Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the number of convictions for violence against women and girls in England and Wales in the last 12 months.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Violence against women and girls constitutes a number of offences. The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data on convictions for a number of offences including offences related to violence against women and girls in the Outcomes by Offence data tool. This can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.

The Government cannot and does not seek to influence convictions or judicial outcomes, which are rightly matters for the independent judiciary. However, as part of our mission to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, we recognise it is vital for victims to feel able to come forward and obtain the justice they deserve.

In December, we published our ‘Freedom from violence and abuse: a cross-government strategy’, which sets out the actions we are taking to achieve our VAWG mission. To support victims to come forward and feel able to stay engaged throughout the justice process, our strategy sets out a comprehensive package of measures to strengthen support at every stage of the criminal justice system. This includes court measures to protect victims from intrusive cross-examination, stronger perpetrator management through a national rollout of Domestic Abuse Protection Orders, and the largest-ever investment of £550 million into victim support services over the next three years.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the rationale for requiring separate applications for a Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney and a Property and Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney, where both powers are granted to the same individual.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) allows a person (the donor) to choose people they trust (the attorney) to make decisions for them should they lose the mental capacity to make their own decisions. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 provides the legal framework for LPAs, one for Property and Financial Affairs and one for Health and Welfare, reflecting their different scopes and use.

While donors often appoint the same attorney for both, the instruments remain separate to avoid confusion arising from the differing points to which each LPA can be used and ensures donors can make clear, informed decisions about each type of power. The Health and Welfare LPA may also contain sensitive health information which is not relevant for Property and Financial Affairs decisions. There were consultations in 2012 and 2013 which included proposals for a combined form but, in line with the responses, the Department did not proceed with this idea.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of rape trials in England and Wales that were postponed in each year since 2015; and what the principal reasons were for those postponements.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice publishes figures for the volume of ineffective trials and reasons on a quarterly basis in the ‘Trial effectiveness at the criminal courts’ tool: Criminal court statistics quarterly: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK. An ineffective trial does not take place on the scheduled trial start date and requires a subsequent rescheduled listing.

A vacated trial is one that is removed from the trial list prior to the date of trial. These trials may or may not be listed for a future date. The trial effectiveness tool also includes data on the volume of vacated trials, but the Ministry of Justice does not currently publish reasons for vacation.

The offence group field can be filtered for ‘02: Sexual offences – All Rape’ and there is also a filter for the reason for ineffective trials.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average length of time was from charge to completion in court for rape cases in England and Wales in each year since 2016.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice publishes figures for Crown Court timeliness on a quarterly basis in the ‘End-to-end timeliness tool (Crown Court)’. This includes time taken from charge to completion for rape cases: Criminal court statistics quarterly: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK.

Offence group can be filtered for ‘02: Sexual offences – all rape’. Both the mean and median time from charge to completion can be found in the table, dating back to 2016.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of safeguarding practices on requiring parents to seek retrospective court remedies.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government is committed to protecting children from harm. The Children Act 1989 sets out specific duties for local authorities to provide services to children in their area if they are in need and to undertake enquiries if they believe a child has suffered or is likely to suffer significant harm.

Under Section 46 of the Children Act 1989, police may only facilitate a change in a child’s place of residence despite the refusal of a parent with parental responsibility if a child is at immediate risk of significant harm, by exercising Police Protection Powers. In this case, police may only remove a child or keep a child in a safe place for a maximum 72 hours before requiring a court authorisation to sustain the separation from their parent with parental responsibility.

There are already clear expectations that the local authority brings the matter before the family court within the 72-hour time limit, ensuring judicial oversight of continued change in a child’s place of residence.

Under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989, local authorities can also change a child’s place of residence with the consent of all people that hold parental responsibility for that child.

Whether an application is made prior to or after a child's change of residence, the Government recognises that involvement in family court proceedings, including when children are moved for safeguarding purposes, can be a distressing experience for the families involved. That is why the Department for Education has funded research, conducted by Birkbeck university, into the experiences of parents, children and special guardians involved in public law family court proceedings, as well as a policy and literature review of advice and information materials available to parties. The report setting out their findings and recommendations can be found here: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/56714/.

The Government welcomes this report and takes the experiences of children and families in the family court system seriously.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to prevent mistaken prisoner releases.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Releases in error are never acceptable, and we are bearing down on those errors that do occur. Following the release in error of Hadush Kebatu from HMP Chelmsford, we took immediate steps to make the processes that take place when a prisoner is released more robust. This includes implementing a clear checklist for governors to determine that every step has been followed before any release takes place.

On 11 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced this Government’s five-point action plan to address the causes of releases in error. This includes an urgent query process with a dedicated unit and court experts to allow prisons to quickly escalate warrant-related queries and reduce release errors, a multi-million pound investment to deploy digital tools and upgrade outdated paper-based processes, and an independent review into the recent errors and systemic issues, with recommendations to prevent further inaccuracies.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that child sex offenders are separated in prisons.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Safety in prisons is a key priority. We are working hard to make prisons as safe as possible for those who live and work in them. Safe prisons are vital to enable prisoners to engage in rehabilitative activities that reduce re-offending. Staff are trained to identify where a prisoner may be at risk, and to be able to take appropriate action in response.

A number of reception prisons have specific units for people convicted of sexual offences. In addition to this, a number of other prisons have particular arrangements for vulnerable prisoners – a category which includes, but is not limited to, people convicted of sex offences.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of people being held in prisons in England and Wales have not been found guilty in a court.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the untried remand population in custody in the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ) publication. This data can be found in Population Table 1_Q_2 of OMSQ: Offender management statistics quarterly: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many staff are employed at each of the prisons in Wales; and how many of those staff are Welsh speakers.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The number of staff and self-reported Welsh language speakers in each Welsh prison can be found in the table below:

Headcount of staff in post on 30 September 2025.

Whether staff can speak Welsh is a self-reported variable, with the vast majority of staff not reporting this information, so the true numbers of Welsh speakers is likely to be higher.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Timpson on 26 January (HL13694), why prisoners from the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities are not recorded in the table attached to that Answer.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

In accordance with the Office of National Statistics Census definitions (also reflected within the more detailed prisoner ethnicity data published as part of our Offender Management Statistics “Prison Population” annual tables), the 'Irish Traveller or Gypsy' and 'Roma' groups are counted as part of the "White" ethnicity group.

The ethnicity grouping presented in the table is consistent with that published quarterly for the prison population in Offender Management Statistics, for comparability.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he plans to take to help improve victims’ confidence in the justice system.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

We are putting victims first with a record £550 million investment in specialist support services over the next three years, alongside reforms to ensure our justice system delivers swift, fair justice.

We will soon be consulting on a new Victims’ Code which, once launched, will help to ensure victims know their rights.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he plans to take to reduce the potential impact of construction traffic on villages in Mid Buckinghamshire constituency during the construction of the new Category C prison.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We are committed to delivering crucial new prison places in Buckinghamshire and are working constructively with Buckinghamshire Council to agree how to manage construction traffic.

We have committed to making improvements to a key junction and funding will be provided to improve local bus services.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve the transparency of sentencing.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Government is committed to transparency in our courts and tribunals, and I know the judiciary are too.

Last month we announced that we are expanding free access to sentencing remarks to all victims whose case is sentenced in the Crown Court.

This is a landmark moment for transparency and open justice, and a meaningful improvement for victims across the country.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on supporting the victims of cross-border grooming gangs.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government is committed to working closely with the Scottish Government to strengthen protections for victims of cross-border grooming gangs.

We have accepted all 12 recommendations of Baroness Casey’s report, ensuring a comprehensive, victim focused response to tackling group-based child sexual exploitation.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the prevalence of (a) drug use and (b) synthetic drug use among the prison population in England and Wales.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We recognise that illicit drug use in prisons is too high, and are committed to tackling this to improve safety, support rehabilitation and reduce reoffending. We are investing over £40 million in physical security measures this financial year and have funded Incentivised Substance Free Living Units in 85 prisons. We work closely with health partners to identify prisoners with a drug dependency and support them into treatment and recovery and are rolling out naloxone in prisons – life saving medication which can reverse the effects of an opiate overdose.

We are currently unable to publish performance data on drug level use in prisons because due to reduced testing levels, reduced number of prisons with sufficient testing and the need to update the testing panel, the data is currently not sufficient to robustly estimate the percentage positive. Prisons across the estate strive to conduct target levels of rMDT, but in recent years Governors have had to make difficult decisions about how to balance the demands of testing with wider capacity pressures. However, rMDT is only one element of a wider testing regime, which includes suspicion-based testing for those suspected of illicit use, and compact-based testing on Incentivised Substance Free Living Units and Drug Recovery Wings. Our testing regime enables us to monitor a wide range of substances and assess the prevalence of different types of drugs. We keep this under regular review to ensure we identify emerging trends to keep both prisoners and staff safe. Our new drug testing contract supports this by giving us greater flexibility to respond to emerging drug threats, including synthetic drugs.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people with a learning disability have (i) entered and (ii) exited the prison population in each of the last ten years.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The information requested is not held within the Ministry of Justice.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what is the (a) shortest, (b) median and (b) longest time taken by the Office of the Public Guardian to process a cancellation request for an existing Lasting Power of Attorney in 2025.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) keeps its performance targets under regular review to ensure they remain appropriate and aligned with demand and operational capacity. The performance metrics focus on the registration of new Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) and the discharge of statutory responsibilities. OPG already operates published targets for the registration of LPAs, with performance reported annually.

In 2024–25, the average processing times for LPAs and Enduring Powers of Attorney reduced significantly to 49 working days, down from 76 working days in 2023–24. This improvement reflects sustained efforts to clear a backlog of applications. Amendments to, and cancellations of, existing LPAs vary in complexity, and their timeliness is monitored through internal performance management arrangements. The organisation does not collect or publish detailed operational data on the processing times for deeds of revocation. While OPG aims to process such requests within 15 working days of receipt, it does not record individual clearance times for these cases. As a result, the shortest, median and longest processing times for cancellation requests in 2025 cannot be provided.

Existing guidance on GOV.UK explains the process for revoking an LPA, including the requirement for a donor to complete a Deed of Revocation in the prescribed form. OPG keeps its published guidance under regular review. While OPG does not currently publish specific guidance on the precise legal point at which an LPA is considered revoked, the legal position is set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), an LPA is revoked once the donor has executed a valid Deed of Revocation and notified OPG. OPG will continue to review its guidance to ensure it remains clear, accessible and aligned with statutory requirements.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will instruct the Office of the Public Guardian to publish guidance on the point at which a signed Deed of Revocation of a Last Power of Attorney is revoked.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) keeps its performance targets under regular review to ensure they remain appropriate and aligned with demand and operational capacity. The performance metrics focus on the registration of new Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) and the discharge of statutory responsibilities. OPG already operates published targets for the registration of LPAs, with performance reported annually.

In 2024–25, the average processing times for LPAs and Enduring Powers of Attorney reduced significantly to 49 working days, down from 76 working days in 2023–24. This improvement reflects sustained efforts to clear a backlog of applications. Amendments to, and cancellations of, existing LPAs vary in complexity, and their timeliness is monitored through internal performance management arrangements. The organisation does not collect or publish detailed operational data on the processing times for deeds of revocation. While OPG aims to process such requests within 15 working days of receipt, it does not record individual clearance times for these cases. As a result, the shortest, median and longest processing times for cancellation requests in 2025 cannot be provided.

Existing guidance on GOV.UK explains the process for revoking an LPA, including the requirement for a donor to complete a Deed of Revocation in the prescribed form. OPG keeps its published guidance under regular review. While OPG does not currently publish specific guidance on the precise legal point at which an LPA is considered revoked, the legal position is set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), an LPA is revoked once the donor has executed a valid Deed of Revocation and notified OPG. OPG will continue to review its guidance to ensure it remains clear, accessible and aligned with statutory requirements.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to introduce targets for the time taken by the Office of the Public Guardian to process and register (a) amendments and (b) cancellations to existing Lasting Powers of Attorney.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) keeps its performance targets under regular review to ensure they remain appropriate and aligned with demand and operational capacity. The performance metrics focus on the registration of new Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) and the discharge of statutory responsibilities. OPG already operates published targets for the registration of LPAs, with performance reported annually.

In 2024–25, the average processing times for LPAs and Enduring Powers of Attorney reduced significantly to 49 working days, down from 76 working days in 2023–24. This improvement reflects sustained efforts to clear a backlog of applications. Amendments to, and cancellations of, existing LPAs vary in complexity, and their timeliness is monitored through internal performance management arrangements. The organisation does not collect or publish detailed operational data on the processing times for deeds of revocation. While OPG aims to process such requests within 15 working days of receipt, it does not record individual clearance times for these cases. As a result, the shortest, median and longest processing times for cancellation requests in 2025 cannot be provided.

Existing guidance on GOV.UK explains the process for revoking an LPA, including the requirement for a donor to complete a Deed of Revocation in the prescribed form. OPG keeps its published guidance under regular review. While OPG does not currently publish specific guidance on the precise legal point at which an LPA is considered revoked, the legal position is set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), an LPA is revoked once the donor has executed a valid Deed of Revocation and notified OPG. OPG will continue to review its guidance to ensure it remains clear, accessible and aligned with statutory requirements.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has considered introducing a requirement for automatic judicial oversight within a fixed timeframe where state bodies facilitate a significant change in a child’s living arrangements as part of safeguarding practice.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government is committed to protecting children from harm. The Children Act 1989 sets out specific duties for local authorities to provide services to children in their area if they are in need and to undertake enquiries if they believe a child has suffered or is likely to suffer significant harm.

Under Section 46 of the Children Act 1989, police may only facilitate a change in a child’s place of residence despite the refusal of a parent with parental responsibility if a child is at immediate risk of significant harm, by exercising Police Protection Powers. In this case, police may only remove a child or keep a child in a safe place for a maximum 72 hours before requiring a court authorisation to sustain the separation from their parent with parental responsibility.

There are already clear expectations that the local authority brings the matter before the family court within the 72-hour time limit, ensuring judicial oversight of continued change in a child’s place of residence.

Under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989, local authorities can also change a child’s place of residence with the consent of all people that hold parental responsibility for that child.

Whether an application is made prior to or after a child's change of residence, the Government recognises that involvement in family court proceedings, including when children are moved for safeguarding purposes, can be a distressing experience for the families involved. That is why the Department for Education has funded research, conducted by Birkbeck university, into the experiences of parents, children and special guardians involved in public law family court proceedings, as well as a policy and literature review of advice and information materials available to parties. The report setting out their findings and recommendations can be found here: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/56714/.

The Government welcomes this report and takes the experiences of children and families in the family court system seriously.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether national guidance permits (a) police forces and (b) local authority Children’s Services to facilitate a material change in a child’s place of residence without prior court authorisation where one parent with parental responsibility has refused consent.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government is committed to protecting children from harm. The Children Act 1989 sets out specific duties for local authorities to provide services to children in their area if they are in need and to undertake enquiries if they believe a child has suffered or is likely to suffer significant harm.

Under Section 46 of the Children Act 1989, police may only facilitate a change in a child’s place of residence despite the refusal of a parent with parental responsibility if a child is at immediate risk of significant harm, by exercising Police Protection Powers. In this case, police may only remove a child or keep a child in a safe place for a maximum 72 hours before requiring a court authorisation to sustain the separation from their parent with parental responsibility.

There are already clear expectations that the local authority brings the matter before the family court within the 72-hour time limit, ensuring judicial oversight of continued change in a child’s place of residence.

Under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989, local authorities can also change a child’s place of residence with the consent of all people that hold parental responsibility for that child.

Whether an application is made prior to or after a child's change of residence, the Government recognises that involvement in family court proceedings, including when children are moved for safeguarding purposes, can be a distressing experience for the families involved. That is why the Department for Education has funded research, conducted by Birkbeck university, into the experiences of parents, children and special guardians involved in public law family court proceedings, as well as a policy and literature review of advice and information materials available to parties. The report setting out their findings and recommendations can be found here: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/56714/.

The Government welcomes this report and takes the experiences of children and families in the family court system seriously.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment has been made of the potential merits of increasing funding for support services available to families navigating family court proceedings in cases involving domestic abuse.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government recognises the significant impact of domestic abuse on children and adult victims involved in family court proceedings, which is why we are committed to reforms that improve multi-agency working and provide better support.

Central to these reforms is the expansion of the Pathfinder model which seeks to improve outcomes for children and families involved in private family law proceedings, including those who have experienced domestic abuse. The voice of the child is amplified through a Child Impact Report which assesses the child’s experiences and needs, ensuring these are heard and communicated to the court.

Under the Pathfinder model, victims of domestic abuse are also offered specialist support from an Independent Domestic Violence Adviser. The model currently operates in 10 court areas, backed by £13 million investment in the current financial year.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps are being taken to ensure that support provided to children involved in family court cases is (a) child-centred and (b) informed by their lived experience of domestic abuse.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government recognises the significant impact of domestic abuse on children and adult victims involved in family court proceedings, which is why we are committed to reforms that improve multi-agency working and provide better support.

Central to these reforms is the expansion of the Pathfinder model which seeks to improve outcomes for children and families involved in private family law proceedings, including those who have experienced domestic abuse. The voice of the child is amplified through a Child Impact Report which assesses the child’s experiences and needs, ensuring these are heard and communicated to the court.

Under the Pathfinder model, victims of domestic abuse are also offered specialist support from an Independent Domestic Violence Adviser. The model currently operates in 10 court areas, backed by £13 million investment in the current financial year.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the psychological impact of contact arrangements on children is considered in cases involving domestic abuse.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government recognises the impact that family court proceedings have on children and adult survivors of domestic abuse, which is why we are prioritising strong safeguarding and specialist support for those navigating the system.

The Government acknowledges that repeated court hearings can retraumatise adult and child victims of domestic abuse. The Pathfinder pilot was launched in Dorset and North Wales in February 2022 and has now been expanded to 10 court areas in England and Wales, which accounts for around a quarter of private law proceedings in England and Wales. Further expansion will be announced in due course. The Pathfinder model improves coordination between the family court and agencies, including local authorities and the police, particularly in cases involving domestic abuse. This approach reduces the number of cases returning to court, protecting children and families from further trauma.

By introducing a Child Impact Report early in the process and having a more investigative process, judges are enabled to assess risks thoroughly and make more sustainable orders. This child-centred, trauma-informed approach improves early risk identification, strengthens multiagency collaboration, and helps ensure that children’s voices are heard and that the psychological impact of contact arrangements is fully considered by the court.

This Government has taken steps to ensure that family court procedures more effectively identify and prevent patterns of coercive or controlling behaviour. Practice Direction 12 J has been amended to require courts to assess patterns of behaviour rather than isolated incidents, to modernise terminology, and to strengthen safeguards for vulnerable parties. Alongside this, section 91(14) orders, also referred to as “barring orders”, may be issued by the family court where further applications would put a child or adult, such as a victim of domestic abuse, at risk of harm, particularly where proceedings could be a form of continuing domestic abuse. Courts can issue a s91(14) order of their own motion or on application. Where such an order is in place, the court is required to consider whether circumstances have materially changed before granting permission to make a new application.

The Government welcomes the publication of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s report “Everyday Business: Addressing domestic abuse and continuing harm through a family court review and reporting mechanism.” We are carefully considering the recommendations made in the report and will publish a full response shortly.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether recommendations arising from the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s 2025 report will inform the handling of domestic abuse cases within the family justice system.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government recognises the impact that family court proceedings have on children and adult survivors of domestic abuse, which is why we are prioritising strong safeguarding and specialist support for those navigating the system.

The Government acknowledges that repeated court hearings can retraumatise adult and child victims of domestic abuse. The Pathfinder pilot was launched in Dorset and North Wales in February 2022 and has now been expanded to 10 court areas in England and Wales, which accounts for around a quarter of private law proceedings in England and Wales. Further expansion will be announced in due course. The Pathfinder model improves coordination between the family court and agencies, including local authorities and the police, particularly in cases involving domestic abuse. This approach reduces the number of cases returning to court, protecting children and families from further trauma.

By introducing a Child Impact Report early in the process and having a more investigative process, judges are enabled to assess risks thoroughly and make more sustainable orders. This child-centred, trauma-informed approach improves early risk identification, strengthens multiagency collaboration, and helps ensure that children’s voices are heard and that the psychological impact of contact arrangements is fully considered by the court.

This Government has taken steps to ensure that family court procedures more effectively identify and prevent patterns of coercive or controlling behaviour. Practice Direction 12 J has been amended to require courts to assess patterns of behaviour rather than isolated incidents, to modernise terminology, and to strengthen safeguards for vulnerable parties. Alongside this, section 91(14) orders, also referred to as “barring orders”, may be issued by the family court where further applications would put a child or adult, such as a victim of domestic abuse, at risk of harm, particularly where proceedings could be a form of continuing domestic abuse. Courts can issue a s91(14) order of their own motion or on application. Where such an order is in place, the court is required to consider whether circumstances have materially changed before granting permission to make a new application.

The Government welcomes the publication of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s report “Everyday Business: Addressing domestic abuse and continuing harm through a family court review and reporting mechanism.” We are carefully considering the recommendations made in the report and will publish a full response shortly.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of funding available to support victims of domestic abuse and their children while engaged in family court proceedings.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government recognises the significant impact of domestic abuse on children and adult victims involved in family court proceedings, which is why we are committed to reforms that improve multi-agency working and provide better support.

Central to these reforms is the expansion of the Pathfinder model which seeks to improve outcomes for children and families involved in private family law proceedings, including those who have experienced domestic abuse. The voice of the child is amplified through a Child Impact Report which assesses the child’s experiences and needs, ensuring these are heard and communicated to the court.

Under the Pathfinder model, victims of domestic abuse are also offered specialist support from an Independent Domestic Violence Adviser. The model currently operates in 10 court areas, backed by £13 million investment in the current financial year.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment has been made of the potential contribution of family court processes, including repeated proceedings and contact litigation, to ongoing harm for victims of domestic abuse and their children.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government recognises the impact that family court proceedings have on children and adult survivors of domestic abuse, which is why we are prioritising strong safeguarding and specialist support for those navigating the system.

The Government acknowledges that repeated court hearings can retraumatise adult and child victims of domestic abuse. The Pathfinder pilot was launched in Dorset and North Wales in February 2022 and has now been expanded to 10 court areas in England and Wales, which accounts for around a quarter of private law proceedings in England and Wales. Further expansion will be announced in due course. The Pathfinder model improves coordination between the family court and agencies, including local authorities and the police, particularly in cases involving domestic abuse. This approach reduces the number of cases returning to court, protecting children and families from further trauma.

By introducing a Child Impact Report early in the process and having a more investigative process, judges are enabled to assess risks thoroughly and make more sustainable orders. This child-centred, trauma-informed approach improves early risk identification, strengthens multiagency collaboration, and helps ensure that children’s voices are heard and that the psychological impact of contact arrangements is fully considered by the court.

This Government has taken steps to ensure that family court procedures more effectively identify and prevent patterns of coercive or controlling behaviour. Practice Direction 12 J has been amended to require courts to assess patterns of behaviour rather than isolated incidents, to modernise terminology, and to strengthen safeguards for vulnerable parties. Alongside this, section 91(14) orders, also referred to as “barring orders”, may be issued by the family court where further applications would put a child or adult, such as a victim of domestic abuse, at risk of harm, particularly where proceedings could be a form of continuing domestic abuse. Courts can issue a s91(14) order of their own motion or on application. Where such an order is in place, the court is required to consider whether circumstances have materially changed before granting permission to make a new application.

The Government welcomes the publication of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s report “Everyday Business: Addressing domestic abuse and continuing harm through a family court review and reporting mechanism.” We are carefully considering the recommendations made in the report and will publish a full response shortly.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps are being taken to help ensure that family court procedures prevent patterns of coercive or controlling behaviour following relationship breakdown.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government recognises the impact that family court proceedings have on children and adult survivors of domestic abuse, which is why we are prioritising strong safeguarding and specialist support for those navigating the system.

The Government acknowledges that repeated court hearings can retraumatise adult and child victims of domestic abuse. The Pathfinder pilot was launched in Dorset and North Wales in February 2022 and has now been expanded to 10 court areas in England and Wales, which accounts for around a quarter of private law proceedings in England and Wales. Further expansion will be announced in due course. The Pathfinder model improves coordination between the family court and agencies, including local authorities and the police, particularly in cases involving domestic abuse. This approach reduces the number of cases returning to court, protecting children and families from further trauma.

By introducing a Child Impact Report early in the process and having a more investigative process, judges are enabled to assess risks thoroughly and make more sustainable orders. This child-centred, trauma-informed approach improves early risk identification, strengthens multiagency collaboration, and helps ensure that children’s voices are heard and that the psychological impact of contact arrangements is fully considered by the court.

This Government has taken steps to ensure that family court procedures more effectively identify and prevent patterns of coercive or controlling behaviour. Practice Direction 12 J has been amended to require courts to assess patterns of behaviour rather than isolated incidents, to modernise terminology, and to strengthen safeguards for vulnerable parties. Alongside this, section 91(14) orders, also referred to as “barring orders”, may be issued by the family court where further applications would put a child or adult, such as a victim of domestic abuse, at risk of harm, particularly where proceedings could be a form of continuing domestic abuse. Courts can issue a s91(14) order of their own motion or on application. Where such an order is in place, the court is required to consider whether circumstances have materially changed before granting permission to make a new application.

The Government welcomes the publication of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s report “Everyday Business: Addressing domestic abuse and continuing harm through a family court review and reporting mechanism.” We are carefully considering the recommendations made in the report and will publish a full response shortly.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the results of the two-tiered test of enhanced support for jurors in Crown Courts centres that was announced in May 2024.

Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Jury service is an important civic duty. Whilst many people find it worthwhile, we recognise that some trials can be challenging.

The “Enhanced Support for Jurors” pilot concluded in March 2025 and is currently being evaluated. The results will help inform longer-term support for jurors, including in cases involving serious violence or sexual offending.

If a juror is left distressed by any aspect of their service, they are encouraged to seek specialist support through their GP or the NHS 111 helpline, which includes a dedicated mental health option.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the psychological and mental health impact on jurors of sitting on serious cases of physical or sexual violence.

Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Jury service is an important civic duty. Whilst many people find it worthwhile, we recognise that some trials can be challenging.

The “Enhanced Support for Jurors” pilot concluded in March 2025 and is currently being evaluated. The results will help inform longer-term support for jurors, including in cases involving serious violence or sexual offending.

If a juror is left distressed by any aspect of their service, they are encouraged to seek specialist support through their GP or the NHS 111 helpline, which includes a dedicated mental health option.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to compensate people who carry out community service as part of a criminal sentence that is later overturned.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

There is no specific route to claim compensation related to any work or community service undertaken as part of a sentence, which is subsequently overturned.

For individuals who have suffered a miscarriage of justice, section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act provides for the Secretary of State to pay compensation to an individual, subject to meeting the statutory test. This is administrated by the Miscarriages of Justice Application Service. If an individual is deemed eligible, the level of award is determined by an Independent Assessor, and in October 2025, we increased the maximum cap for compensation by 30%.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the written answer 106063 of 14 January 2026 on Community Orders: Appeals, how many people have received compensation for work undertaken following their sentence being overturned.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

There is no specific route to claim compensation related to any work or community service undertaken as part of a sentence, which is subsequently overturned.

For individuals who have suffered a miscarriage of justice, section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act provides for the Secretary of State to pay compensation to an individual, subject to meeting the statutory test. This is administrated by the Miscarriages of Justice Application Service. If an individual is deemed eligible, the level of award is determined by an Independent Assessor, and in October 2025, we increased the maximum cap for compensation by 30%.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department's amendment of Section 288(2) of the Sentencing Code will take effect.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Sentencing Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 22 January 2026. This measure commences automatically 2 months after Royal Assent, on 22 March 2026.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were (a) convicted for a violence against the person offence and b) did not receive an immediate custodial sentence, by year of conviction and number of previous occassions the offender has been convicted for a violence against the person offence.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The information requested is provided in the attached excel tables. These tables include data covering the period 2020 – 2024 on the number of offenders who were convicted of a specified offence but did not receive an immediate custodial sentence, by the number of previous convictions for that specified offence.

This data is not regularly published or held in an easily accessible format. The information supplied has been sourced from a bespoke retrieval from the Police National Computer database.

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent judiciary. When deciding what sentence to impose, courts must consider the circumstances of the case, including the culpability of the offender, the harm they caused or intended to cause, and any aggravating and mitigating factors, in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines, developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.

Previous convictions are already a statutory aggravating factor, with Sentencing Guidelines being clear that sentencers must consider the nature and relevance of previous convictions, and the time elapsed since the previous convictions.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were (a) convicted for burglary and b) did not receive an immediate custodial sentence, by year of conviction and number of previous occasions the offender has been convicted for burglary.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The information requested is provided in the attached excel tables. These tables include data covering the period 2020 – 2024 on the number of offenders who were convicted of a specified offence but did not receive an immediate custodial sentence, by the number of previous convictions for that specified offence.

This data is not regularly published or held in an easily accessible format. The information supplied has been sourced from a bespoke retrieval from the Police National Computer database.

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent judiciary. When deciding what sentence to impose, courts must consider the circumstances of the case, including the culpability of the offender, the harm they caused or intended to cause, and any aggravating and mitigating factors, in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines, developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.

Previous convictions are already a statutory aggravating factor, with Sentencing Guidelines being clear that sentencers must consider the nature and relevance of previous convictions, and the time elapsed since the previous convictions.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were (a) convicted for robbery and b) did not receive an immediate custodial sentence, by year of conviction and number of previous occasions the offender has been convicted for robbery.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The information requested is provided in the attached excel tables. These tables include data covering the period 2020 – 2024 on the number of offenders who were convicted of a specified offence but did not receive an immediate custodial sentence, by the number of previous convictions for that specified offence.

This data is not regularly published or held in an easily accessible format. The information supplied has been sourced from a bespoke retrieval from the Police National Computer database.

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent judiciary. When deciding what sentence to impose, courts must consider the circumstances of the case, including the culpability of the offender, the harm they caused or intended to cause, and any aggravating and mitigating factors, in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines, developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.

Previous convictions are already a statutory aggravating factor, with Sentencing Guidelines being clear that sentencers must consider the nature and relevance of previous convictions, and the time elapsed since the previous convictions.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were (a) convicted of theft and (b) did not receive an immediate custodial sentence, by year of conviction and number of previous occasions the offender has been convicted for theft.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The information requested is provided in the attached excel tables. These tables include data covering the period 2020 – 2024 on the number of offenders who were convicted of a specified offence but did not receive an immediate custodial sentence, by the number of previous convictions for that specified offence.

This data is not regularly published or held in an easily accessible format. The information supplied has been sourced from a bespoke retrieval from the Police National Computer database.

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent judiciary. When deciding what sentence to impose, courts must consider the circumstances of the case, including the culpability of the offender, the harm they caused or intended to cause, and any aggravating and mitigating factors, in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines, developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.

Previous convictions are already a statutory aggravating factor, with Sentencing Guidelines being clear that sentencers must consider the nature and relevance of previous convictions, and the time elapsed since the previous convictions.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he will recommend the Isle of Man Constitution Bill 2023 for Royal Assent.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The UK Government has yet to receive the Isle of Man Constitution Bill 2023 from Tynwald.

The time required to scrutinise Crown Dependency legislation prior to Royal Assent varies depending on its complexity and any legal or constitutional questions that arise, including where clarification is needed from Law Officers in the Islands. Any decision on whether a Crown Dependency law can be recommended for Royal Assent will depend on the outcome of that process and as such, it would not be appropriate to speculate on the timing or outcome of the scrutiny in respect of the Isle of Man’s Constitution Bill in advance of its receipt.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were released without accommodation in each of the last five years.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The information requested can be found in Table 3 of the “Housed on Release from Custody Tables” in the Offender Accommodation Outcomes statistical publication at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-accommodation-outcomes-update-to-march-2025.

We are committed to ensuring that robust pre-release plans are created for those leaving custody, so that accommodation needs are identified early and the right support is put in place. Dedicated Pre-Release Teams in prisons work closely with individuals to identify immediate needs, co-ordinate referrals to relevant services, and support continuity between custody and the community.

In the National Plan to End Homelessness, the Government has committed to reduce the proportion of people released homeless from prison by 50% by the end of this parliament. 50 prison-based Strategic Housing Specialists across England and Wales work with probation teams and Local Authorities to enable a multi-agency approach to securing housing before release, including by establishing pre-release accommodation panels with appropriate local authorities. We are also investing in integrating digital community accommodation services to make it easier to identify and match individuals to the right housing-related support at the right time.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's research entitled Alcohol monitoring on licence: process and interim impact evaluation, published 30 October 2025, what assessment his Department have made of the adequacy of alcohol monitoring readings from people on Alcohol Monitoring Licence orders whose tags were later removed due to potentially incorrect fittings.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Alcohol monitoring on licence was introduced in Wales in 2021 and England in 2022 and enables probation to include an additional licence condition banning or restricting the consumption of alcohol, where a criminogenic need related to alcohol misuse is identified as an increase to risk. The alcohol monitoring on licence: process and interim impact evaluation was published on 30 October 2025: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcohol-monitoring-on-licence-process-and-interim-impact-evaluation. A further impact evaluation exploring reoffending will be published in due course which will measure longer-term outcomes than the existing published evaluation. The sample size is not confirmed but we expect it to be broadly similar.

The process and interim impact evaluation of Alcohol Monitoring on Licence scheme was based on a sample of the overall tagged population. The process evaluation reported some instances where tag wearers experienced pain or discomfort and had the tag changed or removed. These issues did not indicate widespread concerns about the reliability of alcohol tag readings.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's research entitled Alcohol monitoring on licence: process and interim impact evaluation, published 30 October 2025, whether he plans to repeat research on the impact of the Alcohol and Monitoring on Licence scheme with larger sample group sizes.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Alcohol monitoring on licence was introduced in Wales in 2021 and England in 2022 and enables probation to include an additional licence condition banning or restricting the consumption of alcohol, where a criminogenic need related to alcohol misuse is identified as an increase to risk. The alcohol monitoring on licence: process and interim impact evaluation was published on 30 October 2025: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcohol-monitoring-on-licence-process-and-interim-impact-evaluation. A further impact evaluation exploring reoffending will be published in due course which will measure longer-term outcomes than the existing published evaluation. The sample size is not confirmed but we expect it to be broadly similar.

The process and interim impact evaluation of Alcohol Monitoring on Licence scheme was based on a sample of the overall tagged population. The process evaluation reported some instances where tag wearers experienced pain or discomfort and had the tag changed or removed. These issues did not indicate widespread concerns about the reliability of alcohol tag readings.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were (a) convicted for a sexual offence and (b) did not receive an immediate custodial sentence, by year of conviction and number of previous occasions the offender has been convicted for sexual offences.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The information requested is provided in the attached excel tables. These tables include data covering the period 2020 – 2024 on the number of offenders who were convicted of a specified offence but did not receive an immediate custodial sentence, by the number of previous convictions for that specified offence.

This data is not regularly published or held in an easily accessible format. The information supplied has been sourced from a bespoke retrieval from the Police National Computer database.

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent judiciary. When deciding what sentence to impose, courts must consider the circumstances of the case, including the culpability of the offender, the harm they caused or intended to cause, and any aggravating and mitigating factors, in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines, developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.

Previous convictions are already a statutory aggravating factor, with Sentencing Guidelines being clear that sentencers must consider the nature and relevance of previous convictions, and the time elapsed since the previous convictions.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to amend the Contempt of Court Act 1981 to reflect public comments about trials on social media platforms.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Rules and restrictions on what can be said during ongoing court proceedings are vital to ensure that trials are fair and justice is delivered. The Government recognises that social media is putting these long-established rules under strain, especially in cases where partial and inaccurate information appears online. The Law Commission is undertaking a review of contempt law which considers whether existing legal frameworks allow us to respond effectively to publications and communications that seriously impede or prejudice the course of justice.

At the Government’s request, the Commission expedited parts of the review relating to our ability to counter misinformation. That report was published in November covering liability and contempt and the role of the Attorney General in contempt proceedings.

We are carefully considering the recommendations and will issue a formal response once both reports have been published.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to maintain the adequacy of prison education provision in the context of changes to staffing levels.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Government is committed to ensuring prisoners can access high-quality education and skills provision that supports rehabilitation and reduces reoffending.

While the national prison education budget has increased by 3% this financial year, this has not kept pace with rising delivery costs across a range of services, leading to a reduction in what can be delivered through the Core Education contracts. Core Education represents only one part of the wider education, skills and work offer available to prisoners. Prison Governors commission education that meets the needs of their population, and providers are responsible for managing the staffing required to deliver the contracted services. HMPPS works closely with providers and governors to monitor delivery and maintain adequate provision.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent comparative assessment he has made of trends in the levels of violence in (a) public and (b) private prisons.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Public and private prisons are subject to the same performance monitoring of safety outcomes. Safety data is used in contract management, including as a contractual lever to address poor performance.

We are committed to a mixed market in custodial services. Private sector companies continue to have an important role to play in the justice system, bringing innovation and expertise.

There is evidence of good performance across the privately-run prison estate, and some outstanding performance in areas such as security, respect and preparation for release. Performance varies by prison and area of assessment.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many life sentences have been handed out to people under the age of 16 in the last five years.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Between year ending September 2021 and year ending September 2025, 10 defendants aged under 16 have been given a life sentence. This is a further breakdown of published sentencing outcomes data released routinely as part of the Accredited Official Statistics series Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly which is available here: Criminal Justice Statistics.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to respond to correspondence from the hon. Member for Salford of 30 October 2025 on deaths in custody and prison management at HMP Forest Bank, reference number MC128673.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Department apologises for the delay in responding on this occasion and we regret that this falls short of expected standards. We are prioritising this and a response will be issued within the coming week.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill on the intelligence services.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Bill will apply to all public authorities, including the intelligence services. At Second Reading of the Bill, the Prime Minister was clear that the duty of candour would need to apply in a particular way to the intelligence services to get the right balance. We are clear that nothing should undermine our national security.

We are continuing to work closely with families, stakeholders and the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee to bring forward amendments that achieve this balance. We will update the House in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government, how many stab proof vests have been issued to frontline officers following the announcement by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice about prison staff safety on 21 September 2025.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The volume of body armour required for all prison officers in the Long-Term and High-Security Estate represents a significant undertaking. Our priority is to ensure that we continue to provide the most appropriate and effective protective equipment as swiftly as possible. We are currently preparing for further procurement and delivery. This work is progressing at pace, and we expect to begin implementation across the estate during 2026.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the announcement by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice about prison staff safety on 21 September 2025, how many of the 5,000 stab proof vests for staff working in high security prisons have been issued.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The volume of body armour required for all prison officers in the Long-Term and High-Security Estate represents a significant undertaking. Our priority is to ensure that we continue to provide the most appropriate and effective protective equipment as swiftly as possible. We are currently preparing for further procurement and delivery. This work is progressing at pace, and we expect to begin implementation across the estate during 2026.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the announcement by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice about prison staff safety on 21 September 2025, how many prison officers are trained to use tasers.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

On 21 September, the Deputy Prime Minister announced that 500 prison-based staff would be trained and equipped to use Taser devices as part of a wider effort to enhance safety across the prison estate. We currently have 25 specially trained officers who work within the Operational Response and Resilience Teams. At present, no frontline officers are trained in the use of Tasers.

Delivering this capability is a significant undertaking: work to train and equip additional officers is in progress.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with the Attorney General’s Office on ending the presumption of parental contact in family court cases.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government announced on 22 October 2025 that it will repeal the presumption of parental involvement when Parliamentary time allows.

Prior to this announcement, a Parliamentary write-round was undertaken which included consideration by the Attorney General’s Office.

The repeal will be taken forward once an appropriate legislative vehicle is identified. This remains a Ministerial priority, and we will announce further plans due course.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the longest waiting time was for a case to be heard in a criminal court in England and Wales once referred, as of the most recent data available.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

We have interpreted your question to be asking for information on the longest time a case has taken to have its first hearing at a criminal court from the point of crime referral.

The Ministry of Justice does not hold data regarding timeliness from the date of crime referral.

The Department publishes quarterly timeliness data concerning the criminal courts in the ‘End-to-end timeliness tool (Crown Court)’ and ‘Magistrates’ courts timeliness tool’, at the following link: Criminal court statistics quarterly: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK.

These Accredited Official Statistics present the latest statistics on type and volume of cases that are received and processed through the criminal court system of England and Wales, including multiple measures of timeliness. The statistics give a summary overview of the volume of cases and defendants dealt with by these courts over time, including further breakdowns of available timeliness stages, offence groups and factors impacting case flow (plea, remand and case type).

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals relating to special educational needs and disabilities were lodged with the First-tier Tribunal in each of the last five years.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Information about appeals lodged with the First-tier Tribunal for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) is published at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of his proposed changes to the right to a jury trial on the rule of law.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Government will publish a full impact assessment of our proposed justice reforms in the usual way with bill introduction. That will include an assessment of the impact of the proposed changes in the threshold for who can access a jury trial. Currently, over 90% of criminal cases are already heard by magistrates, without a jury. These proposals make a modest change to the threshold. All indictable only offences and any offence with a likely sentence over three years will continue to receive a jury trial.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the number of criminal legal aid firms that have ceased operating in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is responsible for commissioning legal aid services in England and Wales. The LAA monitors the number of legal aid providers contracted to provide criminal legal aid services throughout England and Wales.

Information regarding the number of legal aid providers with a criminal legal aid contract since 2018 is published as part of the LAA’s official statistics [table 9.6]. Please note that data for the current financial year has not yet been published. Information regarding number of contracted providers from 2008-2022 has previously been published in response to a PQ 121917.1

Fluctuations in provider volumes can be the result of consolidation or merger activity. As such a reduction to the overall number of firms with a contract to provide criminal legal aid services does not always equate to a loss of provision or coverage. Not all providers who cease undertaking legal aid work will have ceased operating altogether. Some firms may continue to provide criminal advice and representation on a private basis.

The LAA regularly reviews available supply of legal aid services across England and Wales to make sure there is adequate provision for legal aid, including under each criminal duty scheme, and takes operational action where it can, to respond to market pressures that may arise.

1. Please note that figures for 2018-2022 in the official statistics may differ for those released under the PQ as the information in the statistics presents data as at the end of the financial year whereas the PQ response presented the figures as at the start of the financial year or most recent period for which figures were available.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many unique offenders were convicted for an indictable offence and did not receive immediate custody in 2024 with i) zero, ii) 1-2, iii) 3-6, iv) 7-10, v) 11-14, vi) 15-25, vii) 26-35, viii) 36-45, ix) 46 - 60, x) 61-75 and xi) 76 or more previous convictions.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The information requested is provided in the attached excel table. The table includes data covering 2024 on the number of offenders who received a conviction but not an immediate custodial sentence split by number of previous convictions. This data is not routinely published or held in an assessable format. The information supplied has been sourced from a bespoke retrieval from the Police National Computer database.

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent judiciary. When deciding what sentence to impose, courts must consider the circumstances of the case, including the culpability of the offender, the harm they caused or intended to cause, and any aggravating and mitigating factors, in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines, developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.

Previous convictions are already a statutory aggravating factor, with Sentencing Guidelines being clear that sentencers must consider the nature and relevance of previous convictions, and the time elapsed since the previous convictions.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the number of duty solicitors available in rural areas.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

It is vital that those who need legal aid can access it wherever they live in the UK.

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is responsible for commissioning duty solicitor services and the day-to-day administration of the court and police station duty schemes. This includes keeping membership records, allocating slots and producing and maintaining duty solicitor rotas. The LAA monitors membership across individual duty schemes. Information about duty solicitor volumes broken down by individual scheme is published as part of the LAA’s Official Statistics.

The LAA considers that all police station and court slots are adequately covered for each duty scheme in England and Wales, including those in rural areas. Provision under the duty schemes is demand led and so there may be variations in numbers across each local rota.

The Government has made significant investments in criminal legal aid, to reflect the valuable work done by defence lawyers. We are investing around £92 million per year in steady state in criminal legal aid solicitors’ fees. The majority of the funding (around £82 million) came into effect from 22 December 2025, with the remaining funding (around £10 million) to be implemented as soon as possible this year.

Recruitment and retention of duty solicitors remains crucial. A significant proportion of the around £92 million investment in solicitors’ fees is directed towards supporting duty solicitors in police stations and in the magistrates' courts, including in rural areas. This investment is in addition to the £24 million per year increase we implemented in November 2024 for work done in the police station and Youth Court.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many sitting days each (a) court and (b) tribunal in England and Wales has been allocated in the 2025–26 financial year.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice interprets this question as referring to the total allocations for each court and tribunal jurisdiction for the FY 2025/26. As part of this Government’s commitment to transparency, we began publishing total sitting‑day allocations by jurisdiction last year. The table below sets out the total allocations for FY2025/26 by jurisdiction. The Government has funded each jurisdiction to sit at or close to maximum capacity.

* This figure represents the total number of days funded from both Ministry of Justice and Home Office budgets. However, in order to maximise overall sittings within this funding, the total number of days allocated across the First Tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal in aggregate was slightly higher, at 23,450.

** This figure includes days funded from both Ministry of Justice and Department for Work and Pensions budgets.

*** This figure only represents the sitting days included in the Ministry of Justice's baseline funding. There are long-standing agreements with several other government departments whereby they provide funding for capacity in specific tribunals. Additional days will be sat as a result of this additional funding.

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Found: T +4420 3334 3555 F +44870 761 7753 E https://contact-moj.service.justice.gov.uk/ www.gov.uk/moj

Found: T +4420 3334 3555 F +44870 761 7753 E https://contact-moj.service.justice.gov.uk/ www.gov.uk/moj

Found: 2025/1243 8 The Public Record Office (Fees) Regulations 2025 Appendix 2: Memorandum from the Ministry of Justice

Found: Asylum and Immigration Bill, Lord Katz stated that there were ‘discussions going on between HMCTS, the MoJ

Found: through a Freedom of Information request to HM Courts & Tribunals Service, handled by the Ministry of Justice

Found: T +4420 3334 3555 F +44870 761 7753 E https://contact-moj.service.justice.gov.uk/ www.gov.uk/moj

Found: T +4420 3334 3555 F +44870 761 7753 E https://contact-moj.service.justice.gov.uk/ www.gov.uk/moj 102

Found: years—there was a single, excellent director for the overseas territories, who had come from the Ministry of Justice

Found: Alex Davies-Jones MP Minister for Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Ministry of Justice

Found: However, performance of the service in England and Wales has worsened since the Ministry of Justice

Found: Allow me now to turn to your questions: Integrity of data being supplied to the Ministry of Justice

Found: to the Committee, you stated that you would check whether the Post Office is supplying data to the MOJ

Found: In November 2021, the MoJ consulted on a “Small Payments Scheme” that would allow families and carers

Found: Mental Health and Capacity fall within the jurisdiction of both the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and the

Found: The Ministry of Justice has also consulted on how to legislate, when parliamentary time allows, to ensure

Found: sector as well as other government departments, including but not limited to the Home Office, Ministry of Justice

Found: The Department for Work and Pensions, the Ministry of Justice, the Cabinet Office, the Department for

Found: maintaining the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines for England and Wales on behalf of the Ministry of Justice

Found: for shared ownership, coordination or accountability beyond the Treasury, including key roles of the MoJ

Found: That compares with nine times for passports, six times for court fees in the Ministry of Justice and

Found: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), but it might not be near the top for the Ministry of Justice

Found: the Registry Trust, which is the non-profit that operates the register of judgments for the Ministry of Justice

Found: the policymakers in other departments, particularly in the Home Office and to some extent in the MoJ

Found: the policymakers in other departments, particularly in the Home Office and to some extent in the MoJ

Found: On pay awards elsewhere, in the Department for Education AOs was up 7.88%, in the Ministry of Justice

Found: Home Office, Ministry of Justice, Home Office, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Housing, Communities

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on outcomes of asylum appeals since March 2023.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Data on asylum appeals is published in table Asy_D06 and Asy_D07 of the ‘Asylum appeals lodged and determined detailed datasets’. The latest data relates to the year ending March 2023.

Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks.

Appeals data from April 2023 onwards is currently unavailable for publication due to ongoing work as immigration data transitions to a new caseworking system. Work is ongoing to make this information available, and it will be included in a future edition of the Immigration System Statistics Quarterly release.

Please note that figures for immigration and asylum appeals at First-Tier Tribunal and subsequent stages are published by the Ministry of Justice as part of their Tribunal Statistics release. The latest data relates to January to March 2025.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the a) longest and b) shortest custodial sentence handed down for possession of a Class B drug with intent to supply was in each of the last five years.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The data requested is published by the Ministry of Justice.

The Sentencing Council’s guideline on ‘Possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply’ can be found here: https://sentencingcouncil.org.uk/guidelines/supplying-or-offering-to-supply-a-controlled-drug-possession-of-a-controlled-drug-with-intent-to-supply-it-to-another/ which sets out the relevant factors for courts to consider when sentencing for this offence.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of making injury-related pension enhancement and compensation elements protected within divorce settlements.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

People may be able to access a workplace or private pension earlier than the scheme’s normal minimum pension age due to ill health, subject to the rules of the individual scheme. These rules vary, and it is for schemes to determine the conditions under which benefits can be paid before the normal pension age and/or on enhanced terms.

Where an ill health pension is paid from an arrangement that meets the legal definition of an occupational pension scheme, it is generally a shareable asset in the event of a divorce. This applies even where the pension has been brought into payment early for ill health reasons.

There is a specific exception in legislation for benefits that arise solely due to disablement, or death resulting from an accident suffered by a person that occurs during their pensionable service. These rights are not shareable on divorce.

The division of assets in divorce proceedings is a matter for family courts, which make decisions based on the law of the country in which the divorce takes place. In England and Wales, this falls under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, for which responsibility rests with the Ministry of Justice.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on recognition of horse riders and owners who lose horses in road traffic collisions within the Victims’ Code.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Secretary of State has not had any discussions with the Secretary of State for Justice specifically about horse riders and owners in road traffic collisions within the Victim’s Code. The Ministry of Justice is the lead government department for the Victim’s Code and has committed to undertaking a review of it.

The Highway Code was updated in 2022 to improve road safety for people walking, cycling and riding horses including the introduction of a hierarchy of road users.

Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.

Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes viaTHINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.

However, as set out in the Road Safety Strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to launch further public information campaigns to raise awareness of changes to the Highway Code introduced in 2022.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Secretary of State has not had any discussions with the Secretary of State for Justice specifically about horse riders and owners in road traffic collisions within the Victim’s Code. The Ministry of Justice is the lead government department for the Victim’s Code and has committed to undertaking a review of it.

The Highway Code was updated in 2022 to improve road safety for people walking, cycling and riding horses including the introduction of a hierarchy of road users.

Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.

Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes viaTHINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.

However, as set out in the Road Safety Strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to amend the Highway Code to provide greater protection for vulnerable road users.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Secretary of State has not had any discussions with the Secretary of State for Justice specifically about horse riders and owners in road traffic collisions within the Victim’s Code. The Ministry of Justice is the lead government department for the Victim’s Code and has committed to undertaking a review of it.

The Highway Code was updated in 2022 to improve road safety for people walking, cycling and riding horses including the introduction of a hierarchy of road users.

Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.

Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes viaTHINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.

However, as set out in the Road Safety Strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (i) prosecutions and (ii) convictions there were for the use of a mobile phone while driving in each of the last five years.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions and convictions for a wide range of criminal offences including using a mobile phone when driving in England and Wales within the Outcomes by Offences data tool.

This can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of parents who have been prosecuted for their child's non-attendance at school have a child that has (a) Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and (b) special educational needs and does not have a EHCP in each quarter of the last five years.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Data for prosecution of offences in England, including offences for non-attendance, is collected by the Ministry of Justice. The Department for Education does not collect data on the protected characteristics of the children of individuals who have been prosecuted for an offence related to their child’s non-attendance at school.

Nevertheless, we recognise that pupils with special educational needs and disabilities may face more complex barriers to school attendance and guidance requires schools to take a ’support first’ approach to tackling non-attendance for these pupils.

Our guidance makes clear that legal intervention, including prosecution, should only be considered where support has been exhausted, not engaged with or, in the cases of term-time holidays, not appropriate. We expect schools to work with these children and their families to remove any barriers to attendance and building strong and trusting relationships.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance the Government provides to police forces to (a) help deal with racially aggravated sexual assault and (b) support victims of those crimes.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Police are operationally independent and work in line with College of Policing guidance to respond to hate crime and sexual offences.

However, the Government expects the police to fully investigate each and every assault and work with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice.

The Ministry of Justice will invest £550 million over the next three years to provide counselling, court guidance and children’s services for victims. This funding will be delivered via PCCs, who assess local need and are best placed to commission tailored services, including for victims with protected characteristics such as race.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the Road Safety Strategy, published on 7 January, what additional funding and resources they will allocate to (1) the police, (2) local authorities, and (3) other partners, to ensure a swift and effective post-crash response.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Road Safety Strategy outlined a new safe system approach to road safety that includes consideration of any post-crash response. We’re continuing to recruit more police, with 3,000 more neighbourhood police officers on our streets by March and we are abolishing Police & Crime Commissioners – so much needed funding can go into frontline policing including post-crash responses. Also £2.7m is allocated to policing under the Roads Policing Innovation Programme this year and the next two. Ultimately however, it is up to local police forces to decide how best to deploy their resources and this funding.

Every road collision resulting in a fatality or serious injury leaves victims devastated so it is important that victims receive the support they need. This government will be increasing funding for victim support services year on year, from 2026 to 2029. In total, government will be investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date.

The Ministry of Justice has committed to reviewing the Victims’ Code, a practical statutory guide for victims of crime, including victims of road traffic offences. Under the Victims’ Code, all victims are entitled to be given information about and be referred to victim support services by the police to help them cope and recover from the impact of a crime. Further, the Office of the Victims’ Commissioner has undertaken work to commission additional research to explore the victim journey for road traffic collisions and support for victims.

Found: Chamber) was just 13, compared to 56,000 in the social security chamber, according to the Ministry of Justice

Found: education and attendance.179 2.5 Reducing risk of criminal justice system involvement DfE and MoJ

Found: It examines: • how well the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), HMPPS, Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC

Found: and social care, Prisons and probation Departments: Department of Health and Social Care, Ministry of Justice

Found: logo SESSION 2024–2026 04 FEBRUARY 2026 HC 1643 The costs of tackling drug harms in prisons Ministry of Justice

Found: Under current arrangements with the Ministry of Justice, any tribunal costs would also be funded by

Found: † Voted Total to date on which provision on account is based 2026-27 Required on Account Ministry of Justice

Found: account is based Required on Account Table 2: Supply Estimates by Department, 2026-27 (Voted) Ministry of Justice

Found: (PSG) - Transfer from Ministry of Justice (MOJ) for Multi-Agency Public Protection System (MAPPS)

Found: (PSG) - Transfer from Ministry of Justice (MOJ) for Multi-Agency Public Protection System (MAPPS)

Found: George [Madras] Ministry of Justice 2710 Charles King Seascape with Royal Naval Ships, c1943 Ministry

Found: Orchid; Opposing Forms Cabinet Office 12922 Victor Pasmore Metamorphosis (Linear Motifs) No.6 Ministry of Justice

Found: London Borough of Harrow, Forward Drive, Harrow, HA3 8FL web www.harrow.gov.uk 14.34 The Ministry of Justice

Found: Introduction This UKDI (UKDI) competition is run on behalf of Ministry of Justice (MOJ), His Majesty’

Found: The report forms the MoJ and HMPPS response to the National Inspection – April 2025 – carried out by

Found: definition has been aligned where required to help us work better with other key stakeholders, including MoJ

Found: To give the leadership and direction needed, the Ministry of Justice should work with the Home Office

Found: The Ministry of Justice They lead the work on courts, prison and probation services.

Found: GIG Lloegr raglen ar y cyd â'r Adran Iechyd a Gofal Cymdeithasol, HMPPS a'r Weinyddiaeth Gyfiawnder (MoJ

Found: effectiveness of the work of probation, and youth offending services across England and Wales to Ministry of Justice

Found: illegal use of UAS around prisons and sensitive sites’ This competition is run on behalf of the Ministry of Justice

Found: Introduction This UKDI (UKDI) competition is run on behalf of Ministry of Justice (MOJ), His Majesty’

Found: the Counter -Terrorism Assessment and Rehabilitation Centre (CTARC), which sits within the Ministry of Justice

Found: HMCTS is operationally independent of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and is the provider of support to

Found: statistics (annual) 2010 (MoJ, June 2012); Judicial and court statistics 2006 (MoJ, November 2007).

Found:  (MoJ), December 2025). 3 Source: HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), Unpublished Management

Found: • UKG are working with the Ministry of Justice to find the wider cohort of victims, and with bodies

Found: Redacted S.38(1)(b)], Head of Community Interventions Unit UK Government Lord Ponsonby, Ministry of Justice

Found: Scottish Government Social Research, 2025 139 Ministry of Justice.

Found: accidental releases in Scotland over recent years and comparing that figure to the 2024/25 stand-alone MOJ

Found: Identification JNCC Joint Nature Conservation Committee KAS Knowledge and Analytical Services MoJ

Found: MOJ data have not yet been provisioned. 1.6 Structure of report In addition to this introductory

Found: The CPR, under which effect is given to access to justice, come under the remit of the Ministry of Justice