Speeches by Juss.

“They might serve all of their sentence while on remand but still not have engaged in any purposeful activity—”

“To move on to remand prisoners, there are lots of concerns. A lot of them are more likely to harm themselves. They need to maintain contact with family and so forth. The national regime model that we have been talking about requires that reception prisons should have a regime offer that they provide to remand prisoners…”

“I associate myself with the Minister’s earlier comments about the tragic events in Sheffield, where another young life has sadly been lost to knife crime. Does the Minister agree that these landmark reforms will not only drive high and rising standards, but help in the recruitment and retention of teachers? Will she al…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury (Julia Buckley) for her eloquent and emotional speech. The issue being discussed today is not new. Many years ago, when I attended a school reunion, I was told that two of my schoolmates had died in road tra…”

“I declare an interest as a member of the Justice Select Committee. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Opposition’s position fundamentally misunderstands the role of lawyers in our justice system? The Attorney General also represented victims of the tragedy in Grenfell Tower. Does my hon. Friend also agree that the Atto…”

“I thank my right hon. Friend for his answer. Does he agree that the Government’s plan for change provides my constituents in Wolverhampton West with clear, measurable metrics against which they can hold the Government to account? This will help to restore faith in politics and politicians, and enable my constituents to…”

“1. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to implement the Government’s plan for change.”

“At the request of several of my constituents in Wolverhampton West, this morning I attended a National Autistic Society event about the constant fight that autistic people face for support across health—including mental health—social care, education and employment. What strikes me is the general ignorance about autism …”

“Given the desperate need for more doctors in the NHS, does my hon. Friend agree that we need to be looking after doctors’ welfare to encourage more people to enter the medical profession?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir John. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich (Sarah Coombes) for securing the debate. In 2022-23, the west midlands reported 180 incidents per 100,000 people, giving it the unenviable title of knife-crime capital of the United Kingdom. Knife crime is the …”

“Will the hon. Gentleman give way?”

“Are we doing anything about the fact that the conviction rates are 10% lower with pre-recorded evidence? Are there any plans to refine the system?”

“I probably can anticipate the answer that you will give, but I will ask the questions anyway.”

“A lot of us have previously publicly supported the WASPI women, including by posting photographs on social media. The Government have acknowledged that there has been maladministration, but to have that acknowledgement without some kind of financial backing, even if minimal, not only undermines the process of the ombud…”

“Because of the seriousness of the issue, I imagine that you have had some discussions with the Government about the legalities of executing such a warrant.”

“I suppose your answer to the question of whether we have had any discussions with other countries would be the same. It is frustrating; I have to say that. When constituents ask us these questions, and they realise that their MP is on the Justice Committee, they will be looking to me to get answers for them.”

“rose—”

“It is something that is a lot of concern to constituents. As a lawyer, I do appreciate the need to have confidentiality and I do appreciate the Law Officers’ convention. But, sometimes, as MPs, we bang our heads against a wall because we cannot get the answers that we need to give to constituents, which are really very…”

“Staying on the issue of RASSO cases, we have previously had discussions about the lack of prosecuting and defence counsel in RASSO cases. A reason given is that, because of their very nature, these are very distressing cases. One of the main reasons given for lawyers not wanting to deal with such cases is insufficient …”

“As you say, ultimately, it is a matter for the Justice Secretary, but is that something that you would be having discussions with her about?”