Speeches by Slade.

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. People have to pay extra to be part of the update system. Why would anyone pay extra to put themselves under additional scrutiny? Why is that not automatic? The other option, which has been suggested by some, is that the Government could consider a right to ask/right to know process …”

“I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. Today, the headline in the Bournemouth Echo is about another case involving a carer, who stole £125,000 from an elderly person. The case I am describing is not a one-off. Louise told me about a carer who was coming into her home and who she had trusted. The basic DBS check w…”

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing forward this debate and his Bill. Does he agree that it is not just about bridleways? Forestry England has recently introduced quite substantial fees for carriages, which are used by a lot of disabled people, to use their paths, and complex paperwork more akin to that for pe…”

“Can I just give you an example? I was recently due to be a witness in a case of harassment, and the expectation was that this chap might get a year to 18 months. He had previously offended and got a suspended sentence. It was listed for an eight-day trial. As a witness, I was expected to hold open eight days. It might …”

“No, I get that; you’re right. The final thing I want to ask plays a little bit into the diversity piece. We know there is currently a recruitment drive. There was a recruitment drive in 2022 to attempt to recruit an extra 4,000 magistrates. To date, it has recruited only 2,000. What do you think the impact on the diver…”

“Yes, but it is only the summer holidays—let’s be honest—and then you do not have witnesses or other people available. So my instinct is to say that the diversity of magistrates is going to shrink back to the traditional older person, and therefore the whole point of having lay people from the community who are more div…”

“If you are going to take a case that would have a sentence of potentially two years, it presumably is going to be a trial over multiple days. If you are dealing with people who are volunteers and who are potentially volunteering for only a small number of days during the year, what do you think the impact on working pa…”

“These questions are primarily to Mr Ford. We know that the Magistrates’ Association has come out in support of the extension of the ability to sentence for longer in the magistrates court. We have already seen the move from six months to 12 months; obviously there is now a proposal to go to 18 months, or potentially 24…”

“No, I get that; you’re right. The final thing I want to ask plays a little bit into the diversity piece. We know there is currently a recruitment drive. There was a recruitment drive in 2022 to attempt to recruit an extra 4,000 magistrates. To date, it has recruited only 2,000. What do you think the impact on the diver…”

“These questions are primarily to Mr Ford. We know that the Magistrates’ Association has come out in support of the extension of the ability to sentence for longer in the magistrates court. We have already seen the move from six months to 12 months; obviously there is now a proposal to go to 18 months, or potentially 24…”

“Good afternoon. I am Vikki Slade, the Member of Parliament for Mid Dorset and North Poole. My interests are on the register, but there are none of any relevance to this session.”

“I recently visited the Dorset breastfeeding network at the Purbeck community centre, and it was fascinating to hear about the work that the team there are doing, but they told me that since covid, standard NHS antenatal classes have stopped and have never returned. As a result, women are not getting the information tha…”

“Can I just give you an example? I was recently due to be a witness in a case of harassment, and the expectation was that this chap might get a year to 18 months. He had previously offended and got a suspended sentence. It was listed for an eight-day trial. As a witness, I was expected to hold open eight days. It might …”

“Final question, then: if you were handed your 4,000 magistrates tomorrow and this came in, would the magistrates system be able to cope? We know that there is a modest increase in the number of legal advisers coming through, but with everything else we know, do you think this change could work, if it came in, with all …”

“If you are going to take a case that would have a sentence of potentially two years, it presumably is going to be a trial over multiple days. If you are dealing with people who are volunteers and who are potentially volunteering for only a small number of days during the year, what do you think the impact on working pa…”

“Good afternoon. I am Vikki Slade, the Member of Parliament for Mid Dorset and North Poole. My interests are on the register, but there are none of any relevance to this session.”

“Can I seek some clarity before you move on? During the last session, our witnesses made it very clear that these changes would not apply retrospectively, and therefore they would have absolutely no impact on the backlog and would not start to make any difference until 2029. I may have missed that being said previously,…”

“Can I seek some clarity before you move on? During the last session, our witnesses made it very clear that these changes would not apply retrospectively, and therefore they would have absolutely no impact on the backlog and would not start to make any difference until 2029. I may have missed that being said previously,…”

“Yes, but it is only the summer holidays—let’s be honest—and then you do not have witnesses or other people available. So my instinct is to say that the diversity of magistrates is going to shrink back to the traditional older person, and therefore the whole point of having lay people from the community who are more div…”

“Final question, then: if you were handed your 4,000 magistrates tomorrow and this came in, would the magistrates system be able to cope? We know that there is a modest increase in the number of legal advisers coming through, but with everything else we know, do you think this change could work, if it came in, with all …”