Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Campbell-Savours, is participating remotely and I invite him to speak now.
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total prison population in England and Wales.
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: To ask Her Majesty's Government to what extent involvement as a spectator at sporting events is considered an appropriate part of the rehabilitation process for ex-offenders.
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance, if any, is provided by the Parole Board on the importance of prisoners with disabilities attending live sporting events as part of the rehabilitation and parole processes; and how many prisoners with disabilities participate in football as a player or spectator in (a) prison-based, and (b) external football programmes.
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what records are kept by the Parole Board in respect of prisoners’ disabilities when they are attending open hearings.
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many disabled people are (1) in prison, and (2) on probation, in England and Wales broken down by type of disability.
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, it has been a fascinating debate, which has taken a little over an hour. I thank all noble Lords who have taken part, particularly those who signed the succession of amendments we have been debating. We have heard marvellous speeches from each of them. A huge number of points have been made, which we need to take away and consider in terms of what we should do with amendments such...
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, I move Amendment 270, and add my support to Amendments 271 to 279 in this group. I have added my name to each of these, and they will be spoken to by noble Lords in all parties in the Chamber and by the noble Baroness, Lady Masham. I pay particular tribute to them for all being present at this late hour on a Friday—but this is an important issue. We have signed these amendments...
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, I declare a family interest in that my younger daughter is a schoolteacher at a rural lycée in the centre of France in the Sarthe region. Every two years, until recently, she would bring a party of up to 40 of her 16 to 18 year- old students to London for a week’s cultural visit, which gave them an amazing experience and a lifelong love of England and English people. These have...
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, I declare an interest as a member of Worcestershire County Cricket Club, which has a proud record of inclusion and cultural and ethnic diversity going back over 60 years, starting with the great Basil D’Oliveira, followed by his son and this grandson, all of whom have been associated with the club. The chairman is from an ethnic minority background and his insistence on good...
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, the Minister will recall that on 6 December he answered a Private Notice Question on the excellent report by the noble Baroness, Lady Casey, when I declared my interest as vice-president of the charity Level Playing Field. Particular recommendations were made in respect of disabled supporters, disabled access to the stadium and the disgraceful way in which thugs effectively overran...
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, I am very pleased to follow all noble Lords in supporting all the amendments in this group. I congratulate my noble friend Lady Thornton on the way in which she introduced the debate when moving Amendment 11. I will speak briefly to Amendment 66, which was tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Young of Cookham, and signed by the noble Lord, Lord Rennard, and me. It was enjoyable listening...
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, I beg leave to ask a Question of which I have given private notice, and I declare an interest as a vice-president of the charity Level Playing Field.
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: I thank the Minister for his reply. Does he not agree with me that the noble Baroness, Lady Casey, has produced a truly devastating report, which everyone—the Football Association, the police and the Government—have to take seriously? She makes it clear in her report that we shall never know for sure how close we came to a huge disaster involving major loss of life, caused by 6,000...
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, I welcome the Minister to the Front Bench for his first Question. What advice is the FCDO giving to football fans from the LGBTQ community who are contemplating visiting Qatar for the World Cup in view of Article 296 of the Qatari legal code, which stipulates imprisonment of between one and three years for “leading, instigating or seducing a male in any way to commit sodomy”?
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, I declare a slightly ancient interest: I was a vice-chair of the Football Task Force, whose report in 1999 was the last serious attempt to, in the words of the Independent, “deliver a fair deal” for fans. Our proposal for independent regulation was blocked by the Premier League, the Football League and the FA. Can the Minister assure me that Tracey Crouch’s excellent report...
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, like my noble friend Lord Coaker, I was a little surprised to find my amendment grouped with two very different amendments, both of which I am happy to support. If I were not such a collegiate person, I would probably have asked for my amendment to be degrouped and debated separately, but I suspect that the Government Front Bench and your Lordships would not have regarded that as a...
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: I have not quite finished.
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: In view of the very positive nature of the Minister’s comments at our meeting a couple of weeks ago, I hope her noble friend can give some hope that the law will be changed in line with the terms of my amendment.
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, does the Minister not see an inconsistency between his continued assertion that we are, to quote the words that he used when replying to my Motion of regret on this subject on 14 July, “on the journey towards a smoke-free 2030”—[ Official Report, 14/7/21; col. 1844.] and the Government’s repeated reluctance to accept that 100% smoke-free pavement licences enjoy overwhelming...
