Justice Committee: weekly update
7 December 2018
At the end of sitting weeks the Justice Committee publishes a brief summary of its activities in the form of a weekly update.
This week
On Tuesday this week we heard from the new Director of Public Prosecutions, Max Hill QC.
We also met in private to agree correspondence for publication and discuss future work.
Oral evidence
On Tuesday morning we heard from the new Director of Public Prosecution, Max Hill QC.
The session gave Mr Hill an opportunity to share his priorities for his tenure, and to talk about how the CPS is responding to recent issues (for example, with disclosure).
At 9.48 we heard from:
- Max Hill QC, Director of Public Prosecutions
You can watch the session back.
You can read the transcript.
Published correspondence
- Letter from Rory Stewart MP, Minister of State for Justice, on HM Inspectorate of Prisons: Plans to pilot follow-up visits, dated 12 November 2018
- Letter from Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, on a call for evidence on the implementation of the 2014 enforcement agent reforms introduced by the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2017, dated 23 November 2018
- Letter from Roger Swindells, Chair, Independent Monitoring Board, HMP Birmingham, on HMP Birmingham, dated 18 November 2018
Inquiries with open calls for written evidence
You can still submit evidence to the Committee through its evidence portal for the following inquiry, but please contact the inquiry manager first at bucklandg@parliament.uk, as the deadline for written submissions has passed:
Prison population 2022: planning for the future: Read the terms of reference
Future business
We are meeting on Tuesday 11th December to take evidence on prisons.
HMP Birmingham
The Committee will question officials from the Ministry of Justice and HMPPS, the new prison Governor and G4S on problems at HMP Birmingham identified in HMI Prison's Urgent Notification and inspection report. The session will examine:
- Why HMP Birmingham deteriorated between Inspections to such an extent as to require an Urgent Notification by the Chief Inspector
- Whether the contract between G4S and the Secretary of State for Justice was sufficient to enable effective management of the prison and intervention when problems arose
- The role of HMIP in identifying and responding to problems in prisons.
Prison Population 2022: Planning for the Future
The Committee will also take evidence in its final evidence session in the Committee's long-running inquiry into Prison Population 2022: Planning for the Future.
The purpose of this part of the session is to clarify further the Government's strategic approach to managing prisons and those detained in them over the next four years, including:
- the impact of the strategic and operational approach of the Ministry and HMPPS on the day-to-day running of prisons, including measures to improve safety, decency and rehabilitation
- the sustainability of the finances
- the maintenance and modernisation of the prison estate.
Witnesses
10.00am – 11.00am
- Michael Spurr, CEO, HMPPS
- Neil Richards, Head of Custodial Contracts, HMPPS
- Paul Newton, Governor, HMP Birmingham
- Jerry Petherick, Managing Director Custodial and Detention Services, G4S
From 11.00am
- Rory Stewart MP, Minister of State for Justice, Ministry of Justice
- Michael Spurr, CEO, HMPPS (appears in both panels)
You can watch this session online.
Further information
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