It is a pleasure to follow the Minister. I will not speak to all 58 amendments under debate, as some are straightforward
and many in this group at least—I am sure the Minister will be pleased to hear—have full support from the Labour Benches. We particularly welcome Lords amendments 1 and 150, which introduce Harper’s law. That has the Opposition’s full and strong support, and I join the Minister in paying tribute to Lissie Harper’s extraordinary and powerful work. When facing pain and grief unimaginable to most of us, she has campaigned for reform to protect our protectors. My right hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen (Nick Thomas-Symonds) and my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon Central (Sarah Jones) met Lissie Harper during her campaign, and I know they are particularly glad to see these amendments introduced by the Government. It is right that emergency service workers who put themselves at risk to keep the rest of us safe are protected by the strongest shield that the criminal justice system can provide.
We are also extremely pleased to see Lords amendments 27, 28 and 151, which will introduce Tony’s law, increasing penalties for those who commit child abuse. Again, I share the Minister’s admiration for the inspiring work of young Tony Hudgell and his loving parents, Paula and Mark. I also pay tribute to the hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling (Tom Tugendhat), and my hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion) who have both done fantastic work throughout the passage of the Bill to increase protections for children, and supported Tony’s law in Committee. Cases as atrocious and horrifying as Tony’s are thankfully extremely rare, but it is right that when they do come before the courts, the judiciary can impose the full range of penalties that reflect the gravity of such horrific offending.
The Opposition welcome Lords amendment 104 which states that if someone who is carrying out a public service, such as a retail worker, is assaulted, the fact that they were carrying out a public service at the time of the offence will be an aggravating factor in sentencing. I am glad the Government have finally listened to the Opposition, trade unions and trade bodies who have been calling for greater protection, particularly for our shopworkers who have been unsung heroes and kept our country running throughout the pandemic. We pay particular thanks to the efforts of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers, the Co-operative party, The British Retail Consortium, the Association of Convenience Stores, and Tesco, for their fantastic campaigning. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham North (Alex Norris) for his tireless work on this issue in recent years. I also pay tribute to the efforts of my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon Central and my noble Friend Lord Coaker, who throughout the Bill’s passage pushed for tougher penalties for those who assault shop workers.
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The Opposition also support Lords amendments 121 and 122, which will extend the scheme for disregarding convictions and cautions for historical offences relating to certain same-sex sexual activity. Such reform is long overdue, and I am glad that the Government have taken the opportunity of the Bill to introduce it. We are grateful to colleagues in the other place who worked hard to implement the reform. I pay tribute in particular to my noble Friend Lord Cashman for his tireless work in championing LGBTQ rights.
The Opposition also welcome the Government’s proposals on hare coursing. That leaves us in agreement with the Government on the majority of proposals in the group, which is perhaps an unusual position for us to find ourselves in on the Bill. However, that underlines the unfortunate approach that the Government have taken with the Bill, which has grown significantly from the already extensive length at which it began. By shoehorning in divisive and draconian measures that impose disproportionate controls on free expression and the right to protest as well as measures criminalising Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, the Government have undermined the positive reforms contained in other parts of the Bill with which the Opposition agree.
The Bill should have also been an opportunity finally to take action on the epidemic of violence against women and girls, but the Government have absolutely failed to do so. For example, there are no measures to increase the pitiful rape prosecution rate, which is now just 1.3%. Shamefully, the Government opposed our amendments to ensure a rape and serious sexual offences unit in every police force area despite evidence clearly showing the importance of specialist support to successful prosecutions.
While we are in agreement with the majority of amendments in the group, there are still some areas where we would like to see the Government go further. On imprisonment for public protection reform contained in Lords amendments 101 to 103, while we of course welcome the Government’s intention in the area and are glad to see movement in the right direction, we remain of the opinion that reform could have gone further. I note that in the other place Lord Wolfson of Tredegar said:
“This may be a modest start, but it is a start”
and he added that he was
“sure that the conversation would continue”—[Official Report, House of Lords, 25 January 2022; Vol. 818, c. 158.]
I certainly hope that will be the case, and I hope that the Minister will commit to looking seriously at the forthcoming Justice Committee report on IPP sentences with a view to moving IPP reform further along.
The Opposition also support amendment 58 tabled in the other place by my noble Friend Lord Rooker, who has considerable knowledge in this area. While I recognise that the Government have committed to food crime reform, as confirmed by the Minister in the Lords debate, they are not implementing it swiftly enough. Serious and complex cases of food crime need to be taken seriously, and, as Lord Rooker noted in his speech, we are due another big scandal any time now. Extending further powers to the National Food Crime Unit cannot be kicked into the long grass. While I would prefer the Minister to support the amendment and signal the Government’s commitment to tackling serious food crime, I hope that at a minimum he will commit to a timetable for reform in the area.
Finally, I turn to Lords amendments 105 to 107, which relate to the running of secure academies and would provide in legislation that a secure academy could be run by a local authority. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham, who raised the issue in Committee, and Lord German, who tabled the amendments in the other place. The Government have so far resisted amendments that would clarify the position of local authorities on running secure academies, but I hope that the Minister will shift his position today.