Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the status is of the recruitment exercise which closed in November 2024 for Judges of the First-Tier Tribunal; how many applications were received; and how many appointments have been made (a) in total, (b) to the Social Entitlement Tribunal, (c) to the Health Education and Social Care Tribunal, (d) to the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal and (e) to the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Tribunal.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The recruitment for salaried judges of the First-tier Tribunal (FtT) closed for applications in November 2024. The recruitment for fee-paid judges of the First-tier Tribunal closed for applications in June 2024. Both exercises included recruitment for judges to be assigned to the Immigration and Asylum Chamber (IAC), Social Entitlement Chamber (SEC), Health, Education and Social Care Chamber (HESC) and War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber (WPAFCC).
Following appointment, assignment to specific First-tier Tribunal Chambers is the responsibility of the Senior President of Tribunals. This process is still underway for both the salaried and fee-paid appointments and so we cannot confirm the final numbers. It is also not yet known how many judges will be assigned to the IAC from both the fee-paid and salaried exercises.
The independent Judicial Appointments Commission publishes updated data quarterly on applications and the number of selections made for appointment once recruitment is completed: Completed exercises 2022-2025 - Judicial Appointments Commission. Information on the number of judges in post, leavers, new appointments and promotions is published annually at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/judicial-diversity-statistics.
To increase IAC capacity, further specific recruitment for up to 70 IAC fee paid judges of the First-tier Tribunal recruitment is underway and recruitment for up to 30 IAC salaried judges of the First-tier Tribunal will commence shortly this calendar year.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2025 to Question 68347 on Immigration: Appeals, when the recruitment exercise commenced in 2024 for the First Tier Tribunal will be completed; and how many vacant posts at the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal will (a) be filled and (b) remain unfilled.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The recruitment for salaried judges of the First-tier Tribunal (FtT) closed for applications in November 2024. The recruitment for fee-paid judges of the First-tier Tribunal closed for applications in June 2024. Both exercises included recruitment for judges to be assigned to the Immigration and Asylum Chamber (IAC), Social Entitlement Chamber (SEC), Health, Education and Social Care Chamber (HESC) and War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber (WPAFCC).
Following appointment, assignment to specific First-tier Tribunal Chambers is the responsibility of the Senior President of Tribunals. This process is still underway for both the salaried and fee-paid appointments and so we cannot confirm the final numbers. It is also not yet known how many judges will be assigned to the IAC from both the fee-paid and salaried exercises.
The independent Judicial Appointments Commission publishes updated data quarterly on applications and the number of selections made for appointment once recruitment is completed: Completed exercises 2022-2025 - Judicial Appointments Commission. Information on the number of judges in post, leavers, new appointments and promotions is published annually at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/judicial-diversity-statistics.
To increase IAC capacity, further specific recruitment for up to 70 IAC fee paid judges of the First-tier Tribunal recruitment is underway and recruitment for up to 30 IAC salaried judges of the First-tier Tribunal will commence shortly this calendar year.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many stage (a) one, and (b) two, complaints were submitted to HM Courts and Tribunals Service in (i) 2024 and (ii) 2025.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
HM Courts and Tribunals Service holds the following data on how many stage (a) one and (b) two complaints were submitted in 2024 and 2025. For context, the annual HMCTS report published for the period 2024/5 reports states HMCTS received over 4.2 million cases.
Year | Stage One (First Contact) | Stage Two (Review) |
2024 | 33,552 | 4,373 |
2025* | 26,411 | 3,974 |
*Data for 2025 is for the period 1 January – 30 September inclusive
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many County Court Judgements were related to vehicle infringements in each of the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested is not centrally held. It may be held in court records, but to determine that and obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Mike Reader (Labour - Northampton South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to provide adequate funding to the Probation Service for meeting its additional responsibilities in the Sentencing Bill.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We continue to invest in Probation to ensure workloads are manageable and the changes from the Independent Sentencing Review are sustainable.
The Probation and community services budget will increase by up to £700 million (a 45% rise) by 2028/2029.
An initial £8 million will be invested in technology to reduce administration and free up officers to focus on managing risk and reducing reoffending.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of safeguards for preventing harm to children during court-ordered contact arrangements.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government has been clear – child safety during court-ordered contact is vital.
The recently published review of court’s application of the presumption of parental involvement found a high incidence of ordered contact. In some instances, this could have negative implications for children.
That is why this Government plans to repeal the presumption from the Children Act 1989. This will be part of a package of reforms to the family courts – including the further expansion of the Pathfinder model.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) monitoring and (b) reporting arrangements his Department has put in place to ensure that repeated non-compliance by local authorities in the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) is escalated to (i) the Department for Education, (ii) the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, (iii) Ofsted, (iv) the Care Quality Commission and (v) other relevant oversight bodies; and where this information is published.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Data about whether any barring orders have been made by the First Tier Tribunal (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) in each of the last three years could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Data on non-compliance, following a decision made by the Tribunal is not held centrally. The Tribunal does not have powers of enforcement over local authorities. Escalation of non-compliance of a Tribunal’s decision is to the Local Authority. If the decision is still not been complied with, this could be escalated to the Local Authority Ombudsman. Guidance about this is provided to appellants.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to increase legal aid fees.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We have confirmed we will be uplifting fees for housing and immigration legal aid, the first increase since 1996, and worth £20 million when implemented.
We have also recently consulted on funding of up to £92 million a year for criminal legal aid and prison solicitors to help address the ongoing challenges in the criminal justice system. This money is in addition to the £24 million uplift the Government introduced to the criminal duty solicitor scheme.
Following the cyber security incident, our focus has been on restoring Legal Aid Agency services, ensuring access to justice through business continuity, including delegating authority to providers and offering weekly average civil payments. These contingency measures have supported providers to continue to operate and support the public. However, we are committed to implementing the significant fee uplifts in civil and criminal legal aid as soon as operationally possible.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether any barring orders have been made by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal under Rule 8 of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) Rules 2008 in each of the last three years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Data about whether any barring orders have been made by the First Tier Tribunal (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) in each of the last three years could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Data on non-compliance, following a decision made by the Tribunal is not held centrally. The Tribunal does not have powers of enforcement over local authorities. Escalation of non-compliance of a Tribunal’s decision is to the Local Authority. If the decision is still not been complied with, this could be escalated to the Local Authority Ombudsman. Guidance about this is provided to appellants.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to support victims of rape and sexual violence through the court system.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
I recognise that the experience of attending court can be distressing, particularly for vulnerable victims, such as those of rape and sexual violence.
Special measures can help vulnerable witnesses who may otherwise feel unable to give evidence.
The Ministry of Justice-funded Witness Service also provides on-the-day support to victims at court.