Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he can provide an update on the potential establishment of a residential women’s centre in Swansea.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Planning approval for the Residential Women’s Centre at the Trehafod site in Cockett, Swansea, was granted by the Welsh Government’s Planning Environment Decisions Wales in August 2023.

We are continuing to consider how the Residential Women’s Centre in Swansea could be delivered.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department will publish the conclusions of the consultation on the regulation of the debt enforcement sector.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

People in debt deserve to be treated fairly. That is why the Government is supporting the Enforcement Conduct Board’s work to make sure anyone facing enforcement action is treated fairly. We will respond to our consultation about regulation of the enforcement sector soon, which forms part of our wider work to build a more sustainable enforcement sector for everyone.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the ethnicity of individuals convicted under section 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018; and what steps are being taken to monitor and address any disparities.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data on the number of convictions at criminal courts for an assault on an emergency worker by age and ethnicity in England and Wales. This data can be found in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, which can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics. This data is part of a range of data produced by the Ministry of Justice which includes a broader review of ethnicity and the criminal justice system.

Data on those with a mental health condition or a neurodivergent profile is not collated centrally by the Ministry of Justice. Where an individual is convicted, sentencing guidelines stipulate that the court must consider issues of neurodiversity at sentencing, taking an individualistic approach, recognising that the levels of impairment caused by any condition will vary significantly between individuals.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of section 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 on individuals with mental health conditions or neurodivergent profiles.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data on the number of convictions at criminal courts for an assault on an emergency worker by age and ethnicity in England and Wales. This data can be found in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, which can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics. This data is part of a range of data produced by the Ministry of Justice which includes a broader review of ethnicity and the criminal justice system.

Data on those with a mental health condition or a neurodivergent profile is not collated centrally by the Ministry of Justice. Where an individual is convicted, sentencing guidelines stipulate that the court must consider issues of neurodiversity at sentencing, taking an individualistic approach, recognising that the levels of impairment caused by any condition will vary significantly between individuals.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many individuals over the age of 18 have been convicted under section 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 in each year since its introduction.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data on the number of convictions at criminal courts for an assault on an emergency worker by age and ethnicity in England and Wales. This data can be found in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, which can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics. This data is part of a range of data produced by the Ministry of Justice which includes a broader review of ethnicity and the criminal justice system.

Data on those with a mental health condition or a neurodivergent profile is not collated centrally by the Ministry of Justice. Where an individual is convicted, sentencing guidelines stipulate that the court must consider issues of neurodiversity at sentencing, taking an individualistic approach, recognising that the levels of impairment caused by any condition will vary significantly between individuals.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the trends in local authority funeral and cremation fees and charges since 2015.

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

Local authority cemeteries and crematoria are managed by individual councils, who are responsible for setting their own budgets and making decisions on local services in line with community priorities. In line with this principle, local authority burial and cremation authorities have the power to set their charges at levels they consider to be appropriate. This allows flexibility to reflect local needs.

The Government provides some support to people who are unable to meet the costs of a funeral. The Funeral Expenses Payments scheme provides a significant contribution towards the cost of a simple, respectful funeral arranged by recipients of certain income based benefits or tax credits. The scheme pays necessary burial and cremation costs in full, as defined by legislation, plus up to £1000 for other expenses such as the cost of a coffin, church and funeral director fees, Scotland has a similar scheme, the Funeral Support Payment scheme.

Support for funeral costs for all young people under 18 is provided by the Children’s Funeral Fund for England, with similar schemes in Scotland and Wales.

Interest-free Social Fund Budgeting Loans and Universal Credit Budgeting Advances can also be used for funeral expenses. Further financial support is available through Bereavement Support Payments which help working age people whose spouse or civil partner dies.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for Child Maintenance Service appeals that proceed to a Tribunal.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Data on Tribunals performance is published by the Ministry of Justice on a quarterly basis. Receipts, disposals and the outstanding caseload for individual Chambers in the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.

Appeals against Child Maintenance Service decisions are heard by the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal, which is part of the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal.

The Ministry of Justice is working to reduce the outstanding caseload across the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal, which includes the Social Security and Child Support jurisdiction. This is key to reducing the waiting time for tribunal hearings.

The Department continues to invest in improving tribunal capacity and productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, the deployment of additional Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of new, modern case management systems, and the use of remote hearing technology where appropriate. If an expedited hearing is requested, a Judge or Legal Officer will consider this, taking all the circumstances into account.

We expect these actions to have a positive effect, improving timeliness and overall performance of the Tribunal in Child Maintenance Service appeals, and the Social Entitlement Chamber more broadly.

Found: Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Ministry of Justice

Found: addressed in a reasonable timeframe unless permission is sought, yet neither HMPO nor the Ministry of Justice

Found: Equally, changes introduced by the Ministry of Justice to courts, prisons, and probation have significant

Found: Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Ministry of Justice

Found: explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find- statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2025 [8] Ministry of Justice

Found: T +4420 3334 3555 F +44870 761 7753 E https://contact-moj.service.justice.gov.uk/ www.gov.uk/moj 102

Found: T +4420 3334 3555 F +44870 761 7753 E https://contact-moj.service.justice.gov.uk/ www.gov.uk/moj 102

Found: T +4420 3334 3555 F +44870 761 7753 E https://contact-moj.service.justice.gov.uk/ www.gov.uk/moj 102

Found: T +4420 3334 3555 F +44870 761 7753 E https://contact-moj.service.justice.gov.uk/ www.gov.uk/moj

Found: We do not seek input from MoJ or HMPPS on our survey design.

Found: T +4420 3334 3555 F +44870 761 7753 E https://contact-moj.service.justice.gov.uk/ www.gov.uk/moj

Found: In 2022 we were asked to undertake the review by both the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General

Found: In 2022 we were asked to undertake the review by both the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General

Found: Is the MOJ policy sufficiently tailored to the needs of Welsh service users?

Found: Ministry of Justice Oral Evidence

Found: The Ministry of Justice does that quite well in relation to the Crown dependencies, which are smaller

Found: Correspondence to the Ministry of Justice relating to its approach to rural proofing policies, dated

Found: transcript.95 However, the technology available to the justice system can often be lacking. 91 Ministry of Justice

Found: FGM Protection Orders • The Ministry of Justice should encourage the use of FGMPOs by working with the

Found: FGM Protection Orders • The Ministry of Justice should encourage the use of FGMPOs by working with the

Found: Ministry of Justice, HM Prison and Probation Service, HM Prisons and Probation Service, Ministry of Justice

Found: Ministry of Justice, HM Prison and Probation Service, HM Prisons and Probation Service, Ministry of Justice

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help local authorities safeguard vulnerable residents from (a) misleading and (b) high-pressure contact relating to (i) housing repairs and (ii) inspections.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

My Department launched a call for evidence with the Ministry of Justice on 4 December to hear from tenants, landlords, legal professionals and claims management companies about their experiences of housing disrepair claims. It can be found on gov.uk here.

The exercise will allow us to gather evidence on how the current process works, including the roles of companies and solicitors in these cases. We want to understand what doesn't work or is unclear so that we can make sure the process is as effective as possible.

The call for evidence will be open for 12 weeks and close on 12 February 2026.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of SEND tribunal waiting times on the ability of families to hold local authorities to account for non-provision of SEND support.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The volume of appeals to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Tribunal means that some families face a year-long wait for a hearing, lengthening the time it takes for children and young people to get the support they need. We are working with the Ministry of Justice and His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service to ensure appeals are heard faster, including through the recruitment of 70 new judges, more cases being resolved ‘on paper’, hearings being held in school holidays, and the prioritisation of appeals for those who are moving between education phases.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle violence against (a) women and (b) girls in (i) Surrey Heath constituency and (ii) Surrey.

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

Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a top priority for this Government with a manifesto mission to halve VAWG in a decade. We will deliver a cross-government transformative approach, underpinned by a new strategy which we aim to publish as soon as possible.

In advance of the strategy, we have already introduced measures designed to strengthen the police response to VAWG, protect victims and hold perpetrators to account. These include: funding to rollout Drive Project to tackle high-risk and high-harm domestic abuse perpetrators across England and Wales; embedding the first domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms in five police forces; measures to tackle spiking; measures focusing on preventing and tackling ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA), and launching the new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders in selected police forces and courts which go further than any existing orders.

The Home Office has provided the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Surrey with an annual funding allocation of £998,248 for 2025/26 for interventions around perpetrators of domestic abuse. PCCs in England and Wales receive annual grant funding from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), to commission local practical, emotional, and therapeutic support services for victims of all crime types.

Furthermore, this government has increased funding to local authorities, which includes Surrey Heath constituency, to £160 million for 2025-26, an uplift of £30 million from the previous year, to provide further support in safe accommodation for domestic abuse survivors, including tailored support for protected groups.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will hold discussions with the hon. Member for Angus and Perthshire Glens on the work of her Department's Murder and Manslaughter Team.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I will always be happy to arrange meetings with the Hon. Member to discuss issues of concern, either with myself or with relevant officials. I am also hosting a drop-in session in Parliament on 10 December with my counterpart from the Ministry of Justice for Members who want to raise relevant cases overseas.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have offered support in improving prison conditions through the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative to the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo following reports of rapes at Makala Prison.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

In total, the UK's Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) has supported over 1,000 survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to rebuild their lives, and access justice, and we continue to raise human rights violations and prison conditions with the Government of DRC, including the mass rapes that took place at Makala prison in September 2024.

In her role as a supporter of PSVI, the Duchess of Edinburgh raised the ongoing investigation into those rapes during her visit to the DRC in October, and secured a commitment from Prime Minister, Judith Suminwa, that the DRC Ministry of Justice will be pursuing accountability in these cases.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been (a) arrested and (b) convicted in relation to the sale of illegal vape products in each of the last five years.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The data requested is not held by the Home Office.

The Home Office collect and publishes data on arrests as part of the Police Powers and Procedures statistical series, available here: Stop and search, arrests, and mental health detentions, March 2025 - GOV.UK

However, data is collected by broader offence group and for notifiable offences only, therefore data on arrests for the sale of illegal vapes is not available.

Convictions is a matter for the Ministry of Justice.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, updated on 20 November 2025, what steps her Department will take to build the necessary capacity for ensuring that early legal advice is available.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Reforms to the appeals system, including the development of a new independent appeals body will help asylum seekers have access to justice, overcome delays and restore public confidence. Early legal advice will be embedded as a core part of these reforms.

We will work closely with the Ministry of Justice to understand and manage the justice impacts of all proposals, including ensuring there is sufficient capacity to deliver early legal advice.

Further details on these reforms will be set out in due course.

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Found: all parts of the end-to-end asylum system (including all relevant parts of the Home Office, Ministry of Justice

Found: Ministry of Justice 2024-25

Found: Ministry of Justice 2024-25

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Found: WORK COMPLETE Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government £10.3bn UNVERIFIABLE Ministry of Justice

Found: WORK COMPLETE Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government £10.3bn UNVERIFIABLE Ministry of Justice

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