Results 1-20 of 4,887 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Maria Eagle

Oral Answers to Questions — Justice: Prison Site (North Wales) (10 Nov 2009)

Maria Eagle: I have just announced a new site search and identified north Wales as one of the site search areas. Officials are working with the Wales Office, the North Wales criminal justice board, the Welsh Assembly Government and local authorities to identify potential sites for a new prison. A shortlist of potential sites will be published in the spring.

Oral Answers to Questions — Justice: Prison Site (North Wales) (10 Nov 2009)

Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice withdrew its interest in the site to which the hon. Gentleman refers because the due diligence procedures it undertook highlighted reasons why the site did not lend itself to prison development and did not represent value for money. That is why the decision was made. We are searching for suitable further sites, including in north Wales.

Oral Answers to Questions — Justice: Prison Site (North Wales) (10 Nov 2009)

Maria Eagle: rose—

Oral Answers to Questions — Justice: Prison Site (North Wales) (10 Nov 2009)

Maria Eagle: One of the reasons why north Wales is an area in which we are searching for a site for a new prison is that at present many prisoners from Wales have to serve their sentences outside their home area, for example in Merseyside. Clearly, if we are able to find a suitable site and build a prison there, that will present us with an opportunity to provide the specialist services the hon....

Oral Answers to Questions — Justice: Young Reoffenders (10 Nov 2009)

Maria Eagle: The level of juvenile reoffending is at its lowest since 2000, with the rate having come down by more than a fifth between 2000 and 2007. The £100 million youth crime action plan is on track to cut youth offending further through a combination of tough enforcement against offenders, non-negotiable support to families of offenders and early intervention and prevention for young people at...

Oral Answers to Questions — Justice: Young Reoffenders (10 Nov 2009)

Maria Eagle: The Government's efforts to ensure that young people have employment and education or training will go a long way towards tackling the hon. Gentleman's concerns.

Oral Answers to Questions — Justice: Young Reoffenders (10 Nov 2009)

Maria Eagle: The amount of money spent on education in both our young offenders estate and the adult prison estate has risen significantly in the intervening years. There is further to go, and more can be done to assist young and adult prisoners to ensure that they acquire the skills and training that will help them live a more honest life when they come out at the end of their sentences.

Oral Answers to Questions — Justice: Young Reoffenders (10 Nov 2009)

Maria Eagle: It is for the courts to decide how to sentence those who come before them. The number of young people first entering the criminal justice system is down by 10 per cent. in the past year; reoffending is down by 20 per cent. since 2000; the rate of reoffences classified as serious is down by 20 per cent; the frequency of reoffending is down by a quarter, and the number of offenders who reoffend...

Oral Answers to Questions — Justice: Young Reoffenders (10 Nov 2009)

Maria Eagle: To save time, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I just gave the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell).

Oral Answers to Questions — Justice: Young Reoffenders (10 Nov 2009)

Maria Eagle: I agree with the hon. Gentleman. Although we have made much progress—increasing the amount of spend on adult education by more than 15 times since the Government came to office—more can be done, and we intend to ensure that we do it.

Oral Answers to Questions — Justice: Prisoner Transfer Agreements (10 Nov 2009)

Maria Eagle: It is Government policy to negotiate prisoner transfer agreements, particularly with those countries with large numbers of nationals in our prisons. As of 30 June 2009, the three countries with the largest numbers were Jamaica, Nigeria and the Republic of Ireland. We have prisoner transfer agreements with the Republic of Ireland and Nigeria. A prisoner transfer agreement was signed with...

Oral Answers to Questions — Justice: Prisoner Transfer Agreements (10 Nov 2009)

Maria Eagle: Currently, the arrangements require the consent of prisoners to be transferred. Nigeria is a signatory, so we can now transfer prisoners voluntarily to serve their sentences at home. We are negotiating a compulsory transfer agreement. Enabling legislation is at the committee stage in the Nigerian National Assembly, so I hope that in due course, in the not-too-distant future, we will be able...

Oral Answers to Questions — Justice: Topical Questions (10 Nov 2009)

Maria Eagle: I can give the hon. Gentleman that assurance. Housing previous offenders is one of the pathways to reducing reoffending that we are taking action to deal with. That is not to say that every prisoner who comes out will find settled and secured housing, as that case illustrates, but 86 per cent. do.

Rape Crisis Centres (10 Nov 2009)

Maria Eagle: Let me begin by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Stourbridge (Lynda Waltho) on obtaining the debate and thereby allowing us to consider the serious and important issue of sexual violence. I pay tribute to the work of the third sector on sexual violence. Such organisations do vital work across the country to support those who have been subjected to what is one of the most horrible...

Rape Crisis Centres (10 Nov 2009)

Maria Eagle: There is some central funding from the POPPY project, which comes largely through the Home Office, for those who have been trafficked into this country and subjected to sexual violence, so there is some specific funding aimed at helping those victims of sexual abuse who come to the attention of the authorities. One of the issues with the sexual violence third sector is that it does not tend...

Probation Service (4 Nov 2009)

Maria Eagle: Let me begin by congratulating the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd) on securing the debate, which I think everyone present has enjoyed. As ever, he put forward his points in a deeply irritating manner that forced me to keep leaping up and down, and I ended up annoying him because he thought that I was being tetchy.

Probation Service (4 Nov 2009)

Maria Eagle: I am glad to have made the hon. Gentleman's day, but he has made mine as well, so our debate in this Chamber has been mutually beneficial. We have had a good debate about some extremely serious issues. One thing has come across overwhelmingly in everyone's contribution: Members on both sides of the House appreciate the work that probation officers and others who work for our probation service...