Speeches by Babarinde.

“To what extent have you explored using artificial intelligence?”

“In your opening remarks you mentioned that upholding the rule of law requires investment. Throughout some of what you have shared with us, that is a theme that keeps coming back. One area in which there are campaigners who have campaigned for investment is when it comes to court transcripts, particularly for victims wh…”

“Exactly. What do you think needs to be done to address what is clearly a failure in the technology to meet the needs of the justice system?”

“The people of Eastbourne will remain on the edge of their seats. I want to ask about the facilities in those buildings and what they are kitted out with. There are some serious challenges, especially when it comes to things like screens. Are they bright enough for juries to see? Are the acoustics in court good enough? …”

“The safety and condition of our roads are hugely dependent on those who drive on them, but too many vehicles illegally use our roads without tax, without registering their details with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, and without their MOT. I thank Jamie from Seven Sisters garage for sorting my MOT out last wee…”

“I am proud that the Liberal Democrats were the first UK-wide major party to call for an immediate bilateral ceasefire between Israel and Gaza, and we continue to push the Prime Minister to honour that position. I am also proud that many Eastbourne campaigners have been calling for that from the get-go, and have come ou…”

“Organisations such as TechResort in my constituency support people who are digitally excluded to become digitally included. The Minister has a long list of meetings to go to, so instead, can the Secretary of State come along the coast to the sunniest town in the UK to visit TechResort and hear more about the funding it…”

“I was once on the Employers’ Forum for Reducing Reoffending, which Lord Timpson used to chair, so we collaborated in that respect.”

“I would like to ask a bit about prison capacity. Over the past 14 years we have seen a net change of 500 places added to capacity. As the prison population is projected to increase from 94,600 to 114,800 by March 2028, how many additional prison places do you think need to be built in order to satisfy that projection?”

“How many of the Victorian prisons do you think are beyond maintenance? We heard lots about rat infestations and things like that that are almost impossible, or have proven impossible so far, to root out. We have seen and heard not dissimilar stories from other prisons. I appreciate there might be some solid leadership …”

“I will ask one final question before wrapping up, and that is on the victim contact scheme. Ms Rees, you spoke about that in answering one of the questions I just asked. From speaking with organisations like Refuge, it is clear that there are a number of victims and survivors who would have expected to be contacted and…”

“To what extent have the Government explored what Mr Gribbin mentioned—the prospect of changing primary legislation to, I guess, close this loophole for the future?”

“On the subject of risk, it has been super-clear, as I know you are also aware—whether it is the Domestic Abuse Commissioner or charities like Refuge, which I met with earlier today—that there is significant concern from survivors. Although a number of domestic abuse-aligned offences were excluded from early release, th…”

“Thank you so much, Chair. Thanks for bearing with us. I would like to ask a bit more about the risk assessment process that you went through to ascertain which offenders to release early, and which not. Can you tell us about how extensive that was, what tests you undertook and so on?”

“And next autumn, all other things being equal, is the time you expect this reprieve to last until, before prisons reach capacity?”

“So do you have a ballpark? You mentioned the phrase “decent amount of time”. What is that?”

“I think it was the Prison Governors Association that said shortly after the first tranche of releases that within a year we were going to be back to square one. Are you able to share with us when you would expect prisons to reach capacity again?”

“Thank you, Chair. Welcome and thank you for joining us. It is good to see you again. I wanted to ask about the early release scheme SDS40, which saw a number of ex-offenders released 40% into their sentence as opposed to 50%. Are you able to share with us how many available places there were in prisons before that sche…”

“Facilities such as leisure centres and swimming pools—like the Sovereign Centre in Eastbourne where I learned to swim—are critical in supporting people’s mental health locally. Will the Minister support me in putting pressure on the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to expand the criteria of the tow…”

“I am pleased you are looking at that. I grew up in a home where domestic violence was pretty rife, so it is particularly close to my heart. I am pleased you are serious about looking to curb some of these challenges, should there be another early release come the autumn, or beyond.”