July 2021
Dear Constituent,
Thank you for contacting me about the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
This Government was elected on a clear manifesto commitment to fight crime and to reform our justice system, and I firmly believe that the measures contained within this Bill will help us achieve that. This Bill will ensure that punishments better fit the severity of the crime, will deliver greater support for victims and will help break the cycle of re-offending. By voting against this Bill, those that oppose it are voting against vital measures to protect the public. These include:
- tougher sentences for child murderers;
- tougher sentences for sex offenders;
- dozens of measures to crack down on knife and violent crime;
- new measures to protect our emergency workers from assault;
- expansion of ‘positions of trust’ to protect teenagers from abuse;
- measures to protect children from sexual abuse;
- protecting victims of Domestic Abuse through ‘Kay’s Law’;
- and a number of other important provisions to overhaul our justice system.
I am proud that the right to protest peacefully is a fundamental part of our democracy. The majority of protests in England and Wales are peaceful and will be entirely unaffected by the changes proposed in this Bill. These measures will, however, balance the rights of protesters with the rights of others to go about their business unhindered. They will achieve this by enabling the police to better manage highly disruptive protests. You can read more about this on the Government’s website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-crime-sentencing-and-courts-bill-2021-factsheets/police-crime-sentencing-and-courts-bill-2021-protest-powers-factsheet
The right to peaceful assembly and protest is incredibly important to me and you can be sure that at all times during its passage through Parliament I will be scrutinising this Bill very carefully indeed to ensure that this remains fully protected.
Subject to full scrutiny, I hope that Parliament will support this Bill and the important measures that it contains to cut crime and reform our justice system.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me about these important matters.
With best wishes.
Kind regards,
Jonathan Lord MP
Member of Parliament for Woking