In Parliament - Shabana Mahmood

Take a look at the feed below for a snapshot of my latest work in Parliament.

Management of the Prison Estate

Ministry of Justice

Written Ministerial Statements

This Government inherited a prison system on the verge of collapse, which would have left the courts unable to send offenders to prison and the police unable to arrest dangerous criminals. I took...

Topical Questions

Shabana Mahmood made a speech in the House of Commons

We have already pressed ahead with further measures on X-ray and baggage scanners, and we are taking action to deal with the problem of drones. My hon. Friend will be aware that, for security...

Topical Questions

Shabana Mahmood made a speech in the House of Commons

I have already made my position clear. I have written to the Sentencing Council, and I will be meeting it later this week. I am reviewing the roles and powers of the council, and I will not...

Topical Questions

Shabana Mahmood made a speech in the House of Commons

I thank my hon. Friend. I am very much looking forward to my meeting with the Sentencing Council later this week. As I have made clear, I am looking into the roles and powers of the council, and...

Topical Questions

Shabana Mahmood made a speech in the House of Commons

What I am shocked about is that we can see a disparity in the overall cohort sentencing outcomes. Everybody accepts that we are not quite sure why it is happening, and there has not been...

Topical Questions

Shabana Mahmood made a speech in the House of Commons

The law on joint enterprise has already developed somewhat since the previous Court of Appeal decision. I know that the Director of Public Prosecutions is keeping under review how prosecuting...

Topical Questions

Shabana Mahmood made a speech in the House of Commons

We all agree across the House, I hope, that pre-sentencing reports play a vital role in ensuring that whoever is passing a sentence has all the relevant facts at their disposal. I do not believe...

Topical Questions

Shabana Mahmood made a speech in the House of Commons

The right hon. Gentleman raises an incredibly important point. I am discussing with the Home Secretary the full range of powers that we need to have at our disposal, and she has already made it...

Topical Questions

Shabana Mahmood made a speech in the House of Commons

I have already set out exactly what I am going to do. I have written to the Sentencing Council, using the powers that I have to do so, and I will be meeting it later this week. I have made it...

Topical Questions

Shabana Mahmood made a speech in the House of Commons

What I can tell the hon. Gentleman is that this Government have made faster progress than the previous Government on the deportation of foreign national offenders from our prisons, with numbers...

Topical Questions

Shabana Mahmood made a speech in the House of Commons

The hon. Lady raises an important point. That is why I set up the Women’s Justice Board specifically to make recommendations—I believe that these are policy choices that are properly...

Topical Questions

Shabana Mahmood made a speech in the House of Commons

I notice that in all his references to letters, the shadow Lord Chancellor did not refer to the letter from the previous sentencing Minister, now the shadow Transport Secretary, who welcomed...

Topical Questions

Shabana Mahmood made a speech in the House of Commons

The whole House can see that the only pretence at a job is the one that the shadow Lord Chancellor is making, because he is pretending to be the Leader of the Opposition. We all know exactly what...

Topical Questions

Shabana Mahmood made a speech in the House of Commons

The shadow Lord Chancellor’s amnesia continues, because he clearly has not done his homework; he has forgotten that his Government were consulted extensively on this guidance. It also...

Topical Questions

Shabana Mahmood made a speech in the House of Commons

The hon. Gentleman makes an incredibly important point. Fixing the problems that he notes requires work by not just the Ministry of Justice, but the devolved Administrations and the Home Office....

Topical Questions

Shabana Mahmood made a speech in the House of Commons

The Government inherited prisons on the point of collapse and a record and rising backlog in our courts. Eight months into office, the work of restoring justice in this country is well under way....

Crown Court Backlog

Shabana Mahmood made a speech in the House of Commons

We are already tackling those issues, and as soon I came into office I increased the number of sitting days by 2,500 on what I inherited from the previous Administration. I have increased the...

Crown Court Backlog

Shabana Mahmood made a speech in the House of Commons

My hon. Friend is right to note the issue of falling disposals—in layman’s terms, the number of cases that are completed. The rate of disposals has indeed fallen in recent years,...

Crown Court Backlog

Shabana Mahmood made a speech in the House of Commons

This Government are funding a record 110,000 Crown court sitting days, which is 4,000 more than the previous Government funded. To bring down the backlog we must embrace reform, and that is why...

Independent Sentencing Review: Interim Report

Shabana Mahmood made a speech in the House of Commons

I have not yet seen the hon. Gentleman’s proposals, which may be on their way, but I will look at them carefully. He will know that the picture is complex. Even jurisdictions with a...