Results 1-20 of 669 for in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates' speaker:Lord Ramsbotham

Offender Rehabilitation Bill [HL] — Second Reading (20 May 2013)

Lord Ramsbotham: My Lords, I have to admit that I am deeply uneasy about the Bill, not because I do not agree with its general objective of reducing reoffending-of course I do-but because of the many questions about the implementation of its associated strategy that remain unanswered and the speed with which it is being rushed through this House. I entirely associate myself with the wise words and caution...

Queen’s Speech — Debate (5th Day) (15 May 2013)

Lord Ramsbotham: My Lords, in noting the antics in the other place following the non-inclusion in the gracious Speech of a possible referendum on Europe, I am confident that they will not be repeated in this House if my contribution is devoted to the surprising absence of another issue. Before I come to that, as a vice-chairman of the Chagos Islands all-party group I agree with everything that will be said by...

Crime and Courts Bill [HL] — Commons Amendments (25 March 2013)

Lord Ramsbotham: My Lords, I thank the Minister for his reply. Over the years I have come to recognise that in the Minister we have a fully paid-up supporter of the probation service as well as a fully paid-up supporter of making improvements to the women's justice system. Therefore, I am conscious that we are talking to somebody whose heart is certainly in making the improvements that we all know to be...

Crime and Courts Bill [HL] — Commons Amendments (25 March 2013)

Lord Ramsbotham: My Lords, in her foreword to the Strategic Objectives for Female Offenders published last Friday, Helen Grant, the Ministry of Justice Minister responsible for women, wrote: "The issue of women in prisons is a deeply emotive one, in which there is very genuine interest from Parliamentary colleagues". I am sure that the noble Lord, as a member of the Government who purport to be as genuinely...

Armed Forces: Pay — Question (20 March 2013)

Lord Ramsbotham: My Lords, during the passage of the Armed Forces Bill last year, we discussed the question of the Armed Forces covenant. We were given to understand that the Statement made by the Secretary of State for Defence each year on the covenant would be taken in this House, giving us an opportunity to ask questions about it. That did not happen. I suspect that if it had, my noble and gallant friend's...

Probation Service: Community-sentenced Offenders — Question (5 March 2013)

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the management of community-sentenced offenders will remain the responsibility of the Probation Service.

Probation Service: Community-sentenced Offenders — Question (5 March 2013)

Lord Ramsbotham: My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. Last week, the Justice Secretary appeared before the Justice Select Committee in another place and said that we have a duty to supervise offenders in a consistent way and that he wanted to make the probation world more independent of Government and the big bureaucratic documents that tell them how to do their job. For 100 years until recently...

Prisons (Property) Bill — Order of Commitment Discharged (6 February 2013)

Lord Ramsbotham: My Lords, I understand that no amendments have been set down to this Bill and that no noble Lord has indicated a wish to move a manuscript amendment or to speak in Committee. Unless, therefore, any noble Lord objects, I beg to move that the order of commitment be discharged. Motion agreed.

Children: Speech and Language — Question (29 January 2013)

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to co-ordinate their response to the recommendations of the Better Communication Research Programme; and how they plan to ensure that those recommendations are reflected in local authorities' local offers.

Children: Speech and Language — Question (29 January 2013)

Lord Ramsbotham: My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper, and declare an interest as chairman of the All-Party Group on Speech and Language Difficulties.

Children: Speech and Language — Question (29 January 2013)

Lord Ramsbotham: My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for that reply. We have been waiting for the government response to this quite excellent programme since last June, and I remind the House that it consists of a report, two volumes of findings, four thematic reviews and 10 technical reports, which have been drawn up by experts over a considerable period and represent an absolute mine of evaluation,...

Nuclear Disarmament — Motion to Take Note (24 January 2013)

Lord Ramsbotham: My Lords, I thank the Minister for her reply and I thank most warmly all those who have taken part in the debate. Anyone coming here and listening would have realised that this House gives the lie to the suggestion that we are not grown-up enough to be able to take part in this debate. The quality, content and understanding in what has been said show me conclusively why it is so important...

Nuclear Disarmament — Motion to Take Note (24 January 2013)

Lord Ramsbotham: My Lords, at the start of this debate I would like to beg your indulgence if I break with tradition. Today is a sad day for the House because, during this debate, my noble and gallant friend Field Marshal Lord Bramall, with whom I had the privilege of serving in the Royal Green Jackets, having both originally joined the Rifle Brigade, although at different times, will make his final speech on...

Prisons (Property) Bill: Second Reading (18 January 2013)

Lord Ramsbotham: My Lords, I am very grateful to the Minister and the noble Baroness, Lady Smith of Basildon, for their support for this Bill, which echoes the support given by all sides in the other place. I am also very glad to note that the Bill enjoys the full support of the Prison Governors Association and the Prison Officers' Association, whose operations inside prisons will be made much easier by...

Prisons (Property) Bill: Second Reading (18 January 2013)

Lord Ramsbotham: My Lords, although it is short and relatively simple, I hope that the House will agree that the Prisons (Property) Bill is nevertheless important. In introducing it, I must congratulate Stuart Andrew, the Member of Parliament for Pudsey, for bringing it forward and successfully piloting it through the other place and express my gratitude to him for giving me the opportunity of continuing his...

Unemployment: Young People — Question for Short Debate (17 January 2013)

Lord Ramsbotham: My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Chadlington, on obtaining this debate and on his masterly survey of the current situation. I hope that he will forgive me if, before focusing on combating unemployment among youth in contact with the criminal justice system, I take noble Lords on an indirect approach to my conclusion about the context in which online strategies can be employed,...

Transforming Rehabilitation — Statement (9 January 2013)

Lord Ramsbotham: My Lords, like the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, I welcome the commitment to reducing the dreadful rate of reoffending. As an aside, I notice that the Minister did not add to his list of the factors that prevent reoffending the one that is said to mean most-a 30th birthday. I would like to take up two points; first, the point that the Minister made at the end of the Statement-namely, that this is...

Crime and Courts Bill [HL]: Third Reading (18 December 2012)

Lord Ramsbotham: I listened with care to what was said, particularly on the question of resources. I think that in the circumstances it makes absolute sense for this amendment to go to the other place and to be debated as fully as possible. Therefore, I shall not move this amendment. Amendment 10 not moved.

Crime and Courts Bill [HL]: Third Reading (18 December 2012)

Lord Ramsbotham: My Lords, I echo everything that my noble and learned friend Lord Woolf has said. That is why I have added my name in support of the amendment. I also note what the noble Baroness, Lady Corston, said about the strategy. This is not the first time that we have had a champion to take forward women's issues. I am interested that most recently the shadow Minister of Justice in the other place...

Crime and Courts Bill [HL]: Third Reading (18 December 2012)

Lord Ramsbotham: My Lords, I wonder whether the Minister could answer a question about the increase in the number of out-of-court settlements. This is of extreme concern to the Magistrates' Association, not least because of the increase in the number of out-of-court settlements of cases involving violence.