Speeches by Davies-Jones.

“I am grateful once again to have the opportunity to speak on the Victims and Courts Bill. As I have said previously in this House, this is fundamentally a Bill for victims. Throughout the Bill’s passage, we have heard the experiences and views of victims and bereaved families and we have listened. I know for that fact …”

“Overall, the changes respond directly to long-standing calls for a more transparent and accessible process. They will ensure that victims are informed about the scheme and that where the 28‑day deadline cannot be met, there is a fair route to apply within six months where the interests of justice demand it. These measu…”

“I beg to move, That this House disagrees with Lords amendments 4B and 4C.”

“I will be attending.”

“I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s intervention. He will know that my family have also faced tragedy and bereavement at the hands of the IRA. My cousin was killed on Horse Guards Parade serving this country by a serving member of the IRA, and that issue has plagued my family for decades and still hurts to this very day. I …”

“I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s comments. I was not inadvertently misleading the House; if he looks at the details of Lords amendment 5C, he will see that that is not what it does. The amendment does not simply extend the time limit—it does much more—and it does not extend the time limit for everyone. As I will explain …”

“Our amendment in lieu will first place in primary legislation a statutory duty on the Lord Chancellor to consult before laying any secondary legislation to set rates. There will be full and thorough public consultation, and the Government will publish a full response as part of the process of setting any rates. The mea…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. This Bill goes beyond party politics; this is a Bill, as I have said, for victims. It has been a sincere pleasure to work across political divides to get this right for victims, who are rightly at the heart of the Bill. I have always stated that I will work with anyone from …”

“With the leave of the House, I will close this really important and special debate. It moves us another step closer to this Bill becoming a much-needed law for all victims, and I sincerely thank all hon. Members who have spoken, particularly my hon. Friends the Members for Blackpool North and Fleetwood (Lorraine Beaver…”

“Secondly, we will also introduce a statutory duty to notify victims of the existence of the unduly lenient sentence scheme. The victims code will ensure that those most impacted by the crime know their right to ask the Attorney General to consider referring a sentence review. Together, these two amendments deliver what…”

“Lords amendment 4B would require the Ministry of Justice to publish an impact assessment before making any regulations. The Government fully recognise the importance of transparency. However, we do not consider that this amendment is appropriately framed in its drafting for the established process. Nevertheless, we rec…”

“That will ensure that Parliament is not constrained in granting an enabling power that can be exercised in a proportionate, practical and effective way. For those reasons, I urge Members to support the motions and the Government amendments. I commend the Bill to the House.”

“Lords amendment 4C would make any regulations to set the rates at which private prosecutors can recover costs from central funds subject to the affirmative, rather than negative, procedure. I fully recognise the desire for parliamentary scrutiny, and the Government are committed to ensuring that any use of this power i…”

“At this stage, Parliament is conferring an enabling power. We do not yet know how complex or detailed the eventual structure of the rates will be. In these circumstances, it would be disproportionate to mandate a process that risks lengthy debate, using up valuable parliamentary time over technical or numerical detail,…”

“I appreciate that clarification. The hon. Gentleman is correct, but Lords amendment 5C does much more than that, through listening to victims campaigners such as Tracey Hanson and Katie Brett directly. The measure is a direct tribute to them, because for them the status quo was neither fair nor acceptable. I would also…”

“I want to thank peers in the other place for their careful consideration of clause 12. We understand that these amendments seek transparency and scrutiny of any regulations that set the rates at which private prosecutors can recover costs from central funds. However, the Government are unable to accept the amendments o…”

“The negative procedure strikes the right balance. It ensures that regulations are laid before Parliament; that they are subject to scrutiny, including from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee; and that they may be challenged, debated and annulled where concerns arise. It gives Parliament a clear mechanism to i…”

“My hon. Friend is right. This is called the Victims and Courts Bill because it is a Bill for victims, built by victims and, sadly, by their experiences of how the criminal justice system has not supported them and has failed them. It is important for us to build on the Bill and ensure that we get it right and that it i…”

“I beg to move, That this House disagrees with Lords amendment 1.”

“I am afraid that the hon. Member must not have heard what I said before I came to non-legislative changes. The Government are committed to bringing forward legislative changes on that time limit and to consider out-of-time applications by families. We have listened directly to the families about what they want. We coul…”