Part of the debate – in Westminster Hall at 10:34 am on 12 March 2025.
Saqib Bhatti
Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
10:34,
12 March 2025
Thank you for calling me, Sir Jeremy; you will be pleased to know that I do not have a 26-minute winding-up speech. I thank all Members across Westminster Hall for their contributions. I thank the Shadow Minister, my hon. Friend Matt Vickers, for the challenge he set, and the Policing Minister for the constructive way in which she engaged in the debate.
I absolutely accept the stats that Bell Ribeiro-Addy set out. Although the suspect-adjusted disparity stats still show that black men are more likely to get searched, it is much more targeted, but no stats are perfect. It is really important that communities have trust in policing, and I am conscious of a narrative being built up that might undermine police officers in those communities.
I suspect this debate will rage on. I will continue to work with the shadow Minister, and I offer to work with the Minister to change the guidance to make the lives of police officers easier. I want the Minister to succeed, because her success means saving lives, and it means that when we say, “Never again”, it really does mean never again.
Question put and agreed to.
Resolved,
That this House
has considered the matter of the use of stop and search.
Sitting suspended.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
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The Party Leader assigns specific portfolios according to the ability, seniority and popularity of the shadow cabinet's members.
