Speeches by Sackman.

“I will address that point in a moment, because it is an important one. It is the interaction of the major reforms that are proposed here—the increase in sentencing power, the removal of the right to elect, the introduction of a permission stage to appeals and the existence of the Crown court bench division. As parliame…”

“Let me answer that in stages. First of all, we are dealing with an acute crisis, which is a systemic challenge. The Government’s position is that the only way to address that is from multiple angles that comprise structural reform and productivity savings of the sort the IfG outlined, in addition to record investment i…”

“First, I have not seen the Institute for Government’s paper. I have huge respect for the Institute for Government, but I think what Cassia Rowland said was that, in her view, on her evidence—I have not seen what she has based it on—the savings that would be realised through the legislative reforms amount to 10% in term…”

“We will, as is usual practice, provide Parliament with the impact assessment, which will include modelling, and an equality impact assessment. It will include our formal response to Brian Leveson’s reports. As part of that, this Committee will no doubt be able to scrutinise what the Government are putting forward, and …”

“It will do all those things, Chair. It is important that it does, and it is important that Parliament gets the opportunity to scrutinise this. While I stand by the point that it is right that we rebalance the interests of justice when it comes to the determination of mode of trial—so that that rests with the court rath…”

“I suppose there are two principles underlying that. One is how you proportionately allocate the limited resources within any justice system. We know that currently magistrates process and hear 90% of criminal cases. After the proposals, they will hear a good deal more, but it is about where you draw the line. We have h…”

“Critically—if you will allow me to finish one more sentence—it will also ensure that what we end up with is not just the backlog back down to sustainable levels, but being able to sustain that in the face of growing demand. The MOJ data shows that demand coming into the system is not only high but growing. There are mo…”

“I am trying to do the opposite. I do not think we should detach any one of these measures from the overall objective here, which is about building a criminal justice system fit for the 21st century. I say that because the last time any Government looked at reform of the criminal justice system in any significant way wa…”

“I do believe that. I believe in the idea that decisions about mode of trial should rest with the court, not the defendant, as is currently the case. These proposals, which are born out of the independent review of criminal courts led by Sir Brian Leveson, support that proposition, which we will bring forward in proposa…”

“I am Sarah Sackman KC MP, and I am the Minister for Courts and Legal Services in the Justice Department.”

“My hon. Friend is right: at the heart of the considerations that we must make as we bring our justice system, reformed and rebuilt, into the 21st century, are victims. This is all about delivering swift justice for victims, because what our constitution guarantees is not a constitutional right to a jury trial, but a co…”

“My hon. Friend is right to say that the nature of crime and of the evidence presented is altering the way our criminal justice system works, but let me provide this reassurance to the House: as well as modernising and rebuilding our justice system, these measures are designed to protect jury trials for the most serious…”

“As so often, my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Natalie Fleet) is a powerful advocate for women and for victims. As I have said, the reforms that the Government are bringing forward are laser focused on swift justice for victims. I wish to address the point about investment—”

“The hon. Gentleman is right that listing is a judicial function, but the fact remains—this is CPS data—that some 4,000 cases last year could have been heard four times faster. We know that cases are heard four times faster in the magistrates court than in the Crown court, and although magistrates had the sentencing pow…”

“I will complete this point and then I will take an intervention. Investment is what is needed, and investment can get us out of the crisis we are in. Let me be absolutely clear: this Government are making an investment, turning round an oil tanker that had been run into the ground for years when we inherited it. This y…”

“The right hon. Lady is right that there are regional difficulties—the situation for those in the south-east, London and parts of the north-east and the north-west is utterly dire—but let me be absolutely clear and clarify something. She says that we are scrapping jury trials, but we are not. Let us get the facts straig…”

“I could not agree more. As I am someone with responsibility for the recruitment of our magistrates, I know my hon. Friend will have seen in the early headlines this year that we are looking for more magistrates. We want them to be more diverse, younger and from different parts of the country and different backgrounds. …”

“My hon. Friend asks a really important question, and we will lay out our plans on just that point. How do we prevent that revolving door of reoffending? It is there in the work that we are doing on sentencing and early intervention, because prevention is so much better than cure. One of the most depressing features tha…”

“I will make a commitment to publish an impact assessment, an equalities impact assessment, and the evidence of the independent review in the usual way when we bring forward our formal Government response and the necessary legislation. Parliament will have a chance to scrutinise that legislation, to interrogate it, and …”

“I will give way for the final time, and then I will wrap up.”