Tuesday Volume 585 9 September 2014 No. 35 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Tuesday 9 September 2014 £5·00 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2014 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 741 9 SEPTEMBER 2014 742 Mr Vara: I have to say, it really is rich of the Opposition House of Commons to talk in such terms. Here we have a party that is constantly criticising, yet has said that there will be no Tuesday 9 September 2014 more money available in the unlikely event of it being in government. The Opposition really do need to sort out their act: they need to decide whether they are opposing The House met at half-past Eleven o’clock for opposition’s sake, and, if they do want reforms, where the money will come from and how much. PRAYERS Mr Speaker: Mr Graham Allen. Not here. [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] Prisons: Books 3. Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con): What assessment he Oral Answers to Questions has made of the availability of books to prisoners. [905235] The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice JUSTICE (Chris Grayling): Prisoners have essentially the same access to books as they did under the Labour Government. Prison libraries offer the full service offered to all of us The Secretary of State was asked— by our local public libraries. There has been no specific Court Closures policy change about books under this Government. 1. Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab): Whether he Philip Davies: I am grateful for that answer. The has any plans for further court closures. [905233] answer to a recent parliamentary question confirmed that £106 per prisoner is spent on libraries in prison, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice and from a recent freedom of information request I (Mr Shailesh Vara): With the exception of recently learned that in Leeds prison there are 10.5 books per published proposals on Abergavenny magistrates court prisoner, and in Wakefield prison 16.9. In contrast, in and Caerphilly magistrates court, Bracknell magistrates the libraries in my constituency for the general public, court, Knutsford Crown court and Spalding magistrates there is only about one book per person. On that basis, court there are no plans for further court closures. does the Secretary of State agree that, rather than prisoners being denied reading material, they are in fact Nick Smith: How many courts closed since May 2010 far better served than the general public? have yet to be disposed of? Chris Grayling: My hon. Friend makes an important Mr Vara: I will come back to the hon. Gentleman point. Those who have visited prison libraries will know with the precise figures. that they are well stocked and well supported by high-quality staff. In most prison libraries one will find local projects Wayne David (Caerphilly) (Lab): As the Minister helping prisoners to read, and I pay tribute to the work says, the Ministry of Justice is consulting on the closure done by our prison librarians in tackling literacy problems of Caerphilly court in my constituency. The proposal in our prisons. My hon. Friend is absolutely right: the from the MOJ is, frankly, back-of-the-envelope stuff. It fuss made about this issue has been wholly disproportionate will create enormous inconvenience for my constituents, and detached from the reality. and what is more, the local MP has not even been consulted. Is that acceptable? Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab): But will the Secretary of State give Parliament a report on how many minutes Mr Vara: There has been a consultation of which the each week each prisoner is able to visit a prison library? local MP is aware, and he, like anyone else, is entitled to We regularly hear reports of lack of staff preventing give his view in that. We are constantly reviewing the prisoners from visiting prison libraries, and lack of courts estate to ensure that it meets operational needs. space preventing toe by toe and similar reading programmes If any decisions are to be taken on the hon. Gentleman’s from being mounted. particular court, I hope that he will have been active in making his views heard. Chris Grayling: The challenge we have in our prisons is not making space available in libraries for prisoners Mr Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab): Yesterday, to visit but encouraging them to visit. That is why we leading counsel told the High Court that the Lord are pursuing projects such as toe by toe and encouraging Chancellor was causing literacy programmes. To be frank, I wish more prisoners “very serious harm to the…criminal justice system” wanted to go to our libraries. and described his modus operandi as “a caricature of fairness: empty abuses, bluff and bully, divide Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con): Will the Secretary and rule”. of State carefully consider the report published this Beyond the closure of hundreds of courts and law firms week from the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee, and the destruction of legal aid, what else does the Lord which shows that improved literacy really supports Chancellor have in mind to undermine the rule of law, rehabilitation and recommends that prison libraries which his oath of office requires him to uphold? should be open at weekends? 743 Oral Answers9 SEPTEMBER 2014 Oral Answers 744 Chris Grayling: I will read that very carefully; it is a Mike Penning: I pay tribute to the campaigning that helpful contribution to how we address the literacy the right hon. Gentleman has done over many years. I problem. I pay tribute to all the volunteers in the toe by look forward to him knocking on my door in the next toe programme, and to all the prisoners who can read couple of weeks, I am sure, to come in and see me as the and devote time to helping those who cannot. It is a new Minister. We are doing everything we possibly can path to the enhanced privileges available under our new to reverse the way victims are treated, or perceived to be regime. It is important that we take advantage of all the treated, within the criminal justice system. In the past resources available to us to try to tackle the problem of couple of weeks I have used the analogy that we should a lack of literacy in our prisons. look at the other end of the telescope and put victims first. That is why the victims panel was set up by the Victims of Crime Secretary of State. I look forward to working with many of the victims groups so that we can reverse the feeling that they are being treated unjustly. 4. Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab): What steps he plans to take to enforce the code Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op): May of practice for victims of crime. [905236] I press the Minister on the countless victims in towns The Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims and cities up and down our country who were forced (Mike Penning): May I, with your permission, Mr Speaker, into illegal sex—underage sex—and who were raped pay my own personal tribute to Jim Dobbin, as it is my and pushed into child prostitution? Up and down the first opportunity at the Dispatch Box to do so? Jim was country, they have got no justice. Will this code help a personal friend and a colleague of all of us in the them? Will he join my appeal for an early, major debate House. He would, I am sure, have been here at Justice in the House on that issue as soon as possible? questions because they are the sort of questions he would have been here for. He was a great man. Mike Penning: I will be more than happy to respond to a debate on that very important subject, but it is I would have asked you, Mr Speaker, if I could group above my pay grade to decide what the business in the Questions 4 and 8, but I do not need to do so now, so I House will be—that decision is for the business managers. will just answer Question 4. The victims code is a The Backbench Business Committee has been enormously statutory document that places clear duties on criminal successful in this Parliament. I will be more than happy justice agencies. We will monitor criminal justice agencies’ to respond to any debate proposed by the business compliance with the victims code and my Department managers. will report back in March 2015. Debbie Abrahams: I thank the Minister for his very Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab): I welcome the kind remarks and support him in what he said. Jim victims Minister to his post. I know he will share the Dobbin was a neighbour and a long-standing friend of House’s concern about the number of young people mine, and a thoroughly decent man who will be sorely coming forward who have been victims of horrendous missed. abuse. It is very important that they get the support they need to ensure that justice is done. That includes The murdered police constable Nicola Hughes was a victims being able to give evidence away from a court constituent of mine. Her father Bryn has set up a setting via a video link. There are only a handful of charity in her name, particularly to support the families remote sites across the country, and the vast majority of murder victims.