Speeches by Farnsworth.

“In my 21 years as a Crown prosecutor, I prosecuted many, many cases, but I prosecuted far fewer individuals. That is because 80% of offenders are reoffenders, so I saw the same defendants time and again. The current system does not work. Does the Lord Chancellor agree that the new approach will reduce reoffending, cut …”

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn) for securing this vital debate. This issue touches on every community, but I will focus on how the crisis is playing out in my constituency. Amber Valley has less than a quarter of the national average number of NHS dentists per 100,000 p…”

“I would like to turn to the co-operation aspect of the agreement, on which I congratulate the Prime Minister. When I was an international liaison prosecutor, my colleagues and I in the Crown Prosecution Service, Eurojust and Europol were relieved when the trade and co-operation agreement was finally agreed. Does the Pr…”

“Some of what you have told us is really concerning. I want to drill down into the impact that that might have on staff absence and how that in turn impacts the rehabilitative regimes on offer. There are bound to be staff absences due to ill health, and we have learned of really concerning levels of mental health illnes…”

“Good afternoon. I am the Member of Parliament for Amber Valley. I was a Crown prosecutor before coming into Parliament. My declaration of interests is on the website, but I am a member of various trade unions and APPGs.”

“We might need another letter on that point.”

“Yes—almost a different relationship between them. I think that is unanimous: you agree that that is a really good and important method. The Clink Charity recently announced that it is closing its restaurant at one prison due to it not being able to run under its current contract. I think that is its second closure in t…”

“It is worrying. Going back to the types of spaces on offer, you have mentioned workshops, and we saw the value of them at Buckley Hall, which had some really good space, though it was not necessarily full of people using it at the time. Some colleagues on the Committee went to HMP Wormwood Scrubs and visited a café cal…”

“Can I ask about a different cohort of prisoners—those with accessibility requirements? Do you find that they struggle to access rehabilitative activities due to the accommodation—the type of physical space—that is on offer for those programmes?”

“The longer periods of remand, which we have talked about already, impact on that as well.”

“I want to stick on the topic of buildings and maintenance but circle back to rehabilitative programmes and ask how the lack of space in the prison estate impacts the provision of rehabilitative programmes. Charlie mentioned earlier that some Victorian prisons do not have the space to offer programmes, or as many progra…”

“I can imagine. Is it also the case that you have inexperienced staff having to fill the gaps that others are leaving when they are promoted, perhaps prematurely? On the opposite extreme, do you have people who perhaps have been employed for a specific role, maybe a key worker role, who are not able to fulfil that role …”

“Good afternoon. I am the Member of Parliament for Amber Valley. My declaration is as per the website. I am a non-practising solicitor, formerly of the Crown Prosecution Service.”

“Should it be judge-led on a case-by-case basis?”

“How would we decide which cases were suitable and which cases were not suitable for certain types of resolution?”

“A moment ago you touched on the use of early neutral evaluation within the county court. I am really interested in that. Do you think that should be used more? If so, how should it be used? Would that in itself be a useful tool in terms of access to justice where somebody is not represented?”

“If it was to be expanded, would you want to see some safeguards for the sorts of cases that would be—”

“Do you have any concerns about the access to justice side of things if one party has had the benefit of legal advice before going into mediation and the other has not? If you do have concerns, are there any safeguards?”

“I want to move away from rules and back to humans, and talk to you about mediation and the alternative dispute resolution. Since you last appeared before the Committee in June 2023, there have been major developments in the use of mediation for civil justice in relation to the mandatory requirement for mediation for ci…”

“You have mentioned the recruitment campaign that you have running at the moment. You said that applications are starting to come in and you will know more by the end of the year. Are you optimistic? Do you think that that is going to reap some benefits and rewards?”