Speeches by Munt.

“I just wonder whether you can project yourself forward a little and think about the fact that different sets of victims might have very different interests, in the widest sense. You may have a tension between different groups who are victims of such an incident. How would you deal with that tension, where you may have …”

“At midnight, The Times published an article on the ME final delivery plan, carrying quotes from three ME campaign groups. The charity Action for ME published a five-page briefing at the same time, and “BBC Breakfast” also featured the plan, so they had all read the plan. I checked with the relevant officers and went to…”

“Could we ask the Minister for clarity about the women who have dependent children or elderly relatives, who are often unable to meet the income thresholds required under settlement routes such as the skilled worker visa or the global talent visa? Could we also ask for clarity for their children, who have learned Englis…”

“Can the Secretary of State publish the data that quantifies the amount lost in leaks, so that the public can understand exactly how much water and how much of their hard-earned money is lost? It will also help the water companies to focus on fixing their pipes; it is no good just building another reservoir, as they mig…”

“Three weeks ago I asked about the long overdue final delivery plan for ME, and the Leader of the House rightly acknowledged the strength of feeling on this issue and referenced the NHS 10-year plan. The 10-year plan has now been published, but unfortunately it makes absolutely no mention of ME. The Department of Health…”

“I have caution about stripping back jury trials, so I ask the Government to commit to tackling court backlogs by investing in more court capacity, particularly in Bristol and the west country, by supporting rehabilitation to stop reoffending and people coming back into the system so quickly, and by addressing the root …”

“What happens if a decision is set aside? Is that it?”

“Give me an example of where something might theoretically be set aside.”

“Which hearing?”

“That is helpful. Thank you. I understand the appeal process for prisoners. Are victims not part of that? You are saying the Secretary of State and the prisoner, but that no other party can intervene in any way in initiating an appeal process?”

“May I take you on to another aspect? How did you manage the BBC programme? Bearing in mind the constraints on holding these hearings in public, how was it possible to film and broadcast them for the television series?”

“From 1 April this year, victims have been able to apply to observe a private Parole Board hearing. What support is put in place for the victims?”

“It is retraumatising.”

“In the pilot, 40% of applications to observe the private hearing were refused. Can you just run through why? I think we have covered part of that.”

“Sorry, but could you just explain that to me?”

“Late?”

“Can I just test you? You say that you get applications that are out of time. How does that happen? Surely there is a process involved. Did that many people make a late decision?”

“It would be nice to see that set out a bit more tidily.”

“I think that might be quite interesting, if you do not mind. Just to test you again, you said something about the prisoner not being able to give his or her best evidence in front of the victim. Really? Who decides that?”

“It is, and suppose my sense is—this is not about me, but about the whole Committee—that hearing the victim is really important. The prisoner should hear the victim; even if the prisoner has heard the victim three or four times, so be it, because it is real to the victim. We have managed to somehow deal with the fact th…”