Asked by: Claire Hazelgrove (Labour - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help reduce violent reoffending among young people who are on bail.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Government recognises the importance of reducing offending, including violent reoffending, among children who are on bail through close supervision and high levels of support by skilled staff. We are investing £5 million over the next three years in strengthening the bail packages available for children, so that courts have access to more robust community-based options that both support children to make positive changes and help manage the risk of offending. We are also reforming the annual youth remand funding arrangements to further support greater local authority investment in high-quality community alternatives to custodial remand, including suitable community placements (specialist fostering and accommodation), family support and enhanced Bail Intensive Supervision and Support services. This builds on the Greater Manchester Youth Remand Funding pilot, which has demonstrated promising early findings in improving their bail and community remand offer regionally, to keep children and communities safe. We are now offering multi-year funding to local authorities to scale up this regional model, encouraging areas to collaborate in developing a broader range of bail support options to meet the needs of children and protect the public.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners with at least one life sentence have been granted (a) supervised, and (b) unsupervised Release on Temporary Licence in each year since 2020, broken down by offence.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) for prisoners serving life sentences is subject to particularly stringent risk assessment and senior decision making, and is granted only in limited circumstances, with public protection as the paramount consideration.
Data on prisoners serving life sentences who are released on ROTL are published regularly in the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly, which include information on the number of individuals serving life sentences released on ROTL, by year: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly.
Data on supervised ROTL is not included within centrally collated statistical data or published ROTL figures. As a result, a breakdown of life sentence prisoners released on ROTL by supervised / unsupervised ROTL and offence would only be possible to obtain at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what standards and safeguards apply to the treatment of prisoners in British Overseas Territories; and what assessment he has made of whether those standards are equivalent to those applied to prisoners in the UK.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Prisons in the Overseas Territories are subject to the local laws and constitutions of each Territory. The Ministry of Justice works with the Overseas Territories to help align the treatment of prisoners with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules).
The standards the Overseas Territories operate under are not directly equivalent to those applied to the UK because HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP), England and Wales has no formal jurisdiction in the Overseas Territories and the UK is a signatory to relevant international obligations, such as the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture, which the Overseas Territories are not.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2026 to Question 123532, when his Department expects to equip up to 10,000 staff with protective body armour.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
HM Prison & Probation Service is committed to equipping up to 10,000 staff with protective body armour by March 2027. Work is continuing to support delivery against this commitment, ensuring it is implemented in a controlled and proportionate manner, with appropriate governance and oversight in place.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether local police forces will be given additional (a) officers, (b) funding, and (c) logistical support when (i) a new prison opens and (ii) a new prison expansion is completed in their area.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice works closely with other government departments and local services, including emergency services, throughout all phases of new prison builds and expansions.
Decisions regarding the allocation of police resources is a matter for Chief Constables and directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners, or their equivalents. They are best placed to make these decisions based on their knowledge of local need, experience, and in line with their existing budget.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to support the provision of the installation of additional (a) CCTV and (b) speed cameras in areas where (i) new prisons open and (ii) new prison expansions are completed.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
New prisons are designed with robust security measures, including full CCTV coverage. Expansion teams work with existing prisons to ensure full CCTV coverage of new buildings and associated spaces.
There are no plans for the Ministry of Justice to expand the provision of speed cameras near new prison or expansion sites; the installation and management of speed cameras is a matter for the relevant local authorities and the police.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions his Department has had with local police forces for areas where new prison spaces are being planned.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice works closely with emergency services throughout the planning, construction and mobilisation phases of all new prison builds and expansions.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people paid court fines in the (a) quarter ending in November 2025 and (b) other four most recent quarters for which data is available.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There is no central data available on the number of people who have paid court fines. It would be necessary to interrogate all records manually. This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what contracts, grants, or commissioned research projects were issued by his Department or by Cafcass in connection with the revision of domestic‑abuse practice frameworks since 2016; what the value of each contract was; and which external advocacy, stakeholder, or specialist organisations were recipients.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Over the last two years as Cafcass has been developing its domestic abuse policy and updating its guidance, it has worked with key partners, including fathers’ groups.
In addition to this, Cafcass works with external organisations to support the development of its domestic abuse policy and the child impact and assessment framework. This includes engagement through the Domestic Abuse Practice Reference Group. This group, established in November 2023, includes specialist domestic abuse expertise and individuals with lived experience. The group is co‑chaired by the Family Justice Young People’s Board and the domestic abuse charity SafeLives. SafeLives is a charity focused on survivors of domestic abuse regardless of the gender of either the victim or the perpetrator.
Cafcass works in partnership with SafeLives, including through seconded specialist advisers, to inform ongoing practice improvement. The Government has not undertaken an assessment of the adequacy of the balance of Cafcass’ stakeholder representation.
Senior leaders engage regularly with the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and her team. As part of its commitment to learning from practice, Cafcass managers and leaders will meet with adults and children in proceedings if it is considered appropriate. This could include as part of complaints resolution, audit feedback and/or in response to an incident where the quality of practice is considered to have been less than good.
Neither Cafcass nor the Ministry of Justice has entered into any contracts, awarded grants, or commissioned research projects in connection with the revision of domestic abuse practice frameworks since 2016.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which men’s or fathers’ organisations Cafcass has consulted in the development of its domestic‑abuse guidance, safeguarding practice, and private‑law policy frameworks; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the balance of stakeholder representation in that engagement.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Over the last two years as Cafcass has been developing its domestic abuse policy and updating its guidance, it has worked with key partners, including fathers’ groups.
In addition to this, Cafcass works with external organisations to support the development of its domestic abuse policy and the child impact and assessment framework. This includes engagement through the Domestic Abuse Practice Reference Group. This group, established in November 2023, includes specialist domestic abuse expertise and individuals with lived experience. The group is co‑chaired by the Family Justice Young People’s Board and the domestic abuse charity SafeLives. SafeLives is a charity focused on survivors of domestic abuse regardless of the gender of either the victim or the perpetrator.
Cafcass works in partnership with SafeLives, including through seconded specialist advisers, to inform ongoing practice improvement. The Government has not undertaken an assessment of the adequacy of the balance of Cafcass’ stakeholder representation.
Senior leaders engage regularly with the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and her team. As part of its commitment to learning from practice, Cafcass managers and leaders will meet with adults and children in proceedings if it is considered appropriate. This could include as part of complaints resolution, audit feedback and/or in response to an incident where the quality of practice is considered to have been less than good.
Neither Cafcass nor the Ministry of Justice has entered into any contracts, awarded grants, or commissioned research projects in connection with the revision of domestic abuse practice frameworks since 2016.