Tag: courts

Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill: Bishop of Leeds supports amendment on qualifications for court interpreters

On 22nd November 2021, the House of Lords debated the Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill. The Bishop of Leeds spoke in the debate, supporting an amendment tabled by Baroness Coussins which would establish minimum qualifications for court appointed interpreters:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, I endorse every word of what the noble Baroness just said. In a previous incarnation—that is probably the wrong phrase to use; I am mixing my religions—I was a professional linguist in Russian, German and French, working in government service. One of the things you learn as a professional linguist is that language goes deep. This is not simply a matter of picking someone off the street who can order a pint in a Spanish bar; you are dealing with the stuff of people’s lives. Surely accuracy is vital, for the sake of not only clarity of understanding but justice itself.

Continue reading “Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill: Bishop of Leeds supports amendment on qualifications for court interpreters”

Bishop of Leeds asks about public confidence in the law following collapse of trial in the Hillsborough disaster case

The Bishop of Leeds asked a question on public confidence in the law and the justice system following a Commons Urgent Statement on the collapse of a trial associated with the Hillsborough disaster:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, what have the Government learned about the process of justice and public confidence in law, when a trial can collapse one day and a defence counsel stands in the street outside the court and maintains unequivocally that this proves that there has not been a cover-up, yet almost the next day the police admit such cover-ups and compensation is duly paid?

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar (Con, Ministry of Justice): My Lords, as Prime Minister David Cameron said when he made the apology in the other place, the families

“suffered a double injustice: the injustice of the … events”

themselves,

“the failure of the state to protect”

them

“and the indefensible wait to get to the truth;”

Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about public confidence in the law following collapse of trial in the Hillsborough disaster case”

Bishop of Gloucester asks about tackling crown court backlog

The Bishop of Gloucester asked a question on the importance of crime diversion and community police provision on 26th January 2021, during a discussion on the crown court backlog for serious criminal cases:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: I draw attention to my interest on the register as the Anglican bishop for Her Majesty’s prisons. The backlog of cases has a serious impact on offenders, victims and witnesses. On top of this, projections from the Ministry of Justice show that the prison population is expected to jump to almost 100,000 in 2026, which adversely affects prison staff as well as prisoners. Does the Minister agree that resources could be better spent on police-led diversion work and community-based provision, which could start now?

Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about tackling crown court backlog”

Bishop of St Albans asks about new domestic violence scheme in the courts

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 21st Janaury 2021:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made towards introducing Integrated Domestic Abuse Court pilot schemes.

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about new domestic violence scheme in the courts”

Bishop of Leeds asks about quality control for interpretation services in criminal proceedings

On 29th November 2017 Baroness Coussins asked Her Majesty’s Government “whether they have revised their target for annual budget savings on the cost of providing interpretation and translation services in criminal proceedings, following the allocation of the latest contract for those services to thebigword; and if so, what is their new target.” The Bishop of Leeds, Rt Revd Nick Baines, asked a follow up question:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, there is clearly a difference between interpretation and translation. I speak as a former professional linguist. What about quality control? Will the Minister comment on that? Being able to deal with a language is not the same as being a competent interpreter, sometimes of very delicate matters. Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about quality control for interpretation services in criminal proceedings”

Bishop of Ripon and Leeds moves amendment to protect children being named during court proceedings

On 8th January 2014, the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds moved an amendment to the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill, during its Report Stage. Amendment 18 would have removed the presumption that a child will be named publicly when they are involved in youth court proceedings relating to the new anti-social behaviour orders. Following assurances from the Minister, the amendment was withdrawn.

R_LThe Lord Bishop of Ripon and Leeds: My Lords, Amendments 18, 26 and 29 set out to remove the presumption that a child will be named publicly when they are involved in youth court proceedings relating to the new anti-social behaviour orders. I am very grateful to the Children’s Society, the Standing Committee on Youth Justice and others for concentrating my thoughts on this issue.

Continue reading “Bishop of Ripon and Leeds moves amendment to protect children being named during court proceedings”