That this House welcomes the re-launch of Fawcett's Commission on Women and the Criminal Justice System; notes that since the Commission reported that women suffer widespread disadvantage throughout the system in March 2004, 12 women have taken their own lives in prison; welcomes, following the Commission's urgent call for community provision specifically for women offenders, the Government's commitment to funding pilot community centres for women offenders linked to local resources; and calls upon the Government to resource this provision adequately to halt the shockingly high levels of suicide and self-harm among vulnerable women in custody.

That this House welcomes the re-launch of Fawcett's Commission on Women and the Criminal Justice System; notes that since the Commission reported that women suffer widespread disadvantage throughout the system in March 2004, 12 women have taken their own lives in prison; welcomes, following the Commission's urgent call for community...

That this House notes that the women's prison population has more than doubled over the last 10 years to over 4,000; further notes that more women are sent to prison for shoplifting than any other offence and that women on remand make up nearly two-thirds of all women entering custody every year, more than half of whom, having served an average sentence of 39 days in prison, receive a community penalty or are acquitted altogether; is concerned that two-thirds of women in prison suffer from mental health problems and that more than half have drink or drug dependencies; notes that 17,700 children are separated from their mothers by imprisonment each year; and calls on the Home Office to provide more alternatives to custody for women, such as those profiled by the Smart Justice for Women campaign, and to invest properly in diversion schemes which prevent women from going to prison in the first place.

That this House notes that the women's prison population has more than doubled over the last 10 years to over 4,000; further notes that more women are sent to prison for shoplifting than any other offence and that women on remand make up nearly two-thirds of all women entering custody...

That this House notes that almost three years have now elapsed since the Home Secretary ordered the detention of a number of foreign nationals suspected of terrorism under Part IV of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, and that 12 men still remain interned in HMP Belmarsh; recalls the strong reservations expressed in the reports of the Newton Committee and of the Joint Committee on Human Rights; further notes the concerns of respected domestic and international non-governmental organisations; believes that derogation from international human rights obligations is injurious to Britain's standing in the international community and causes profound damage to community relations; further believes that detention without trial represents a breakdown of the rule of law and can only hinder protection of public safety and security; and urges Her Majesty's Government to find an acceptable alternative so that detainees can be tried before a court or released and re-united with their families without delay.

That this House notes that almost three years have now elapsed since the Home Secretary ordered the detention of a number of foreign nationals suspected of terrorism under Part IV of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, and that 12 men still remain interned in HMP Belmarsh; recalls the...

That this House expresses concern that the human rights of many of the 2,500 children and young people, as well as 8,500 18 to 21 year olds currently held in custody, are being violated; therefore welcomes Community Care Magazine's Back on Track Campaign and its demands for an immediate end to the practice of remanding children and young people in adult prisons, an end to the degrading and humiliating practice of strip searching and the inappropriate use of control and restraint, an increase in the provision of services for children and young people who need treatment for mental health problems on substance abuse; and supports Community Care's calls for the Government to ensure that resources allocated to provide access to social workers in young offenders institutions are being properly administered and to ensure that no young people assessed 'as vulnerable' are sent to young offenders institutions and are instead placed in secure training centres or local authority secure children's homes, or, if places are unavailable that their sentences be deferred.

That this House expresses concern that the human rights of many of the 2,500 children and young people, as well as 8,500 18 to 21 year olds currently held in custody, are being violated; therefore welcomes Community Care Magazine's Back on Track Campaign and its demands for an immediate end...

That this House has deep concerns about the structure of the National Offender Management Service, particularly the lack of organisational detail; strongly endorses the work of both the National Probation Service and Her Majesty's Prison Service; and therefore calls upon the Government to ensure that both services receive adequate public funding for their purpose and that the process of contestability is not used as a threat to staff or voluntary sector providers.

That this House has deep concerns about the structure of the National Offender Management Service, particularly the lack of organisational detail; strongly endorses the work of both the National Probation Service and Her Majesty's Prison Service; and therefore calls upon the Government to ensure that both services receive adequate public...

That this House congratulates the Howard League for Penal Reform on its campaign to end the use of prison for children, in particular for teenage girls; applauds the fact that 15 and 16 year old young women are no longer being held in prisons; welcomes the recent reduction in the use of prison custody for young men along with the development of restorative measures in the community; and calls on Her Majesty's Government to end the use of prison for all children.

That this House congratulates the Howard League for Penal Reform on its campaign to end the use of prison for children, in particular for teenage girls; applauds the fact that 15 and 16 year old young women are no longer being held in prisons; welcomes the recent reduction in the...

That this House welcomes the report of the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Anne Owers; notes that the report highlights the fact that the good work of the Prison Service is being undermined by ever increasing prison population pressures; is appalled that during 2003, on average 82 out of the 136 prisons in England and Wales were overcrowded; acknowledges that any prison overcrowding is exacerbated by staff shortages; recognises that overcrowding and staff shortages result in prisoners spending increasing proportions of the day locked in their cells; understands that prisoners are being moved around the country in order to free up spaces in local prisons, causing more prisoners to be held further away from home, making it extremely difficult to maintain family contact, a factor recognised as preventing re-offending; is shocked that almost two people a week kill themselves in our prisons and one in four women in prison self-harms; and calls for an urgent review of how those with mental illnesses are treated.

That this House welcomes the report of the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Anne Owers; notes that the report highlights the fact that the good work of the Prison Service is being undermined by ever increasing prison population pressures; is appalled that during 2003, on average 82 out of the 136...

That this House recognises the pressure prison officers are under given the campaign of intimidation and attacks that have been waged against them over recent months; and calls upon Her Majesty's Government to step up efforts to reach a settlement in Northern Ireland's prison regime that ensures the safety of both prisoners and prison staff and ensures that control of the prison remains firmly with the Prison Service in Northern Ireland and not with any paramilitary groups who have members in prison.

That this House recognises the pressure prison officers are under given the campaign of intimidation and attacks that have been waged against them over recent months; and calls upon Her Majesty's Government to step up efforts to reach a settlement in Northern Ireland's prison regime that ensures the safety of...

That this House notes with concern the decision to cut the number of beds for children who have committed offences in local authority secure children's homes whilst maintaining the high number of places for children in prisons.

That this House notes with concern the decision to cut the number of beds for children who have committed offences in local authority secure children's homes whilst maintaining the high number of places for children in prisons.

That this House notes that more than 50,000 people, innocent until proven guilty, are imprisoned each year awaiting trial; notes that half of prisoners on remand do not subsequently receive a custodial sentence; further notes that one in five people remanded in custody are eventually acquitted or have the proceedings against them terminated early with little or no compensation; understands that for all of these reasons Lord Woolf called for remand prisoners to have a separate statement of purpose, separate conditions and a lower security categorisation than convicted prisoners in his report into the Strangeways riot; is alarmed that, 12 years on, remand prisoners continue to be accommodated in some of the worst conditions in overcrowded local jails, conditions which the former Director of the Prison Service has called primitive; further notes, in particular, that many remand prisoners are sharing cells designed for one with convicted prisoners, that they can be locked up for up to 22 hours a day, and that more than a third of prison suicides last year were committed by people awaiting trial; and therefore calls upon Her Majesty's Government to act urgently both to improve the conditions for people awaiting trial in prison and to reduce the needless use of custodial remand.

That this House notes that more than 50,000 people, innocent until proven guilty, are imprisoned each year awaiting trial; notes that half of prisoners on remand do not subsequently receive a custodial sentence; further notes that one in five people remanded in custody are eventually acquitted or have the proceedings...

That this House notes with concern the increasing number of attacks on the homes of prison officers in Northern Ireland, which has led to the present industrial action being taken by prison officers in Northern Ireland, and the danger thereby posed to security both in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK; further notes the anxiety felt by prison officers and their families at the inadequate level of protection they are able to afford in comparison with other public servants in the Province who are entitled to over twice their allowance; and therefore calls upon the Government to enter immediately into negotiations with the Prison Officers' Association to resolve this financial disparity and ensure adequate protection for prison officers in Northern Ireland and their families.

That this House notes with concern the increasing number of attacks on the homes of prison officers in Northern Ireland, which has led to the present industrial action being taken by prison officers in Northern Ireland, and the danger thereby posed to security both in Northern Ireland and the rest...

That this House notes with deep concern the reports that some Iraqi children as young as 11 years old have been held at the makeshift prison outside Baghdad International Airport run by United States forces; further notes that, according to former detainees; several hundred Iraqi prisoners are held in miserable conditions, sleeping on the ground with inadequate water rations, and with families taking weeks or even months to find out where their relatives are being detained; further notes that this is an unacceptable situation for any prisoner, but that children should never be detained in this shocking way; calls on the Government to put immediate pressure on the United States Administration to ensure that no children are detained at Baghdad airport prison, that the conditions of the prison are urgently reviewed for all prisoners, that an effective trial-or-release system is implemented in Iraq at once and that an accurate central list of detainees, with names in Arabic, to which searching families can refer, is accurately kept.

That this House notes with deep concern the reports that some Iraqi children as young as 11 years old have been held at the makeshift prison outside Baghdad International Airport run by United States forces; further notes that, according to former detainees; several hundred Iraqi prisoners are held in miserable...