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Welsh Affairs

The hon. Lady is pandering to my personal prejudices and views. There are too many women in prison, and that has a disproportionate effect because when a woman is locked up, the children are often deprived and put into care. We must be careful about our approach to women and criminality. When I examined the matter, I was pleased to visit some of the small prison units that were designed to ensure good educative processes as well as good rehabilitation facilities, which can be provided successfully in smaller units. The hon. Lady has given me an opportunity to reflect perhaps not a Front-Bench but a personal position on women in the criminal justice system.