To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve substance misuse services for people in prison; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking a public health approach to such misuse.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve substance misuse services for people in prison; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking a public health approach to such misuse.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of prisoners sent to hospital for drug-related issues in each of the last three years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of prisoners sent to hospital for drug-related issues in each of the last three years.

My Lords, I am very pleased that the House has an opportunity to debate the causes of crime and reoffending and the effectiveness of rehabilitation, including the contribution made by the voluntary sector. I am also delighted to welcome the noble and learned Lord, Lord Bellamy, to the Front Bench—I...

My Lords, I am very pleased that the House has an opportunity to debate the causes of crime and reoffending and the effectiveness of rehabilitation, including the contribution made by the voluntary sector. I am also delighted to welcome the noble and learned Lord, Lord Bellamy, to the Front Bench—I...

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, for getting the debate today, and for his very thoughtful—and for some, I suppose, somewhat controversial—contribution. He has been very brave and has said some things that need saying and that these days we are not prepared to say....

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, for getting the debate today, and for his very thoughtful—and for some, I suppose, somewhat controversial—contribution. He has been very brave and has said some things that need saying and that these days we are not prepared to say....

My Lords, I note the contribution of the noble Lord, Lord Farmer. What he has done—

My Lords, I note the contribution of the noble Lord, Lord Farmer. What he has done—

My Lords, first, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, on securing this debate. I welcome the Minister to his new position

and look forward to working with him. I worked with his predecessor, who conducted himself with great integrity and conscientiousness, and I very much hope that the positive...

My Lords, first, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, on securing this debate. I welcome the Minister to his new position

and look forward to working with him. I worked with his predecessor, who conducted himself with great integrity and conscientiousness, and I very much hope that the positive...

My Lords, I also thank the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, for securing this debate, and I welcome the Minister and his maiden speech. Others have spoken of his great attainments, but what must now be half a century ago, he gained first-hand experience of the real problems that people needing...

My Lords, I also thank the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, for securing this debate, and I welcome the Minister and his maiden speech. Others have spoken of his great attainments, but what must now be half a century ago, he gained first-hand experience of the real problems that people needing...

My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, for introducing this debate. His work is inspiring; I want to say “yes” to all that he has said and am sorry that I have only six minutes. I too welcome the noble and learned Lord, Lord Bellamy,...

My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, for introducing this debate. His work is inspiring; I want to say “yes” to all that he has said and am sorry that I have only six minutes. I too welcome the noble and learned Lord, Lord Bellamy,...

My Lords, it is a privilege to follow the right reverend Prelate. I tip my hat to the work of the Church of England—indeed, of all faith leaders—to do with prisons. I too draw particular attention to the report chaired by the former Bishop to Prisons, James Jones, who has...

My Lords, it is a privilege to follow the right reverend Prelate. I tip my hat to the work of the Church of England—indeed, of all faith leaders—to do with prisons. I too draw particular attention to the report chaired by the former Bishop to Prisons, James Jones, who has...

My Lords, it is an honour to take part in this debate. My main reason for signing up to it was to listen and learn. Much of the discussion has focused on whether prison works and I want to highlight this issue in relation to older prisoners. The noble and...

My Lords, it is an honour to take part in this debate. My main reason for signing up to it was to listen and learn. Much of the discussion has focused on whether prison works and I want to highlight this issue in relation to older prisoners. The noble and...

My Lords, I welcome my noble and learned friend Lord Bellamy and look forward to his maiden speech. I also thank my noble friend Lord Farmer for this very important debate. It is full of so many key and important issues that matter to me and many of your Lordships...

My Lords, I welcome my noble and learned friend Lord Bellamy and look forward to his maiden speech. I also thank my noble friend Lord Farmer for this very important debate. It is full of so many key and important issues that matter to me and many of your Lordships...

I welcome the noble and learned Lord, Lord Bellamy, to his new job. I hope that he does better than all the others ever did. Look at it this way: one thing that we are not embracing is that whatever we are doing is not working. Until you recognise that...

I welcome the noble and learned Lord, Lord Bellamy, to his new job. I hope that he does better than all the others ever did. Look at it this way: one thing that we are not embracing is that whatever we are doing is not working. Until you recognise that...

My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend Lord Farmer on securing this debate and making a speech that I thought was one of the most important, courageous, thoughtful and worth re-reading of any speech that I have heard since I have been in this place. Indeed, all the speeches so...

My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend Lord Farmer on securing this debate and making a speech that I thought was one of the most important, courageous, thoughtful and worth re-reading of any speech that I have heard since I have been in this place. Indeed, all the speeches so...

My Lords, it is with some hesitation that I rise to my feet to talk. There was a time—the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, has identified that time—when

I knew a lot about prisons. However, that time has long passed and I have now got to a stage where, I am...

My Lords, it is with some hesitation that I rise to my feet to talk. There was a time—the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, has identified that time—when

I knew a lot about prisons. However, that time has long passed and I have now got to a stage where, I am...

My Lords, it is humbling to follow the noble and learned Lord, Lord Woolf. I welcome this important debate, so I

have a special thank you for the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, and for his thought-provoking speech. There is so much to say on the topic. I am glad that...

My Lords, it is humbling to follow the noble and learned Lord, Lord Woolf. I welcome this important debate, so I

have a special thank you for the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, and for his thought-provoking speech. There is so much to say on the topic. I am glad that...

I apologise. There is a link between homelessness and reoffending. I hope the new Minister, whom I welcome heartily, will look at it too.

1.10 pm

I apologise. There is a link between homelessness and reoffending. I hope the new Minister, whom I welcome heartily, will look at it too.

1.10 pm

My Lords, it is a pleasure, as always, to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Fox of Buckley. I thank my noble friend Lord Farmer for bringing this matter to the Chamber today and for his impressive speech. I echo the welcome to the Front Bench for my noble and learned...

My Lords, it is a pleasure, as always, to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Fox of Buckley. I thank my noble friend Lord Farmer for bringing this matter to the Chamber today and for his impressive speech. I echo the welcome to the Front Bench for my noble and learned...

My Lords, like others, I welcome the noble and learned Lord, Lord Bellamy, to his position on the Front Bench. I must declare that I chair the Commission on Alcohol Harm. As the noble Lord, Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe, predicted, I will talk about alcohol as one of the things...

My Lords, like others, I welcome the noble and learned Lord, Lord Bellamy, to his position on the Front Bench. I must declare that I chair the Commission on Alcohol Harm. As the noble Lord, Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe, predicted, I will talk about alcohol as one of the things...

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Farmer for initiating this debate. If noble Lords will indulge me, I propose to spend all of my few minutes talking about the continuing scandal of IPP prisoners.

The noble Baroness, Lady Burt of Solihull, and the noble and learned Lord,...

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Farmer for initiating this debate. If noble Lords will indulge me, I propose to spend all of my few minutes talking about the continuing scandal of IPP prisoners.

The noble Baroness, Lady Burt of Solihull, and the noble and learned Lord,...

My Lords, I apologise to the House for speaking in the gap; I was not quite properly organised enough to get on the list, but I will not make a habit of this.

When it comes to the prison system, most of us here have long memories. I remember working over...

My Lords, I apologise to the House for speaking in the gap; I was not quite properly organised enough to get on the list, but I will not make a habit of this.

When it comes to the prison system, most of us here have long memories. I remember working over...