Ministry of Justice

The departmental Data Protection Officer carefully considered the circumstances of this incident and concluded that it did not meet the threshold for notification to the Information Commissioner's Office. While the use of the data was found to be outside the agreed contractual arrangements, the information was processed using an enterprise-licensed AI service that had been subject to appropriate due diligence and contractual safeguards. There was no evidence of unauthorised access, wider disclosure, misuse of the data, or any resulting risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals. Following assessment in line with the Ministry of Justice Personal Data Incident Management Process, officials concluded that the incident did not meet the threshold for notification to either the ICO or the affected data subjects.

HMCTS, working with the Ministry of Justice, The National Archives and the Judiciary, has introduced a licensing framework for the computational re-use of court and tribunal hearing data published via the Court and Tribunal Hearings Service (CaTH).

The framework offers a one-year Experimental Licence for non-public proofs of concept and a three-year Transactional Licence for commercial products and services. All applications are subject to approval by the Third-Party Courts and Tribunals Governance Panel. Further guidance is available at Court and Tribunal Hearings Service or (HMCTS) Third-Party Courts and Tribunals Data Licence.

As of 5 July 2024, 1891 places were out of use for maintenance-related reasons.

This Government inherited a prison capacity crisis after prison places increased by just 500 places in 14 years. We are pulling every lever possible to fix that crisis and are building 14,000 new places with 3,300 already delivered.

Refurbishment and fire safety improvements are essential as without them fewer cells would be available to lock up dangerous criminals and we are working at pace to bring every available prison place online.

Between 01 January 2021 and 05 October 2026, 99 operational Bands 3-5 prison colleagues were convicted for Misconduct in Public Office which is mandatory grounds for immediate dismissal, 78 of which are the grade titled “Prison Officer”. This figure may include colleagues who resigned prior to their dismissal meeting after their conviction or who were dismissed for other grounds prior to dismissal for this conviction.

For context, HMPPS employed 22,001 FTE Band 3-5 prison officers as at 30 June 2026. The 99 convictions recorded between January 2021 and October 2026 are equivalent to around 0.5% of the current operational prison officer population and indicate that those convicted of Misconduct in Public Office represent a very small minority of staff.

While most prison staff are honest and work tirelessly to keep the public safe, our Counter Corruption Unit (CCU) and robust vetting processes proactively detect, disrupt and deter the activities of those suspected of corruption. Where officers fall below our high standards, we do not hesitate to take robust action.

Eligible Foreign National Offenders are capable of being removed under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) once they have served at least 30% of the custodial period of their sentence and are within four years of their earliest release point.

As of 30 June 2026, there were c.4,800 Foreign National Offenders (FNO) in custody sentenced to standard determinate or extended determinate sentences who could become eligible for removal under ERS during their sentence. A precise estimate of the number in the eligible window is not possible as this number includes Irish nationals (who are not routinely considered for deportation), those who may be dual nationals and those that have the right to remain.

Early next year, we will implement the Sentencing Act power to allow the removal of determinate sentence FNOs immediately after sentence. This will not include those in prison for the most serious crimes such as life sentences, rape, or unlawful killing who will still be required to serve time in prison before they are deported.

Monthly removals under ERS going back to December 2022 can be found in the following two Home Office releases:

Returns from the UK between 1 December 2022 and 31 January 2026 - GOV.UK

Returns from the UK between 1 July 2024 and 31 July 2026 - GOV.UK

Within its first two years (July 2024 to June 2026), this Government has increased returns of FNOs by 41% compared to the last two years of the previous Government. Within the FNO returns (up to July 2026), there have been 3,141 early removal scheme returns, a 20% increase compared to the same period 12 months prior.

With reference to Question 116101, each offender in the table is counted once in each calendar year and all previous convictions are counted as at the offender’s last qualifying conviction for each year.

The number of offenders who were convicted of theft from a shop more than once during 2024 are provided in the attached table.

Commercial sensitivities exist around aspects of this spend which could prejudice commercial interests, so we are unable to release individual names. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The Justice Impact Test (JIT) is an internal Government process used by policymakers across Government to assess the potential impacts of policy proposals on the justice system. It forms part of the advice and analysis that informs the development of Government policy.

Disclosure of JITs undertaken could prejudice the effective formulation and development of Government policy. I am therefore unable to provide the information requested.

For cases received in the year 2025-26, the average waiting time between an application for a Child Arrangement Order being received and the first hearing taking place in the family courts was 67 days.

The Annual Statement on Prison Capacity showed that the adult prison population was projected to reach between 89,500 and 94,300 by November 2029, with a central estimate of 91,700. Even the lower end of this range is above the highest published prison population figure of 88,893, recorded on 9 September 2024.

To provide accurate data in response to this request, it would be necessary to undertake an extensive verification exercise, which could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.

The Sentencing Act 2026 contains provisions which change the proportion of a standard determinate sentence which must be served in prison before the offender serving such a sentence is released automatically on licence (“the progression model”). Eligible victims who have opted into the Probation Service Victim Contact Scheme, where the offender is serving a standard determinate sentence, have been informed of the commencement of the legislation.

According to information held on the Probation Service Victim Case Management System, as of 9 July 2026, 8,711 letters had been issued to victims engaged with the Victim Contact Scheme to inform them of the legislative changes to prisoner release arrangements under the Sentencing Act 2026. This figure should not be interpreted as the number of offenders affected by the changes. Not all offenders will necessarily receive an earlier release date, not all eligible victims choose to participate in the Victim Contact Scheme, and some offenders have multiple victims linked to their case.

On 30 August 2026, the Prime Minister announced further exclusions from the progression model. In addition to rape and certain child sexual offences previously announced, these exclusions included all forms of manslaughter, causing death by dangerous driving, causing or allowing the death of a child and indecent assault offences.

As a result of these changes, sentence calculations are being reviewed and, where necessary, recalculated. It is therefore not currently possible to provide the number of victims who have been contacted to confirm that their perpetrator will be released from prison early as a result of the Sentencing Act 2026, or who have been contacted to confirm that their perpetrator will not be released from prison early as a result of the changes made to the Sentencing Act 2026.

To provide accurate data in response to this request, it would be necessary to undertake an extensive verification exercise, which could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.

The Law Commission has indicated that it expects to publish its final report on criminal appeals in early 2027. It also intends to publish a separate report on compensation and support for the wrongly convicted by the end of 2026.

The Government will carefully consider the findings and recommendations of both reports once published.

In March 2026, the then UK and Welsh governments agreed an expanded and clearly defined role for the Welsh Government in youth justice. The UK Government will start this new arrangement by devolving funding to reduce the use of remand for children in Wales, and devolving the remaining funding for early intervention, currently delivered through the Turnaround programme. Both changes are due take effect from April 2027.

The Ministry of Justice estimates that combined the grant awards, for the Turnaround programme and that to reduce the use of remand to Welsh Youth Justice Services, will be in the millions of pounds across financial years 2027/28 and 2028/29. Details on the exact amounts to be devolved will be set out in the coming months.

The Ministry of Justice’s spending in Wales has been estimated at £720,729,000 for the financial year 2025-26. This data is contained within the Country and Regional Analysis: 2025 dataset published by HM Treasury and is the most recent data available: Country and regional analysis: 2025 - GOV.UK. In the financial year 2024-25, our spending was estimated at £697,441,000.

The table below shows the number of prisoners serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences whose recorded home address is in Wales.

The figures in these tables have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

On 1 September, the Lord Chancellor announced that the Government will bring an end to the IPP sentence for those who continue to serve it and will bring forward legislation to do this by the end of this Parliament. These are complex cases, involving important public protection and victim considerations. Reform will take time to get right.

The refurbishment programme at HMP Liverpool was paused following the administration of ISG Ltd in September 2024. Construction activity has now resumed.

As set out in the December 2024 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy, we are committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places and aim to do so by 2031; we have already delivered c.3,300 of these since taking office. These places are being delivered through the Prison Supply Programmes, which had already delivered around 6,000 places at the following sites prior to 4 July 2024:

*Figures for places and the total have been rounded

As of 14 September 2026, 3,398 prison places were out of use. There is no single date by which all of these places will return to operational use, as they are unavailable for a variety of reasons and the work required is being managed to different timescales.

The largest category of cells where work is required (1,867 places) is associated with the Fire Safety Improvement Programme, a long-term programme of works being delivered across the prison estate. These places will be returned to use on a rolling basis as works are completed.

640 places at HMP Dartmoor are unavailable following the prison's closure owing to the presence of radon gas, and 120 places at HMP Highpoint are unavailable following a fire earlier this year. Work to assess these sites is in progress and no re-opening dates have yet been set. Approximately 220 other places are out of use for major statutory maintenance work.

Other places are temporarily unavailable for local remedial works arising from vandalism or asset failure (for example: problems with cell doors or locks). These places are typically returned to operational use within seven days.

This Government inherited a prison capacity crisis after prison places increased by just 500 places in 14 years. We are pulling every lever possible to fix that crisis and are building 14,000 new places with 3,300 already delivered.

Refurbishment and fire safety improvements are essential as without them fewer cells would be available to lock up dangerous criminals and we are working at pace to bring every available prison place online.

Since July 2024, the Ministry of Justice (including its Arm’s Length Bodies) has agreed the following international, non-legally binding instruments that are not subject to sensitive diplomatic, security or defence interest provisions:

• Signed on 14 November 2024: Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Poland on cooperation in criminal justice matters. Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/memorandum-of-understanding-between-the-uk-and-poland-on-cooperation-in-criminal-justice-matters

• Signed on 8 May 2025: Memorandum of Cooperation between the UK and Ukraine on supporting Ukraine’s justice sector reforms and strengthening the rule of law. Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-pledges-support-to-strengthen-ukraines-justice-system

• Adopted on 28 May 2025: The European Committee on Legal Co-operation (CDCJ) recommendations CM/Rec(2025)5 on the protection of the rights and best interests of the child in care proceedings, and CM/Rec(2025)4 on the protection of the rights and best interests of the child in parental separation proceedings. Link: https://www.coe.int/en/web/cdcj/-/adoption-of-two-committee-of-ministers-recommendations-on-the-rights-and-best-interests-of-the-child-in-parental-separation-and-care-proceedings

• Adopted on 4 March 2026: The Council of Europe’s recommendation CM/Rec(2026)2 on ensuring accountability for technology-facilitated violence against women and girls. Link: https://search.coe.int/cm?i=09125948802acd83

• Signed on 8 June 2026: Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Latvia on justice cooperation. Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/memorandum-of-understanding-between-the-uk-and-latvia-on-justice-cooperation

The Government is committed to ensuring all victims, including victims of rural crime, have access to the information and support they need to navigate the criminal justice system. Under the Victims’ Code, all victims are entitled to information about and referral to victim support services, regardless of whether a suspect has been identified or charged.

While there is no specific national guidance for victims of rural crime, Chief Constables are operationally independent and are best placed to tailor local policing responses to the needs of their communities. The Ministry of Justice funds Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to commission local victim support services, based on their assessment of local need, including those affected by rural crime.

The Government also recognises the wider challenges of responding to rural crime and therefore collaborated with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the Home Office on the 2025-28 Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy, published in November 2025. This joined-up approach supports efforts to tackle rural crime. Rural communities will also benefit from the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, helping to address crimes such as anti-social behaviour and county lines activity.

In 2025/26, the Home Office provided the first funding since 2023 for the National Rural Crime Unit and are continuing this funding of over £800,000 throughout 2026/27 to help specialist policing units tackle crimes that predominantly affect rural communities.

The number of prisoners from Wales (identified on the basis indicated) who self-harmed in 2025 is 848.

The number of prisoners from Wales (identified on the basis indicated) whose deaths were recorded as self-inflicted in 2025 is 5.

In 2025, 328 prisoners were identified as homeless at reception through OASys Basic Custody Screening assessments completed in Welsh prisons.

The breakdown by establishment was:

HMP Cardiff: 271

HMP Berwyn: 45

HMP Parc: 6

HMP Swansea: 6

HMP Usk: 0

HMP Prescoed: 0

HMP Usk and HMP Prescoed do not operate as reception prisons, with prisoners transferring to these establishments from elsewhere in the prison estate. As a result, there were no prisoners identified as homeless at initial reception into custody at either establishment through this reporting exercise.

Homelessness status is self-reported by prisoners as part of the Basic Custody Screening assessment. The data has been checked to confirm that the figures represent individual prisoners rather than multiple records for the same person. These figures are drawn from raw OASys data and have not been subject to additional quality assurance. The data should be treated as an indication of recorded homelessness at reception rather than a definitive measure of the total number of prisoners who were homeless.

We know those leaving custody with no onward home are more vulnerable, which is why we provide up to 12 weeks of accommodation on release. We also work closely with Welsh Government, councils, charities and employers to secure stable housing and jobs for prison leavers, cutting reoffending and helping them rebuild their lives.

The Government has committed to piloting proximity monitoring technology as part of its wider work to strengthen protections for victims of violence against women and girls. Officials are currently developing the pilot and engaging with key partners across the victims sector, including victims' commissioners and domestic abuse organisations, to ensure the service is informed by victims' experiences and needs, while also defining the technical and operational requirements needed for delivery. The Government remains committed to introducing a proximity monitoring pilot by the end of this Parliament, and further details will be announced as soon as possible.

Information on the operational capacity and population of individual prisons is published in the monthly bulletin at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-population-monthly-prison-figures-2026.

Information on which prisons accommodate Category A prisoners is published in the Prison Estate and Probation Service Region Register: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prisons-and-their-resettlement-providers

Wates have been appointed as the new contractor for the refurbishment project at HMP Liverpool.

Construction work on G-Wing of HMP Liverpool was restarted on 14 September 2026, with assessment work moving at pace for the remaining wings.

The position of personal representative or executor is one of significant responsibility; they are under a statutory duty to administer the deceased person’s estate according to the law and can be held personally liable if they do not.

There are a wide range of safeguards available to hold personal representatives accountable for the performance of their duties. This includes the ability to apply for a court order requiring the personal representative to provide inventory and account, allowing interested parties to understand how the estate has been administered. Applications can also be made to remove an executor, while allegations of criminal offences such as fraud can be investigated by the police.

Where disputes arise, the Government’s recognises the value of mediation in contentious probate proceedings and encourages parties to consider it as route to resolve their dispute. In some instances, the courts will be best placed to resolve a dispute. It is for those adversely affected to decide whether or not to take action.

As with any civil claim, there are costs involved, such as the cost of seeking professional advice. There are several options for support, including contingency fee or litigation funding arrangements, and the “Help with Fees” remissions scheme which is available to eligible users who are less able to reasonably afford to pay a court fee.

The new prison near HMP Garth will be a category C resettlement prison that will hold 1,715 prisoners.

The new prison near HMP Grendon will be a category C resettlement prison that will hold 1,468 prisoners.

The new prison near HMP Garth will be a category C resettlement prison that will hold 1,715 prisoners.

The new prison near HMP Grendon will be a category C resettlement prison that will hold 1,468 prisoners.

Receipts from fixed penalty notices (FPNs) including those issued for speeding offences and penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) are issued by the Police and collected by His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and accounted for in the annual HMCTS Trust Statement. By statute, these receipts are due to the Consolidated Fund; however, HM Treasury has agreed that annually £30 million of the receipts from paid FPNs plus an additional £10 per paid PND should be ring fenced for use by victim services. The remaining receipts, under the latest HM Treasury spending review, are to be retained by the Ministry of Justice and form part of their overall funding settlement.

In 2025-26, HMCTS collected £144.4 million from paid FPNs and PNDs of which £30.017 million was ring fenced to victim services and the remaining £114 million was retained by the Ministry of Justice.

The link to the latest published HMCTS Trust Statement is here: Trust Report 2025-26.

The Ministry of Justice is working with the Enforcement Conduct Board and other interested parties to ensure that this reform comes into force as soon as possible. Implementation will require the Government to make amendments to the Certification of Enforcement Agents Regulations 2014 (the Regulations) through a Statutory Instrument (SI), made under sections 64 and 90 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. The SI will be subject to the negative resolution procedure.

Under the Regulations, enforcement agents must apply to the county court for a certificate every two years to demonstrate that they meet the criteria to use the Taking Control of Goods procedure. If they do not meet the requirement regarding accreditation by the Enforcement Conduct Board, they will not be able to obtain or retain a certificate. In addition, a complaint can be made to the court, at any time, about an enforcement agent’s fitness to operate, which if upheld can lead to an agent’s certificate being removed. It is criminal offence to act as an enforcement agent without a valid certificate.

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Between 29 June and 11 September 2026, 118 trial cases involving offences under the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 were listed for hearing and 68 have been dealt with.

Of these 67 cases, the outcomes were as follows:

• 17 cases - defendants pleaded guilty

• 15 cases - prosecution offered no evidence

• 8 cases – defendants acquitted after trial

• 13 cases - defendants convicted after trial

• 15 cases - defendants given bind overs.

In this period, 40 cases were also sentenced of which 24 were effective.

The outcome of the 64 cases between 6 April and 29 June 2026 were as follows.

• 19 cases - defendants pleaded guilty

• 15 cases - prosecution offered no evidence

• 17 cases - defendants acquitted after trial

• 6 cases - defendants convicted after trial

• 7 cases - defendants given bind overs.

Those where prosecution offered no evidence or defendants were acquitted after trial did not proceed to another hearing.

It should be noted that the decision to list a case is taken by the independent judiciary. This data has been manually collated from locally held operational records and is unpublished management information. It is not subject to the same level of quality assurance as official published statistics. Figures are subject to change as case records are updated or amended.

In areas for which the Lord Chancellor has policy responsibility, the court will normally apply common law rules to determine whether an overseas marriage (including a polygamous marriage) is recognised in England and Wales.

The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 reinforces the common law rules on capacity to enter into an overseas marriage.

The Department has not made a specific assessment of the impact of the minimum service expectation on applications from people aged over 70. The expectation that newly appointed magistrates are able to serve for at least five years reflects the significant investment in recruitment, training and mentoring, and supports effective workforce planning. Candidates are encouraged to apply before their 70th birthday so that they can serve until the mandatory retirement age of 75, which was increased from 70 in 2022.

The mandatory retirement age applies to judicial office holders, including magistrates, and was increased from 70 to 75 in March 2022. The Government has no current plans to allow magistrates to serve beyond the mandatory retirement age. A consistent retirement age across the judiciary supports judicial independence and public confidence by avoiding the need for individual assessments of the health, fitness or suitability of judicial office holders.

The mandatory retirement age for judicial office holders, including magistrates, was increased from 70 to 75 in March 2022. 797 magistrates aged 70 or over were reinstated as a result of the policy change, and as of 1 April 2026 1,933 magistrates in post were aged 70 or over. Some internal analysis of the impacts of raising the retirement age has been carried out and found that the policy had met its main aim of retaining experienced judicial office holders and supporting court capacity in the short term. The Government has no current plans to review the mandatory retirement age for magistrates. A fixed retirement age supports judicial independence and public confidence in the judiciary by avoiding the need for individual assessments of the health or competency of judicial office holders.

The law on the recognition of overseas marriage in matters for which the Lord Chancellor has policy responsibility is principally found in the common law.

Under the common law, an overseas marriage is normally recognised if it complied with the requirements for the form of the ceremony where it took place (meaning by whom, where, when and how it was conducted) and if both parties had capacity to marry according to the law of their domicile (home country).

If a party to the marriage was domiciled in England and Wales and had a spouse or civil partner at the time of the marriage, the marriage will be void under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. The court may also consider additional matters in deciding on recognition.

The Ministry of Justice is committed to improving timeliness in child arrangement proceedings, and the Family Justice Board regularly monitors timeliness data against performance targets it has set both regionally and nationally.

The roll out of Child Focused Courts represents a significant reform to family private law. Families benefit from a streamlined, problem-solving approach which brings forward a holistic assessment of needs and risks and enables the court to make safe decisions without delay.

Data from the 10 areas already operating the model shows cases are being resolved up to twice as fast as the national average, and outstanding cases have fallen by over 50%. Although the model is not yet operational in Surrey, the Government recently announced the national rollout of Child Focused Courts across England and Wales by March 2029. As part of a phased approach to rollout, we will work to ensure all areas are preparing for implementation of the model.

The Ministry of Justice does not collect data on the recognition of particular types of marriage.

We recognise the significant impact that lengthy proceedings can have on children and families, and we are committed to improving timeliness private law proceedings. In March, the Government announced the national rollout of Child Focused Courts across England and Wales by March 2029.

The Child Focused Model focuses on early identification of risk, increased engagement with children and bespoke support for victims, all within a streamlined court process. Evidence from areas already delivering the model shows cases are being resolved up to twice as fast as the national average.

The Government recognises concerns about the financial abuse of older and vulnerable people, including abuse by individuals in positions of trust, and is committed to taking action under the Fraud Strategy 2026-2029.

The law contains a range of safeguards to protect older and vulnerable people from financial abuse in relation to powers of attorney. Lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) require a certificate provider to confirm there was no fraud or undue pressure in making the LPA, and they must be registered by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) before use. OPG can investigate concerns about how attorneys exercise their powers, and where necessary will refer matters to the Court of Protection, local authorities or the police.

However, where no LPA exists, for example if an individual is falsely claiming to act under a power of attorney, responsibility sits with the relevant organisation, such as a bank, to undertake appropriate checks before accepting the individual’s authority. The Government’s modernising LPA project will further increase protections by giving legal status to OPG’s use and view service, which allows parties to check the status of an LPA in real time.

The law similarly contains a range of safeguards in relation to wills and the administration of estates. For a will to be valid, the testator must have the required testamentary capacity, intend the document to operate as their will, understand and approve its contents, and make it free from undue influence, fraud or forgery. The validity of a will may be challenged before the courts on any of these grounds. Personal representatives and executors are also under a legal duty to administer estates properly and may be subject to court action, including being removed or replaced by the court, or to criminal investigation where misconduct or fraud is alleged.

The Government is currently considering the recommendations made by the Modernising Wills Law report published by the Law Commission in 2025 (Modernising wills: Final report – Law Commission), including recommendations intended to strengthen protections for vulnerable testators, and will respond in due course.