Often, when I post clips from the Chamber, people comment that there are relatively few MPs present (with exceptions for things like PMQs or the Budget).
The reality is that an even distribution of speaking time in the Chamber would give us all only about 3-4 minutes each a week - so a lot of our Parliamentary work takes place outside the Chamber, on committees and in other meetings.
As PPS to the Ministry of Justice, I will be serving on the Bill Committee for the Government’s landmark Victims & Prisoners Bill for the next 4 weeks. All legislation goes through a committee stage for detailed scrutiny, after the principle of the Bill is approved by the House.
This Bill strengthens the rights of victims of crime, provides for Independent Public Advocates for victims of major disasters (like Hillsborough, Grenfell or the Manchester bombings) and also gives the Secretary of State a say over parole decisions for criminals convicted of the very worst crimes.
We have just started taking evidence from experts on the sector and will be moving to line-by-line scrutiny of the Bill next week.