.”

“Have you done any modelling as to what the 2027 changes will cause?”