One of the main subjects people have emailed me about this month is law and order. I have been making sure ministers are aware of our concerns here in the Chippenham Constituency and I know that many of us want to see tougher measures to allow the Police and the courts to deal with offenders.
I am pleased to announce immediate action being taken by the Government, starting with legislation announced this month extending the period of time that accused persons can be held before a trial – known as the Custody Time Limit – which will be increased from 182 days to 238 days.
This will keep violent, dangerous and sexual criminals off our streets and will protect victims the public. On top of this, the Lord Chancellor has also unveiled a comprehensive plan – backed by £80m of funding and developed with the judiciary – to boost capacity across criminal courts.
This will ensure we have fast, efficient trials and we remove offenders from the streets as quickly as possible. All of this comes as just a small part of a much bigger law and order plan by the Home Secretary, which is including strong action against violent or extremist protesters and action against illegal crossings of the English Channel.
