Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to reduce the backlog in the administration of family court orders.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The HMCTS Reform Programme has introduced several new digital services within the Family Courts, enhancing and automating the administration of family court orders. These services encompass Divorce, Financial Remedy, and Public Law Proceedings.

Additionally, HMCTS has transitioned much of the administration of these services to the newly established Courts and Tribunals Service Centres. Centralising work to national centres has allowed for better management of work fluctuations across the various services; improved data collection on HMCTS performance and identification of areas for enhancement; and more effective alignment of working patterns to meet demand.

Currently, HMCTS is piloting a new digital service for private law proceedings, aiming to replicate the administrative improvements seen in other family services. This service is scheduled to be implemented across England and Wales by the end of 2025.

Whilst this new service is being piloted, HMCTS continues to prioritise the orders wating to be administered according to their urgency and are using specialist order production teams to target delay at specific local court courts.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2024 to Question 612 on Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, when section 31 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 will come into force.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Appropriate protections for victims of harassment or stalking are vital. We are carefully considering implementation of section 31 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 to ensure data and safeguarding protections are built into the process. As part of this consideration, we have included a provision in the Data (Use and Access) Bill to ensure that section 31 extends UK-wide, given the nature of the UK’s data protection framework.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to address the increase in the remand population across the prison estate.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

We are committed to working with partners across the criminal justice system to effectively manage the growth in the prison remand population, which currently sits at a record high.

On 17 October 2024, we announced plans to allow magistrates’ courts to hand down custodial sentences of up to 12 months for a single triable either way offence – doubling their current powers.

The change will help us bear down on the remand population by ensuring those on remand are tried and sentenced quicker.

This change will help us to better manage the pressure on reception jails and maximise the space across the prison estate, created by SDS40. The Statutory Instrument to increase magistrates’ courts sentencing powers was laid on 28 October 2024 and these changes will come into force on 18 November 2024.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prisoners released under the early release scheme have been rearrested since September 2024.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Reoffending rates are published regularly on an annual and quarterly basis. The most recent rates are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/proven-reoffending-statistics.

Prisoners released on SDS40 will be subject to licence and liable to recall to prison if they do not comply or are judged a risk to public safety.

Data on recall and reoffending of prisoners released since September 2024 forms a subset of data intended for future publication.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners released under the early release scheme on (a) 10 September 2024 and (b) 22 October 2024 are registered as residing in (i) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (ii) Lincolnshire.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Data on SDS40 releases forms a subset of data intended for future publication.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what her planned timetable is to respond to her Department’s consultation entitled Open Justice: the way forward which closed on 7 September 2023.

Answered by Heidi Alexander - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice ran a Call for Evidence from 11 May to 7 September 2023 under the previous Government. It was the first system-wide public assessment on open justice and transparency in over ten years. The consultation received a wide volume of responses that are being carefully analysed and I am considering next steps. I would like to express my thanks to all stakeholders who contributed their views, which will inform future policy developments and priorities in this essential area.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what repairs and maintenance they intend to carry out, and over what timeframe, at HMP Winchester following the recent inspection report of the prison.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

HM Prison & Probation Service will provide HM Inspectorate of Prisons with its initial response to the Urgent Notification about HMP Winchester, and its immediate action plan, by no later than 21 November. This will be followed by a full response to the inspection report, and a detailed action plan specifying all remedial works and the timeframes for their completion.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to place HMP Winchester into special measures.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons invoked an Urgent Notification (UN) at HMP Winchester on 24 October after a concerning inspection. While there is no specific “special measures” process for prisons, once a site is subject to UN it is placed under enhanced supervision from senior officials within His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) until such time as we are confident that sufficient progress has been made.

The Lord Chancellor and I are determined to drive improvement at HMP Winchester and, as a first step in response to the UN, we will publish our initial action plan setting out the actions we will be taking by no later than 21 November 2024.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many shoplifting convictions there were by the nationality of the offender in Great Yarmouth constituency in each of the last five years.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of defendants convicted for shoplifting offences by Police Force Area in each of the last five years in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: December 2023 - GOV.UK.

However, it is not possible to identify an offender’s nationality from the centrally collated convictions data. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 7025 on Ministry of Justice: Official Cars, which specific senior officials in the Department have use of the five cars; and whether these senior officials had access to a government car before the general election.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

For security reasons specific details of allocations including make and model of vehicles are not issued.

The arrangements relating to the usage of vehicles in the Government Car Service are set out in the Civil Service Management Code.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 7024 on Ministry of Justice: Official Cars, how many of the five vehicles are electric cars.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

For security reasons specific details of allocations including make and model of vehicles are not issued.

The arrangements relating to the usage of vehicles in the Government Car Service are set out in the Civil Service Management Code.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make it her policy to ensure that ongoing mental health support is available to victims of rape (a) before, (b) during and (c) after criminal trials relating to their case.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government is committed to ensuring that all victims and survivors of rape and sexual abuse have the information and support they need. This is irrespective of whether they engage with the criminal justice system or not. If they do engage, support is provided irrespective of where they are in the criminal justice system.

Between August 2023 and March 2025, the Department provided £26 million through the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund to over 60 specialist support organisations. These organisations offer tailored support programmes, including counselling, therapeutic services, advocacy, outreach and group activities to victims and survivors of all ages to help them cope with their experiences and move forward with their lives.

The Ministry of Justice-commissioned 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line also provides victims and survivors access to vital help and information whenever they need it. Free and confidential emotional and listening support is available to all victims and survivors of rape and sexual abuse aged 16 and over. Where appropriate, the service will signpost victims to longer-term support services, including therapeutic support. This service is delivered by Rape Crisis England and Wales.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent guidance her Department has provided to the judiciary on the use of custodial sentences in the context of prison capacity.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Sentencing decisions are a matter for the independent judiciary, and judges are able to take into account a range of factors when handing down sentences.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that people engaging in the Single Justice Procedure are aware of the HM Courts and Tribunal Service guidance which states that courts should not issue targets for the number of Single Justice cases that must be completed.

Answered by Heidi Alexander - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Courts have been reminded that no targets have been set for the number of cases to be completed in a session.

Listing is a judicial responsibility and function. Local Judicial Business Groups decide how much work is assigned to court hearings, including Single Justice Procedure (SJP) sessions. If a magistrate does not complete the cases allocated to a SJP session, the cases can be picked up in a subsequent session.

The Government has listened to the concerns raised on SJP and as a first step has asked HM Courts and Tribunals to redesign the SJP Notice. We will also be calling in SJP prosecutors to discuss ways in which we could ensure public interest is considered by them in advance of making prosecutions. The SJP is vital for the efficient running of the magistrates court. However, it must operate fairly and effectively. We will not tolerate poor practice, and we will not hesitate to fundamentally reform the system if that is required.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an estimate of the average time taken for theft cases to be processed through the courts in each year since 2019.

Answered by Heidi Alexander - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the average duration for various stages of the criminal justice system for defendants by offence group, including theft, from 2014 to 2023 (latest available) in the ‘End-to-end timeliness tool’ as part of Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to support victims of rape and sexual violence in Gloucester.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice has significantly increased funding for victim and witness support over recent years. As part of this, the Department provides Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) with annual grant funding to commission local practical, emotional, and therapeutic support services for victims of all crime types.

For the financial year 24/25, we are providing £41 million of ringfenced funding for Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs) and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs) roles, and £21 million of ringfenced funding for community-based domestic abuse and sexual violence services. This is in addition to the core funding the Ministry of Justice provides to PCCs to allocate at their discretion, based on their assessment of local need. Gloucestershire PCC received £1,343,073 in financial year 24/25 to support victims.

Additionally, the MOJ-commissioned 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line, delivered by Rape Crisis England and Wales, provides victims and survivors access to vital help and information whenever they need it. Free and confidential emotional and listening support is available to all victims and survivors of rape and sexual abuse aged 16 and over. Where appropriate, the service will signpost victims to longer-term support services, including therapeutic support.

Since May 2024, the Ministry of Justice has also been running a pilot providing free sentencing remarks to victims of rape and serious sexual offences. We will be evaluating the pilot to understand cost, uptake and impact on victims when it ends in May 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has had discussions with the Magistrates Association on reports of the use of targets for the number of Single Justice Procedures completed.

Answered by Heidi Alexander - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Magistrates are free to take as long as they need when making decisions on any criminal case, including those dealt with under the Single Justice Procedure (SJP). There is no set target for the number of cases decided in an SJP session and courts have been reminded of this.

We have not discussed this matter with the Magistrates’ Association.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of sentencing guidelines.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The independent Sentencing Council is responsible for the development of sentencing guidelines. The Council regularly evaluates the guidelines to ensure they are operating as intended.

The Government is responsible for sentencing law, and last month we have launched an independent Sentencing Review, chaired by the former Lord Chancellor David Gauke.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost of providing free court transcripts to survivors of sexual assault and other serious crimes.

Answered by Heidi Alexander - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

I understand transcripts may help individuals obtain closure from traumatic events.

Since May 2024, the Ministry of Justice has been running a pilot providing free sentencing remarks to victims of rape and serious sexual offences. We will be evaluating the pilot to understand cost, uptake and impact on victims when it ends in May 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to reduce the backlog of court cases in Lincolnshire.

Answered by Heidi Alexander - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

We have interpreted this question as in reference to the Crown Court outstanding caseload in Lincolnshire. We inherited a record and rising Crown Court backlog from the previous Government and we are committed to tackling it.

We are pursuing a number of measures at a national level that will contribute to the reduction of outstanding cases in Lincolnshire.

The Crown Court outstanding caseload remains one of the biggest challenges facing the Criminal Justice System. We have already shown we are committed to bearing down on the caseload and bringing waiting times down.

This Government has increased the number of Crown Court sitting days to 106,500, more than in six out of the last seven years. We will soon extend magistrates’ court sentencing powers from 6 to 12 months, freeing up 2,000 days in the Crown Court to handle the most serious cases.

Judges have been prioritising rape cases that have been waiting for over two years to go to trial. Despite this, there are some cases in the outstanding caseload which are taking far too long to progress through the system. We want to make sure every victim has the swift access to justice they deserve. This is why we have committed to fast-tracking rape cases through the courts, to deliver swift and effective justice to some of the most vulnerable victims in the criminal justice system, and will say more on this in due course.

Alongside this, we consistently invest in the recruitment of c.1,000 judges and tribunal members across all jurisdictions annually alongside continuing to use 18 Nightingale courtrooms across eight venues to hear more cases.

At Lincoln Crown Court specifically, we have expanded physical capacity of the HMCTS estate by creating a permanent fourth Crown Courtroom based in Lincoln Magistrates Court. As a result, we also plan to sit 903 sitting days this financial year at Lincoln Crown Court, this is an increase from 885 sitting days in the last financial year (FY23/24). An uplift in sitting days has taken place across East Midlands in response to growing Crown Court caseload pressures.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of those convicted for sexual offences were not given prison sentences in the last five years.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent judiciary.

This Government was elected with a landmark mission to halve violence against women and girls within the decade. To do so, we must improve the justice system’s response to these crimes. We must relentlessly target the most prolific and harmful perpetrators; better support victims and survivors; and ensure timely and effective justice.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences, including sexual offences in the period requested, via the Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2023, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2023.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the recent early release of some prisoners, whether they carried out a risk assessment in relation to the families of those who were released.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

This Government inherited a prison system in crisis and was forced to implement SDS40 to avoid complete collapse of the Criminal Justice System, a risk that would greatly affect victims, families, and the country. In designing the measure, and with thorough consideration of the families of those who were being released, we took every possible step to mitigate risk, including an 8-week implementation period, offence exclusions, and a huge amount of collaboration with partners across the Criminal Justice System.

Exclusions include a series of offences (including stalking, coercive or controlling behaviour and non-fatal strangulation) related to domestic abuse, along with sex offences irrespective of sentence length and serious violent offences with a sentence of four years or more. Critically, the implementation period also gave Probation time to prepare properly and engage with key partners ahead of the initial releases, including informing eligible victims within the Victim Contact Scheme or Victim Notification Scheme and engaging with MAPPA and MARAC.

Once released, offenders will be closely monitored by probation and subject to strict licence conditions, which if breached could lead to their immediate recall to prison.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make it her policy that contracts for the provision of prison education should include requirements to implement the new fair deal policy for pensions for affected staff.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The guidance on the New Fair Deal is currently being reviewed by HM Treasury. The impact of this review is explained in the Invitations to Tender for the current procurement for prisoner education services. Further information can be found using the following links: Prisoner Education Services Panel (Inc. Core Education) - Find a Tender (find-tender.service.gov.uk) and Procurement for the Provision of Prisoner Education Services (Careers Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG)) - Find a Tender.

Relevant Treasury guidance will be followed in the delivery of prison education, including any updates on the application of New Fair Deal pensions policy. If New Fair Deal is extended to apply to further education colleges, this will apply to further education college staff working in prisons.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to implement the new fair deal policy for pensions for prison education staff employed by further education colleges.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The guidance on the New Fair Deal is currently being reviewed by HM Treasury. The impact of this review is explained in the Invitations to Tender for the current procurement for prisoner education services. Further information can be found using the following links: Prisoner Education Services Panel (Inc. Core Education) - Find a Tender (find-tender.service.gov.uk) and Procurement for the Provision of Prisoner Education Services (Careers Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG)) - Find a Tender.

Relevant Treasury guidance will be followed in the delivery of prison education, including any updates on the application of New Fair Deal pensions policy. If New Fair Deal is extended to apply to further education colleges, this will apply to further education college staff working in prisons.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many civil servants are assigned to work in each of HM Courts and Tribunals Service’s (a) courts and (b) offices; and how many desks are available in each office.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many civil servants are assigned to work in each of her Department's offices; and how many desks are available in each office.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign criminals were granted temporary release in each of the last five years.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department currently has no plans to publish a breakdown of foreign national offenders by nationality and detailed offence type (which would include the requested information for rape, other sexual offences, murder and drug trafficking). However, we keep all our publications under review in line with the three key pillars of the Code of Practice for Statistics: trustworthiness, quality and value.

The requested data on the number of foreign criminals granted temporary release in each of the last 5 years can be found in the attached table.

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of defendants convicted for stalking offences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2023. However, it is not possible to identify an offender’s nationality from the centrally collated convictions data. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.

Foreign national offenders who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, we will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. We are currently on track to remove more FNOs this year than at any time in recent years. We are working across government, to explore the ways that we can accelerate this further.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the reoffending rate of foreign national offenders was in each of the last five years.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The requested data on the reoffending rate of foreign national offenders can be found in the attached table. The proven reoffending rate for all adult offenders released from custody or starting a court order, in the April 21 to March 22 annual cohort, was 32.5%.

We refer all foreign national offenders in receipt of custodial sentences to the Home Office. Those sentenced to 12 months, or more are automatically considered for deportation.

Foreign national offenders who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. This will help to manage prison pressures, keep the public safe and reduce crime. We are currently on track to remove more foreign national offenders this year than at any time in recent years and we are working across government to explore the ways we accelerate this work further.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prison cells were not in use due to (a) disrepair and (b) poor estate conditions in October 2024.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

This Government has inherited a prison system in crisis, with infrastructure crumbling, dangerous jails and our hardworking staff under immense pressure. We have taken difficult, but necessary action to urgently reduce capacity pressures and save prisons from the point of collapse. We continue to invest in the estate to ensure that prisons are safe, decent and secure.

As of 28 October, there were around 2,200 places out of use to enable planned maintenance, refurbishment or repair. This equates to 2% of all available prison places and we are working at pace to bring these places back online. This total cannot be broken down into the categories requested given that HMPPS does not record data in this way.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2024 to Question 9762 on Offenders: Foreign Nationals, if her Department will commit to publishing a breakdown of foreign national offenders by nationality for (a) rape, (b) murder, (c) drug trafficking and (d) sexual offences for each of the last five years.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department currently has no plans to publish a breakdown of foreign national offenders by nationality and detailed offence type (which would include the requested information for rape, other sexual offences, murder and drug trafficking). However, we keep all our publications under review in line with the three key pillars of the Code of Practice for Statistics: trustworthiness, quality and value.

The requested data on the number of foreign criminals granted temporary release in each of the last 5 years can be found in the attached table.

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of defendants convicted for stalking offences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2023. However, it is not possible to identify an offender’s nationality from the centrally collated convictions data. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.

Foreign national offenders who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, we will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. We are currently on track to remove more FNOs this year than at any time in recent years. We are working across government, to explore the ways that we can accelerate this further.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for a breakdown by nationality of how many people of what nationality were found guilty of stalking involving fear of violence in each of the last five years.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department currently has no plans to publish a breakdown of foreign national offenders by nationality and detailed offence type (which would include the requested information for rape, other sexual offences, murder and drug trafficking). However, we keep all our publications under review in line with the three key pillars of the Code of Practice for Statistics: trustworthiness, quality and value.

The requested data on the number of foreign criminals granted temporary release in each of the last 5 years can be found in the attached table.

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of defendants convicted for stalking offences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2023. However, it is not possible to identify an offender’s nationality from the centrally collated convictions data. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.

Foreign national offenders who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, we will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. We are currently on track to remove more FNOs this year than at any time in recent years. We are working across government, to explore the ways that we can accelerate this further.

I would like the Government to remove the 28-day time limit for applying to the lenient sentence scheme to have a sentence reviewed, for convictions of murder.

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Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they have issued to schools relating to the safeguarding of the children of prisoners.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)

All children, from whatever background and no matter what challenges they face, deserve a safe environment in which they can learn. The department recognises the impact that a parent going to prison can have on a child’s learning, behaviour, mental health and wellbeing.

The government’s ‘Keeping children safe in education 2024’ statutory guidance for schools and colleges outlines specific guidance concerning children with a family member in prison or who are affected by parental offending. The guidance asks schools to consider the additional needs of these children and highlights the risk of poor outcomes including poverty, stigma, isolation and poor mental health. It also signposts staff to the National Information Centre on Children of Offenders (NICCO) website, which provides specialist advice and resources to support professionals working with offenders’ children and their families to help mitigate negative consequences for those children. The NICCO website can be accessed here: https://www.nicco.org.uk/.

The government is committed to identifying and better supporting children of prisoners. The department will be working closely with the Ministry of Justice to deliver on this commitment.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure access to drug treatment services for those leaving prison on day of release.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Everyone leaving prison with a need for drug and alcohol treatment should be able to access high-quality provision that enables them to recover from their problems as quickly as possible. We will continue to ensure that the full range of evidence-based treatment interventions is available to address drug and alcohol needs among people who are in prison, or who have left prison, including abstinence-based interventions, to support recovery from drug and alcohol dependency.

A cross-Government implementation group has been established to support the introduction of the changes to the Standard Determinate Sentences (SDS40) that were announced in July, and includes the Ministry of Justice, HM Prison and Probation Service, the Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England.

In September, the Department and NHS England issued clear clinical advice to support the delivery of SDS40 and give local services more flexibility to use additional drug and alcohol treatment and recovery grants to meet local needs.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish a breakdown of the sex offenders register by nationality.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Qualifying sex offenders are required to notify their personal details to the police. This system is often referred to as the ‘sex offenders’ register’ and requires offenders to provide their local police station with a record of (amongst other things) their: name, address, date of birth and national insurance number. This is done annually and whenever their details change.

The notification requirements are an automatic consequence of a conviction or caution for an offence in Schedule 3 to the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

All sex offenders subject to the notification requirements are managed under the multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA), a statutory arrangement requiring the police, probation and prison services in each local criminal justice area to assess and manage the risks posed by individuals convicted of certain offences.

The Ministry of Justice publishes annual MAPPA statistics. The most recent statistics (published 31 October 2024) showed there were 70,052 sex offenders (known as category 1 offenders) managed under MAPPA on 31 March 2024. The MAPPA annual statistics does not include a breakdown of category 1 offenders by nationality. That data is not centrally collected.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government to what extent they are prioritising work to connect civil and family courts' databases and IT systems with police databases and IT systems to inform policing vetting procedures.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Work is ongoing between the Home Office, Ministry of Justice, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to ensure a system is in place for the information transfer of protective orders from the courts to policing.

The government is also working with the NPCC to develop a Continuous Integrity System to enable relevant information on officers and staff to be captured and assessed in quick time as part of a wider integrity programme to enhance the vetting regime.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.19 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, if she will publish an allocation breakdown of the £20.4 billion spending on research and development for 2025-26.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

To fully harness the potential of the UK's excellent science base and to foster a dynamic investment economy, the Budget protects record levels of government research and development (R&D) investment with £20.4 billion allocated in 2025-26. This is allocated as per the table below.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, if her Department will publish a tabular summary of Capital DEL allocated in the Budget to research and development by Department.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

To fully harness the potential of the UK's excellent science base and to foster a dynamic investment economy, the Budget protects record levels of government research and development (R&D) investment with £20.4 billion allocated in 2025-26. This is allocated as per the table below.

Found: Engine Investments Limited Ministry of Defence Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Ministry

Found: It also includes input from the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Northern Ireland Office

Found: amendment seeks to ensure that new criminal offences, which would have consequences for the Ministry

Found: of Justice under section 41(6) of the Act), or conditions the patient is subject to, and the reasons

Found: amendment seeks to ensure that new criminal offences, which would have consequences for the Ministry

Found: These Explanatory Notes have been prepared by the Department of Health and Social Care and by the Ministry

Found: department or agency: Department of Health & Social Care Other dep artments or agencies: Ministry

Found: • These Explanatory Notes have been prepared by the Ministry of Justice in order to assist the reader

Found: • These Explanatory Notes have been prepared by the Ministry of Justice in order to assist the reader

Found: • These Explanatory Notes have been prepared by the Ministry of Justice in order to assist the reader

Found: • These Explanatory Notes have been prepared by the Ministry of Justice in order to assist the reader

Found: Arbitration Bill [HL] EXPLANA TORY NOTES Explanatory notes to the Bill, prepared by the Ministry

Found: Arbitration Bill [HL] EXPLANA TORY NOTES Explanatory notes to the Bill, prepared by the Ministry

Found: We are working with the Ministry of Justice to explore further options for early dispute resolution."

Found: Sadly, at present, Ministry of Justice data shows landlord possession cases take a Ministry of Justice

Found: It also includes input from the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Northern Ireland Office

Found: amendment seeks to ensure that new criminal offences, which would have consequences for the Ministry

Found: amendment seeks to ensure that new criminal offences, which would have consequences for the Ministry

Found: Customs HM Treasury Home Office Ministry of Defence Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Ministry

Found: hospital Who we are and what we want to do We are the Department for Health and Social Care and Ministry

Found: leave hospital Who we are and what we want to do We are the Department for Health and Social Care and Ministry

Found: with input from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Serious Fraud Office (SFO), HM Treasury, HMRC, Ministry

Found: of Justice , HM Revenue and Customs , HM Treasury , Serious Fraud Office, Crown Prosecution Service

Found: . • Ministry of Justice (MoJ). • Serious Fraud Office (SFO). • Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). • Attorney

Found: Like I say anything DLUH C, Home Office, MoJ, basically government funding, central government funding

Found: From: Ministry of Justice and HM Prison and Probation Service Published 7 November 2024

Found: Accompanying files • None Contact Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice

Found: The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice has designated the Chief Executive as Accounting

Found: Ministry of Justice senior project manager Cathryn Rees opted to do the programme because she wanted

Found: delivery, organisational improvement, change management and programme delivery working in the Home Office, Ministry

Found: any doubt about whether material falls within this legislation, legal advice should be sought from MoJ

Found: From: Ministry of Justice and HM Prison and Probation Service Published 4 November 2024

Found: This would likely include the IFR, the Ministry of Justice (as the Department responsible for the Serious

Found: •R (Nicklinson and another) v Ministry of Justice ([2014] UKSC 38 ) Mr Nicklinson was paralysed after

Found: •R (Nicklinson and another) v Ministry of Justice ([2014] UKSC 38 ) Mr Nicklinson was paralysed after

Found: •R (Nicklinson and another) v Ministry of Justice ([2014] UKSC 38 ) Mr Nicklinson was paralysed after