Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the (a) median, (b) mean and (c) 90th percentile for time on electronically-monitored remand by magistrates' courts was for people found guilty and given non-custodial sentences in each year between 2018 and 2024.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of those remanded in custody and bailed together with details of the final sentence at criminal courts in England and Wales in the remands data tool. This can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
However, data held centrally does not include information on the time a person spent on remand in prison.
Data on the number of remand prisoners in each prison in the HMPPS estate is routinely published within the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ): Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the (a) median, (b) mean and (c) 90th percentile for time on electronically-monitored remand by magistrates' courts was for people found guilty and sentenced to immediate custody in each year between 2018 and 2024.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of those remanded in custody and bailed together with details of the final sentence at criminal courts in England and Wales in the remands data tool. This can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
However, data held centrally does not include information on the time a person spent on remand in prison.
Data on the number of remand prisoners in each prison in the HMPPS estate is routinely published within the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ): Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were remanded into prison custody by Magistrates' Courts in England and Wales in each calendar year from 2018 to 2024; of these people, for each year, how many were guilty but given a non-custodial sentence; and for each year, what was the (a) median, (b) mean and (c) 90th percentile for time on remand in prison for those found guilty and given non-custodial sentences.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of those remanded in custody and bailed together with details of the final sentence at criminal courts in England and Wales in the remands data tool. This can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
However, data held centrally does not include information on the time a person spent on remand in prison.
Data on the number of remand prisoners in each prison in the HMPPS estate is routinely published within the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ): Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were remanded into prison custody by Crown Courts in England and Wales in each year from 2018-2024; of these people, how many were not guilty of charges for which remanded or not proceeded against; and what was the (a) median, (b) mean and (c) 90th percentile for time on remand in prison for those not guilty of charges for which remanded or not proceeded against for each year.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of those remanded in custody and bailed together with details of the final sentence at criminal courts in England and Wales in the remands data tool. This can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
However, data held centrally does not include information on the time a person spent on remand in prison.
Data on the number of remand prisoners in each prison in the HMPPS estate is routinely published within the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ): Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were remanded into prison custody by Magistrates' Courts in England and Wales in each calendar year from 2018 to 2024; of these people, for each year how many were guilty and sentenced to immediate custody; and for each year, what was the (a) median, (b) mean and (c) 90th percentile for time on remand in prison for those found guilty and sentenced to immediate custody.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of those remanded in custody and bailed together with details of the final sentence at criminal courts in England and Wales in the remands data tool. This can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
However, data held centrally does not include information on the time a person spent on remand in prison.
Data on the number of remand prisoners in each prison in the HMPPS estate is routinely published within the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ): Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she is taking steps to reduce the use of short custodial sentences for non-violent offences.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
In line with the Independent Sentencing Review’s recommendation on reducing the use of short custodial sentences, the Sentencing Bill 2025 introduces a presumption to suspend short custodial sentences of 12 months or less, including for non-violent offences. We are not abolishing short sentences - judges will always have the power to send offenders to prison where they have breached a court order, where there is a significant risk of physical or psychological harm to a particular individual, or in exceptional circumstances.
Evidence shows community orders and suspended sentences can be more effective at reducing reoffending than short custodial sentences. Around 60% of adults jailed for under a year reoffend within 12 months. Ministry of Justice matched cohort research shows offenders released from short prison sentences of less than 12 months reoffend at a higher rate (up to 4pp) than similar offenders given a community or suspended sentence.
Limiting the use of short sentences will not only help offenders to leave the merry-go-round of re-offending but reduce crime, leading to fewer victims and safer communities.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of jury service on people employed on zero hour contracts.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Jury service is an important civic duty, and we want to help jurors feel supported as they undertake this important role. The Government has not made any specific assessment of the impact of jury service on people employed on zero-hour contracts. However, all employees including those employed on zero-hour contracts are legally protected from dismissal or unfair treatment due to jury service under the Employment Rights Act 1996.
All employees who are summoned for jury service are entitled to renumerations for travel, subsistence and loss of earnings expenses, including those on zero-hour contracts. They can also apply for a deferral or excusal based upon financial hardship. The Government keeps all support provided to jurors throughout their service under review.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the threshold is for the number of appeals that can be made in a family court hearing.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There is no statutory limit on the number of oral requests that a party can make at any hearing for permission to appeal.
Appeals of family decisions to the family court and the High Court are governed by Part 30 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 and Practice Directions 30A and 30B, which set out the legal and procedural requirements. This includes a clear process that must be followed if a party wishes to appeal a decision and sets out that most decisions will need permission to be appealed.
Part 30 and the relevant Practice Directions ensure that only appeals with a real prospect of success, or other compelling reasons, are given permission to appeal.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will take steps to establish a multi-year recruitment and retention strategy for the magistracy.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In light of the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts and the Sentencing Review, Ministers are considering the implications for the magistracy, including how best to ensure sufficient capacity in magistrates’ courts to meet both current and future demand and how we can best give deserved recognition to the long term service that many of our existing magistrates provide.
We will set out further details of our approach following the publication of the Government response to the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will review (a) legal protections for victims of fraud in civil courts and (b) the effectiveness of those protections against defendants who do not engage with court.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
A range of legal protections are available for victims of fraud in the civil courts. These include the ability to bring claims for misrepresentation, fraudulent representation/deceit, unlawful means conspiracy, unjust enrichment, dishonest assistance, knowing receipt, breach of trust, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and misappropriation of funds.
Where defendants do not engage with the court, a range of options are available to claimants. These include the ability to apply to the court for a freezing order, which may also be served on a third party to prevent assets being dissipated. Claimants can also seek an order for defendants to attend court to provide information to assist enforcement, or a receivership order to manage the respondent’s assets. Committal proceedings can be initiated for deliberate breaches of an injunction.
The Government has asked Jonathan Fisher KC to undertake work on Part Two of the Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences. The terms of reference for this review include considering whether there should be a greater role for civil penalties in tackling fraud committed against individuals and businesses. This review has been asked to report by December 2025 and the Government will respond thereafter.