The good and the bad of the sentencing reforms
Our prisons are nearly full to bust once again so the Ministry of Justice has been flying some kites ahead of the review of sentencing led by recovered Tory David Gauke. The 'leaked' idea involves the reintroduction of remission of time spent in prison for good behaviour. While the Justice Secretary Shabanna Mahmood is said to be impressed with how a similar system in Texas cut the prison population dramatically, the idea of time of your sentence for behaving yourself is quintessentially British.
Most episodes of the BBC comedy Porridge will contain a reference to remission, granted or removed and how it shapes an offender's journey. That's because from 1948 to 1991 it was embedded in the system.
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Glasgow Times
23 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Government to end use of hotels for asylum seekers
Unveiling her spending review on Wednesday, Rachel Reeves set out how funding will be provided to cut the asylum backlog and save taxpayers billions of pounds. A total £200 million of transformation funding will be used to speed up the overhaul of the asylum system, documents show. Ms Reeves told MPs: 'I can confirm today that led by the work of my right honourable friend the Home Secretary, we will be ending the costly use of hotels to house asylum seekers in this Parliament. 'Funding that I have provided today, including from the transformation fund, will cut the asylum backlog, hear more appeal cases and return people who have no right to be here, saving the taxpayer £1 billion a year. 'That is my choice, Mr Speaker, that is the Labour choice, that is the choice of the British people.' It comes as findings from the National Audit Office revealed the cost of asylum accommodation is expected to be more than three times higher than previously estimated at £15.3 billion over 10 years. Hotel accommodation accounted for 76% of the annual cost of contracts – £1.3 billion of an estimated £1.7 billion in 2024-25. Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers her Government's spending review to MPs in the House of Commons (House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA) On Tuesday, Home Office minister Dame Angela Eagle told MPs the department is piloting different ways to provide asylum accommodation ahead of break clauses for major contracts coming up next year. One of the ideas is to move away from hotels to medium-sized sites such as old tower blocks and student accommodation, she said. Labour has previously said it is 'committed to end the use of asylum hotels over time'. Latest figures show 32,345 asylum seekers were being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of March, down 15% from the end of December, when the total was 38,079. That is also 6% lower than the 34,530 at the same point a year earlier. Mihnea Cuibus, researcher at the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, speculated at the time that a 'stubbornly high' backlog of asylum appeals is a challenge for Labour as it works to end the use of hotels. Elsewhere, the Chancellor also announced a further up to £280 million per year for the Border Security Command by the end of the spending review period, which leads on the UK's strategy to crack down on people smuggling and small boat crossings. This follows an initial £150 million to establish the unit last year. The announcements come as Channel crossings continued on Wednesday. A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover on Wednesday (Gareth Fuller/PA) Pictures show new arrivals wearing life jackets being brought to shore in a Border Force boat in Dover, Kent and being driven away from the port. They are the first to make the journey to the UK so far this month after a record first five months of the year bringing the provisional total so far to 14,812 arrivals. This has also surpassed the highest total recorded for the first six months of the year, which was previously 13,489 on June 30 last year. In 2024, the number of arrivals did not reach more than 14,000 until July 9 (14,058). Following Wednesday's arrivals, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said now 15,000 migrants have crossed the Channel in the 'worst year ever for small boat crossings so far', adding 'this is a total collapse of border control'. The official figures of the number of arrivals will be published on Thursday by the Home Office.
Glasgow Times
23 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Government pledges £50m for Casement Park rebuild
The money was included in the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves' spending review, which outlines the Government's spending plans over the coming years. Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill said it is now time to get the GAA stadium built. Plans for a 34,000-capacity stadium have been mired in uncertainty because of a major funding gap of around £150 million. Today marks a significant step forward in the redevelopment of Casement Park, as the British government joins the Executive, the Irish government, and the GAA in committing funding. In every meeting I've had with the British government, I've made the case for funding Casement… — Michelle O'Neill (@moneillsf) June 11, 2025 The Government announcement includes £50 million to support the stadium being developed over four years. Ms O'Neill said: 'Casement Park is an Executive flagship project and is more than just a sporting venue, it will serve as an economic driver for the surrounding communities and region, creating jobs and attracting investment. 'Today's commitment of substantial funding from the British Government marks an enormous step forward. It is time for all of us to pull together to now get Casement built.' Stormont ministers committed £62.5 million to Casement in 2011, as part of a strategy to revamp it along with football's Windsor Park and the rugby ground at Ravenhill. While the two other Belfast-based projects went ahead, the redevelopment of Casement was delayed for several years because of legal challenges by local residents. The estimated build cost spiralled in the interim. Last September the UK Government ended hopes that the west Belfast venue would host Euro 2028 games, when it said it would not bridge a funding gap to deliver the redevelopment in time. As well as the Stormont contribution of £62.5 million, the Irish Government has offered roughly £42 million and the GAA has pledged to contribute at least £15 million. It has been reported that the cost of the project has fallen to £270 million since it was confirmed the ground would not host Euros matches. Under current plans and including the £50 million from Wednesday's announcement, the funding shortfall stands at roughly £100 million. Ms Reeves' announcement was welcomed by the Irish Government. Deputy premier and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Harris said Dublin had long supported the redevelopment of Casement Park as a 'landmark sports infrastructure project'. In a statement, Mr Harris said: 'In February 2024, we made an early commitment from the Shared Island initiative of up to 50 million euro (£42 million) for the redevelopment of Casement. 'We underlined our commitment at that time to support the GAA in progressing this project in partnership with the UK and NI authorities. 'I will now engage with all these partners to deliver a redeveloped stadium. 'The last match hosted in Casement was well over a decade ago and it is past time for the redevelopment of this historic venue to get under way.'
Leader Live
34 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Government pledges £50m for Casement Park rebuild
The money was included in the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves' spending review, which outlines the Government's spending plans over the coming years. Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill said it is now time to get the GAA stadium built. Plans for a 34,000-capacity stadium have been mired in uncertainty because of a major funding gap of around £150 million. The Government announcement includes £50 million to support the stadium being developed over four years. Ms O'Neill said: 'Casement Park is an Executive flagship project and is more than just a sporting venue — it will serve as an economic driver for the surrounding communities and region, creating jobs and attracting investment. 'Today's commitment of substantial funding from the British Government marks an enormous step forward. It is time for all of us to pull together to now get Casement built.'
