Speeches by Cox.

“So this sector has grown up since then.”

“When was that House of Lords decision?”

“You said at the beginning that most common-law jurisdictions have something like this, and that England and Wales are an outlier. What is your assessment as to why that is?”

“Good afternoon. I am Pam Cox, MP for Colchester. My interests are as declared on the register.”

“I welcome the Government’s determination to tackle violence against women and girls and to support victims. Does the Minister agree that as well as improvements to our criminal justice system, improvements to our family justice system will play an important part in that?”

“I welcome today’s debate on road safety, which is a subject of deep concern in Colchester and across Essex. In our county, we have seen a year-on-year increase in deaths on our roads, rising to 58 in 2025—too many of those have been young lives. In Colchester, we are marking a terrible anniversary at present: the momen…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. I am sure the Minister has heard that point and will respond to it. Far too many people die on our roads—we really must act to save lives. I will close by asking the Minister what new funding will be available to help us in that key endeavour.”

“I really welcome the national cancer plan and the Minister’s clear personal determination to bring it to fruition. Does she agree that local innovations are going to play a key part? Such an innovation is the prehabilitation service in Colchester, which gets patients ready for treatment before their treatment begins. W…”

“Like many colleagues, I believe we need a migration system that is robust and fair. It must be robust because, like any sovereign state, the UK needs to be able to exert control over its borders. However, it also needs to be fair, because we are a state that defends and cherishes a rights-based order. I wanted to speak…”

“Is there a list anywhere of large employers that work both in prison and on the outside? I know Timpson does, but is there a list?”

“Sure. We are in a situation where we need to maintain criminal records, but that need not have a cumulative disadvantaging effect on people over time. That is where I guess we want to get to. What two or three headline reforms do you want to see?”

“This is more of an observation. Thank you so much for your testimonies. It seems that one challenge for this sector is that the criminal justice sector focuses on criminal justice clients. From a local MP’s perspective, I am thinking about the employer networks I am already trying to build up for apprentices, for veter…”

“That would be interesting to know, given the scale of the challenge. If one in four people have a criminal record, as we are told in the brief and by you, some people must function with a criminal record. How does that happen? Where are the stories where people have been able to negotiate? It is important for us to be …”

“For all offences?”

“I was struck by something you said, Paula, that all these agencies like the police and other agencies come to Unlock for guidance. Why do they not go to the Disclosure and Barring Service, which is a Government agency?”

“This is more of an observation. Thank you so much for your testimonies. It seems that one challenge for this sector is that the criminal justice sector focuses on criminal justice clients. From a local MP’s perspective, I am thinking about the employer networks I am already trying to build up for apprentices, for veter…”

“I completely agree.”

“Good afternoon. I am the MP for Colchester. My interests are as declared on the register and I am the Chair of the APPG for penal affairs.”

“Do you have examples of good, inclusive workplaces here that perform better than DBS?”

“What advice does it give?”