Jake Richards

Voted NO on: King's Speech Motion for an Address: amendment (i)

Jake Richards voted NO on 'King's Speech Motion for an Address: amendment (i)' (108-323, defeated)

Voted NO on: King's Speech Motion for an Address: amendment (i)

Jake Richards voted NO on 'King's Speech Motion for an Address: amendment (i)' (108-323, defeated)

Spoke in debate: Criminalisation of Children in Care

Parliamentary appearance by Jake Richards

Spoke in debate: Open Prisons: Policy on Convicted Paedophiles

Parliamentary appearance by Jake Richards

Spoke in debate: Prisoner Releases in Error

Parliamentary appearance by Jake Richards

Spoke in debate: Reoffending

Parliamentary appearance by Jake Richards

Spoke in debate: Topical Questions

Parliamentary appearance by Jake Richards

Criminalisation of Children in Care

Far too many care-experienced people end up in the criminal justice system. Last November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a review of the national protocol for reducing the criminalisation of that cohort. Officials are actively working on that, and we will publish a strengthened protocol later this year.

Open Prisons: Policy on Convicted Paedophiles

As I said, each case is considered on its own circumstances, and the risk is assessed by the professionals. I am very happy to look into that case and make sure that the appropriate officials look into it too.

Open Prisons: Policy on Convicted Paedophiles

This Government are undertaking the biggest prison building programme since the Victorian era. We will be building 13,000 new places by 2031. We inherited a prison capacity crisis from the Conservatives, so it takes some chutzpah for them to start asking questions about prison building. We are committed to the prison building programme that we announced in 2024, and we are confident that we will match it. We are fixing the mess that they created.

Prisoner Releases in Error

The truth is that this is a long-standing issue in our criminal justice system, and it is a disgrace—any release in error is a disgrace. How do we solve the issue? We solve it by investing in our prison system. That is why we are building more prisons than we have done since the Victorian era. We are investing in stabilising the prison population. That is why we introduced the Sentencing Act 2026, so finally we have some sustainability in our prison system, after the Conservatives did absolutely

Reoffending

My hon. and learned Friend is right to raise those issues and the good work that is happening in his constituency. As he knows, Lord Timpson is leading work on what happens when inmates are in custody. That means working with health services to ensure that our prisoners are getting the support they need, as well as with private sector employers to ensure that there are opportunities afterwards. I will ask Lord Timpson to write to him with the specifics about what is happening in his area.

Reoffending

The hon. Gentleman is right that there is an important role for restorative justice in our criminal justice system. Just yesterday we made an announcement on the use of restorative justice in our youth courts, as well as the appointment of Jacob Dunne as an expert adviser. Jacob Dunne, who will be known to many Members of the House, is a great champion of restorative justice, and someone who has experienced it. There is more to do in the adult estate, and the Government will announce measures on

Reoffending

The hon. Member is right to raise the importance of education in our prisons. The scandal with education in our prisons is that there are classrooms and workshops that are left empty day in, day out, because the prison system remains unstable and capacity is going through the roof. This Government have been rightly focused on getting stability into the prison system. We will make announcements about investment into education, but we will also be using the private sector and the third sector, not

Topical Questions

As I said earlier, all prisoners, including those convicted of domestic violence and stalking offences, will be allowed to move to an open prison only when they have been assessed and risk assessed. I am very happy to organise a meeting between the hon. Gentleman and the relevant Minister to discuss this case.

Topical Questions

Some of the matters that the hon. Member has raised are perhaps matters for the Foreign Secretary, rather than the Justice Secretary. As he said, we clearly always respect international law and the principle of the rule of law more generally.

Criminalisation of Children in Care

I thank the hon. Member for that important question; he is right to raise the matter. Indeed, he raised a similar theme in the Commons just yesterday. Lord Timpson has a particular focus on female offenders and women inmates in prison, and he will make an announcement in due course.

Open Prisons: Policy on Convicted Paedophiles

Prisoners are moved to an open prison as part of the rehabilitation process, but only after they pass a thorough risk assessment. Every prisoner, including those serving a sentence for a sexual offence, is subject to an individual risk assessment. They will not be allowed to move to an open prison unless they are assessed as presenting a low enough risk. A prisoner can be immediately returned from an open prison to closed conditions if their risk increases.

Topical Questions

The hon. Member is a member of the Justice Committee, and she raises an important and practical point. The Government recognise the hugely important civic duty role that jurors play day in, day out across the country, and we will always keep remuneration and travel costs under review. We have heard the question.

Topical Questions

My hon. Friend has been consistent in raising that important issue, and we are committed to ensuring sufficient education provision for prisoners. I would gently stress, however, that we can only provide that education if we are able to get prisoners into the classroom. We need to stabilise and get order back into the prison system after the chaos that we inherited, but this Government are absolutely committed to ensuring that prisoners have education and work opportunities on leaving prison.