Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department imposes fines on private prisoner escort contractors for delays in journeys longer than 100 miles.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Financial penalties, known as “service credits,” are applied to Prisoner Escort and Custody Service (PECS) suppliers on any occasion where a courtroom delay has occurred because of failure by the contractor.
Some individual journeys where the straight-line distance is more than 100 miles may be regulated by an ‘agreed time protocol’, agreed in advance. These protocols are an explicit agreement between the PECS supplier, the court and the prison that the prisoner will be delivered by a specified time, instead of by the usual time of 10am. If the supplier delivers the prisoner in compliance with the protocol, no service credits are applied.
Where there is no agreed time protocol, the supplier will be liable to pay service credits if there is evidence that it was responsible for a failure to deliver on time.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 62255 on Legal Aid, how many of the Public Family Law Legal Help Fee Level 1 matter starts were for clients who were children, in each of the five years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The requested information can be found in the below table:
Financial Year | Public law family Level 1 - children |
2020-21 | 36 |
2021-22 | 21 |
2022-23 | 18 |
2023-24 | 21 |
2024-25 | 27 |
Data is derived from the Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) Official Statistics: Legal aid statistics data files - GOV.UK. The LAA also publishes a more user-friendly tool to analyse this data which can be accessed here.
Please note that as Public Law Family cases are delivered as Controlled Work, legal aid providers are permitted to self-grant legal aid under delegated functions. This means there is no application to the LAA. Data is therefore derived from claim submissions sent to the LAA at the end of the case. It is possible therefore that a small number of cases reported in the table above were opened in the previous financial year.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to (a) alter the statute of limitations and (b) review time limits for claims for (i) brain injuries and (ii) other lifelong conditions resulting from (A) medical and (B) clinical negligence.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Limitation periods set statutory time limits within which a party must bring a civil claim, or give notice of a claim, to the other party in a dispute. For negligence resulting in personal injury (which would include clinical negligence claims) the limitation period is normally three years from the date of the alleged negligence or the date of the claimant’s knowledge of damage, whichever is later.
However, under Section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980, this period can be extended at the court’s discretion, if it appears that it would be equitable (fair and reasonable) to all parties to allow an action to proceed.
The Government has no plans to reform the law.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress she has made in upgrading court buildings in the Tees Valley.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Historical underfunding has resulted in challenges across the court and tribunal estate. That is why this Government has announced a boost in court capital maintenance and project funding from £120 million last year, to £148.5 million for 2025/26.
In 2025, HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has so far completed upgrades to the security systems, fire systems and lift alarm systems at Teesside Justice Centre, as well upgrades to the lift alarm system at Teesside Combined Court. HMCTS is planning to undertake a range of refurbishment works, such as redecoration, carpeting and furnishing at Darlington County Court, Darlington Magistrates’ Court, Teesside Justice Centre and Teesside Combined Court.
HMCTS is also exploring the cost and feasibility of replacing the heating systems at Darlington Magistrates Court and is considering proposals to replace the windows and exterior cladding at Teesside Justice Centre.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Independent - Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the compatibility of super injunctions with (a) governance and (b) transparency.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
It is for the courts to determine individual applications for interim injunctions to restrain publication of confidential information (and the existence of the injunction) on the merits of each case, and in accordance with the law and specific Practice Guidance.
The Practice Guidance on Interim Non-Disclosure Orders was issued by the then Master of the Rolls as part of the implementation of the Superinjunctions Committee’s recommendations, which he chaired and whose final report was published in 2011. It provides detailed guidance on the law, principle of open justice and model court orders.
These applications will generally be argued on the competing balances of Articles 8 and 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the right to freedom of expression as against the right to reputation and privacy. The public interest is an important element the court will take into account.
The Government has no plans to reform the law.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has had discussions with the Solicitors Regulation Authority on steps to monitor internal employment practices within regulated firms.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice has not held discussions with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) on monitoring internal employment practices within regulated firms. Regulation of the legal profession in England and Wales operates independently of government. Responsibility for regulating the sector sits with the approved regulators, overseen by the Legal Services Board (LSB), as designated under the Legal Services Act 2007.
The SRA is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of solicitors and law firms in England and Wales. Given the sector’s independence, it would not be appropriate for the Ministry of Justice to interfere with the operational matters of regulated firms. However, the Department maintains regular engagement with the SRA on strategic and policy matters affecting the legal services sector.
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 steps she is taking to help ensure that the Judicial Appointments Commission fulfils its statutory duty to (a) appoint solely on merit (b) avoid discrimination in the appointing of judges.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is independent from government. It has a statutory duty under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 to select candidates solely on merit, to select only people of good character, and to have regard to the need to encourage diversity in the range of persons available for judicial selection.
The JAC is governed by an independent Board of Commissioners, appointed by His Majesty the King on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor. A key objective of the Board is to ensure the JAC is upholding its statutory functions and duties.
The JAC submits annual reports to Parliament about its performance and is also subject to independent reviews. Ministry of Justice officials also meet the JAC Chair and Chief Executive regularly.
The JAC also applies quality assurance checks throughout the selection process to ensure proper procedures are followed and standards are maintained. Further information can be found here: JAC Diversity Update July 2025.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to review the statutory will process to help ensure that it is accessible for (a) people with disabilities and (b) their families.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Law Commission recently completed a substantial review of the Law of Wills, and its report “Modernising Wills Law” was published on 16 May 2025. A copy of the report can be found at: https://lawcom.gov.uk/project/wills/#3-Documents. The report provides a thorough analysis of the case for reforming the law and procedure governing statutory wills.
The Government will make further announcements on the response to the report in due course, once it has given the report the detailed consideration it deserves.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate she has made of the number of criminal cases that have collapsed due to (a) lost, (b) missing and (c) damaged evidence in the last year.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the number of criminal cases that have collapsed due to lost/missing or damaged evidence.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of drivers convicted of (a) dangerous driving and (b) careless driving offences in the last five years were repeat offenders.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The information requested is provided in the tables attached.
Safety on our roads is an absolute priority for this Government. That is why the Department for Transport is committed to delivering a new Road Safety Strategy – the first in over a decade. They will set out the next steps on this in due course.