Speeches by Munt.

“Can you not see a future—because clearly Topolski did—that is very different from nine and 39? Well, maybe we should say six minus two plus one and 39. There must be a way. We manage it in court.”

“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…”

“It would be very interesting to know what the figures were on that as well, as I think that is sliding in the wrong way. It must be right that the victim is considered. I will not go on too much longer, but I wanted to ask a question about the Parole Board’s ability to meet the additional cost of victim attendance. Wil…”

“The transparency review recommended that the Parole Board decision summaries are replaced by redacted, fully reasoned decisions, as “circumstances have changed and a different approach is now required.” Do you accept that this change in approach has to come about?”

“Is that just the recent SDS—the 40% ones?”

“Indeed, I do agree. Our interaction with the NHS needs to be far better. I will come to that later. In December 2020, the then Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice took the important step of commissioning an independent review into neurodiversity in the criminal justice system. The review was led by the c…”

“I could not agree with my hon. Friend more. His point is similar to the one made by my hon. Friend the Member for Yeovil (Adam Dance): the earlier we screen, the better we will be able to understand how people learn. In the long run, if life is not education, I do not know what it is—I am sure the Minister will have so…”

“Indeed, there is no consistent data collection. That is a problem not only in Northern Ireland, but in England and Wales, which the debate is primarily about. If someone is identified and diagnosed, it can be hard for them to access the right care and support due to fragmented care pathways. That is compounded by limit…”

“I agree with the hon. Gentleman and will come to that in a moment. The impact of ADHD on rehabilitation and reoffending sits at the junction of many different interests. It seems likely that supporting people with ADHD could be a critical part of delivering the Government’s aim of rebuilding confidence in the criminal …”

“Will the tool be used for every entrant to the prison estate or is it for those who might be suspected of having some sort of neurodiversity?”

“Briefly, the Liberal Democrats welcome the draft instrument, which brings the sheep carcase regulations in line with the existing beef and pig regulations. We want to ensure that sheep meat producers receive a fair price for their products, and to increase transparency and fairness for the sector, thus benefiting farme…”