Speeches by Cox.

“Good afternoon. I am Pam Cox, MP for Colchester, and my interests are declared on the register but I would draw attention to the fact that I chair the APPG on penal affairs.”

“It would be worth finding that out definitively, I think.”

“Without prolonging that discussion too long, I am a little concerned to hear you say that you think Professor Thomas’s workings have not been shared. This is, as I understand it, also a peer-reviewed study conducted by a very respected organisation. Is it the case that her methodology is not in the public domain? I wou…”

“Very quickly, I am not hearing anybody say this should not continue. I am hearing methodological differences, and as a former social scientist I appreciate that. I am hearing implementation and practicality pressure. I am not hearing anybody say this should not continue. Would that be a fair assessment?”

“7. What steps she has taken with the Crown Prosecution Service to support victims of crime. [R]”

“I recently visited a Colchester organisation, the Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse, or CARA, which offers vital support to victims of rape and sexual abuse. Will the Solicitor General reaffirm the Government’s commitment to supporting such organisations, which carry out so much of that vital frontline work, and will…”

“On your reading of the brief so far, do you feel that those powers are sufficient? Are there areas that give you any cause for concern at present?”

“Good afternoon. I am Pam Cox, the Member for Colchester. My interests are as declared, and I am the chair of the APPG on penal affairs.”

“Thank you very much for joining us this afternoon. We have some questions about the role and functions of the position. The Standing Advocate is a new role, and some people will not have heard about it. How would you summarise it in a nutshell for the public?”

“What specific powers will the holder of the role be able to exercise in relation to those things?”

“You have twice used the phrase “an unflinching voice for victims”, so it is clearly uppermost in your mind. Have you had a chance to consult victims’ organisations about the kinds of services and follow-up that might be needed in the role?”

“We will follow up on Hillsborough in a bit more detail in a moment. How is a major incident defined in the legislation, and what might a major incident entail?”

“Thank you very much.”

“Let me take us back to the independence of the role, as we have touched on various aspects of that. Would you be prepared to represent the interests of victims, even when those interests might not be priorities for the Government of the day? For example, if victims were calling for a public inquiry, but that was not su…”

“Last month, I was pleased to host a true heritage champion, Dame Mary Beard, in Colchester. She came to visit an incredible sporting heritage site: Britain’s only known Roman chariot racing track, the Colchester Roman Circus. She, like me, thinks that we should make much more of the site and that we are missing a natio…”

“1. What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Spending Review 2025 on the heritage sector.”

“All right. Perhaps we will follow up with you on that afterwards. Thank you.”

“Good afternoon. I am Pam Cox, the MP for Colchester. My interests are declared on the register, and I will just add that I am the new chair of the APPG on penal affairs.”

“I will stick with process for a second before moving on to questions about independence. What proportion of the Parole Board’s workflow is digitised?”

“The Committee has been pursuing that theme across the justice system. You sound like an exemplar institution. Turning to the independence of the Parole Board. Historically, the Parole Board advised the Home Secretary, and the Home Secretary made release decisions. That changed in 1996 when the Parole Board became an ar…”