Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many children have been held at the Oasis Restore secure school at Medway in each month since it opened.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The number of children at the secure school at the end of each month, to the end of July 2025, is shown in the table below. The average age was 16.

(1) The symbol [x] indicates that the total is five or fewer. Where this is the case, an exact figure is not provided, in order to avoid the risk of identifying individuals.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average age is of the children held at the Oasis Restore secure school at Medway since it opened.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The number of children at the secure school at the end of each month, to the end of July 2025, is shown in the table below. The average age was 16.

(1) The symbol [x] indicates that the total is five or fewer. Where this is the case, an exact figure is not provided, in order to avoid the risk of identifying individuals.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many children-on-children assaults have occurred at the Oasis Restore secure school at Medway since it opened.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The latest published statistics for assaults relate to the period up to 31 March 2025. During that period, there were 31 assaults on staff and 10 child-on-child assaults. The total number reported to the police was five or fewer: it is not possible to provide an exact figure, as that would risk identifying individuals.

In the period up to 28 August 2025, 32 weapons were found.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many assaults on staff have occurred at the Oasis Restore secure school at Medway since it opened.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The latest published statistics for assaults relate to the period up to 31 March 2025. During that period, there were 31 assaults on staff and 10 child-on-child assaults. The total number reported to the police was five or fewer: it is not possible to provide an exact figure, as that would risk identifying individuals.

In the period up to 28 August 2025, 32 weapons were found.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many assaults at the Oasis Restore secure school at Medway have been reported to the police since it opened.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The latest published statistics for assaults relate to the period up to 31 March 2025. During that period, there were 31 assaults on staff and 10 child-on-child assaults. The total number reported to the police was five or fewer: it is not possible to provide an exact figure, as that would risk identifying individuals.

In the period up to 28 August 2025, 32 weapons were found.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many weapons have been found at the Oasis Restore secure school at Medway since it opened.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The latest published statistics for assaults relate to the period up to 31 March 2025. During that period, there were 31 assaults on staff and 10 child-on-child assaults. The total number reported to the police was five or fewer: it is not possible to provide an exact figure, as that would risk identifying individuals.

In the period up to 28 August 2025, 32 weapons were found.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total cost has been of repairs to the infrastructure at the Oasis Restore secure school due to vandalism since it opened.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

To obtain the requested information, it would be necessary to undertake a detailed examination of all records relating to expenditure on repairs, in order to identify the element attributable to vandalism, and this could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made on improving data on joint enterprise cases.

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

Joint enterprise is not a specific criminal offence. It is a common law doctrine which can apply in situations where two or more individuals have a common purpose to commit any criminal offence.

The Ministry of Justice currently collects information on how many defendants are prosecuted and convicted of specific criminal offences but not whether those crimes are committed as part of a joint enterprise. We are, however, considering the feasibility of collecting data on joint enterprise cases as part of the development of the Common Platform, a criminal justice IT programme.

Following a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) pilot to monitor joint enterprise homicide and attempted homicide cases in February 2023, the CPS implemented a national monitoring scheme in 2024, using a mandatory case management system flag to track such prosecutions and ensure greater oversight. On 23 September, the CPS published its annual report on data collected during the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, which can be found at: CPS Joint Enterprise National Monitoring Scheme 2024-25 | The Crown Prosecution Service.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to pilot (a) short video interviews, (b) biometric ID checks and (c) other live identity verification for the personal applications of wills.

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

HMCTS staff are trained in processing and verifying probate applications, with systems established to identify and escalate cases that present certain features of concern. These procedures are regularly reviewed to ensure they address emerging issues appropriately.

The Department is reviewing how personal applicants are identified for probate, as part of a wider examination of non-contentious probate rules: https://www.judiciary.uk/guidance-and-resources/working-group-members/.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what mechanisms are in place at HM Courts and Tribunals Service Probate Registries to ensure that when a later will is lodged and an objection is submitted prior to the granting of probate on an earlier will, the later will is considered before any grant is issued.

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

HMCTS has an established process in place for when a later will is lodged, which requires HMCTS staff to submit the later Will and earlier Will to a Registrar for their directions on how to proceed.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure children are adequately safeguarded in family courts.

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

The Children Act 1989 requires the court to have the child’s welfare as its paramount consideration when making a decision about the child’s upbringing. Any decisions the family courts make about the future arrangements for children are based on this fundamental principle.

This Government is delivering a package of reform to the family courts to ensure that children continue to be safeguarded and supported. This includes the expansion of the Pathfinder programme, which promotes child safeguarding through early multi-agency collaboration, expert domestic abuse support, and greater emphasis on the voice of the child.

This Government also recognises the significant impact that delays in court proceedings can have on children and families. That is why it is working to reduce backlogs and improve timeliness, so that children can access the support and stability they need without unnecessary delay. This includes the agreement of system-wide targets by the Family Justice Board for 2025/26, with a continued focus on tackling delay and reducing outstanding caseloads. In public law proceedings relating to children (such as care proceedings), this involves a renewed emphasis on the procedure set out in the Public Law Outline; and in private law proceedings relating to children (such as applications for child arrangements orders), areas delivering the Pathfinder model have made significant progress in addressing delays.

We are also working closely with the Department for Education to support the delivery of their reforms to children’s social care, underpinned by measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

The Government will share further plans for reform in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2025 to Question 73845 on Prison Accommodation, how many of the 2,405 prisoners places were planned (a) prior to and (b) after the 5 July 2025; and on what date was each prison expansion signed off.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

All 2,405 prison places delivered between July 2024 and 23 August 2025 referred to in Question 73845 were planned prior to 5 July 2025. The Full Business Cases (FBC) for each project were approved by HM Treasury on the following dates:

*Due to the lower cost associated with the re-role of HMYOI Cookham Wood into a category C men’s prison, and departmental delegation levels, approval was given at an internal Board level.

Despite the FBC being granted by HM Treasury before July 2024, I am pleased to confirm that all 2,400 were delivered from 5 July 2024 onwards.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made on introducing a support and identification system for the children of prisoners.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We know that parental imprisonment is recognised as an adverse childhood experience that can have a significant impact on a child’s life chances. This is why the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Education are jointly committed to ensuring that all children impacted by parental imprisonment are identified and offered the support they need to thrive.

Earlier this year, Ministers from both Departments convened a roundtable with sector experts to explore how best to support children affected by parental imprisonment. We have also undertaken extensive engagement with the sector, including focus groups with individuals who have lived experience. Their insights are helping to shape and inform our policy proposals.

On 21 August, the Department for Education published their market engagement notice on a Multidisciplinary Training Offer for Professionals, marking an important step towards getting children the support they need. This training will upskill a wide range of professionals on the impact parental imprisonment can have on children and families, reduce stigmatisation of children and families and break down barriers to support.

We remain firmly committed to driving progress on this important agenda, informed by evidence from previous interventions and continued engagement with the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to support children with a parent in prison from an early age.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We know that parental imprisonment is recognised as an adverse childhood experience that can have a significant impact on a child’s life chances. This is why the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Education are jointly committed to ensuring that all children impacted by parental imprisonment are identified and offered the support they need to thrive.

Earlier this year, Ministers from both Departments convened a roundtable with sector experts to explore how best to support children affected by parental imprisonment. We have also undertaken extensive engagement with the sector, including focus groups with individuals who have lived experience. Their insights are helping to shape and inform our policy proposals.

On 21 August, the Department for Education published their market engagement notice on a Multidisciplinary Training Offer for Professionals, marking an important step towards getting children the support they need. This training will upskill a wide range of professionals on the impact parental imprisonment can have on children and families, reduce stigmatisation of children and families and break down barriers to support.

We remain firmly committed to driving progress on this important agenda, informed by evidence from previous interventions and continued engagement with the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of community service hours offenders have completed in Lincolnshire in each of the last five years.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Between January 2022 and December 2024, a total of 140,104 hours of unpaid work were completed in Lincolnshire.

Data sourced from nDelius on 25/09/2025. While these data have been assured as much as practical, as with any large administrative dataset, the data should not be assumed to be accurate to the last value presented.

Data prior to July 2021 is unable to be reported on, due to difficulty in aligning regions pre and post-unification of the Probation Service. Because of this, we are unable to provide an accurate number of hours completed for 2021.

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) is meant to hold police forces accountable. Yet we feel its current structure allows serving or former officers, and elected officials with close ties to law enforcement, to oversee misconduct investigations involving their own colleagues

We want the Government to review the court system in order to better prioritise and protect victims of rape and sexual abuse by preventing postponements of trial start dates. Victims can be left in limbo for months or years, which can cause further trauma and deny timely justice.

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Found: launch a Call for Evidence on claims farming in housing disrepair cases, and to work with the Ministry of Justice

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Found: Letter from Baroness Levitt, Ministry of Justice, regarding wedding reform Correspondence

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to encourage male victims of domestic abuse to report that abuse to the authorities.

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

This Government is committed to ensuring that male victims and survivors get the support that they need and are encouraged to come forward to report abusive and violent crimes - such as stalking, domestic abuse, and sexual violence - to the authorities.

The Home Office and the Ministry of Justice fund organisations, including Respect, Galop, SignHealth, and Hourglass, which provide essential support to male victims. This includes the Men’s Advice Line, run by Respect, which offers vital support to male victims of domestic abuse. We continue to work closely with these organisations to raise awareness of the services available for male victims, addressing the barriers to reporting and ensuring that men feel supported when seeking help.

In February 2025, the Home Office announced £13.1 million funding to launch a new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP). The Centre will improve the police response to VAWG, creating a change in policing attitudes to ensure that officers respond effectively to VAWG crimes, including controlling and coercive behaviour, and offer all victims consistent protection.

We are working tirelessly across government to deliver the VAWG Strategy as soon as possible, which will set out commitments for all victims, including for men and boys that are victims of abuse.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding the NHS plans to provide to help support patients who are victims of sexual violence in the 2025-26 financial year, excluding funding provided by the Ministry of Justice.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Health Service provides support for victims and survivors of sexual violence through a range of services including mental health services and sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) which provide crisis care, medical and forensic examinations and onward referral to other support services.

Integrated care boards and NHS trusts commission support for patients who are victims of sexual violence, working in partnership with local authorities and police and crime commissioners. Figures on this local commissioning spend are not available nationally.

At national level, NHS England spent £57.6 million on SARCs in 2024/25. In addition, NHS England regions commission voluntary sector organisations to support victims and survivors, totalling £4.5 million in 2024/25. Total funding for the current financial year will be published approximately 12 months following the financial year’s end and will detail accounts and actual spending.

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Found: State’s representations are usually made on his or her behalf by a senior official in the Ministry of Justice

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