Caroline Voaden

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 introduced greater powers to remove false and misappropriated company addresses from the register and more stringent requirements around what constitutes an appropriate address.

It will also introduce compulsory identify verification for company officers. The automated nature of these processes means that they can manage a large amount of data at speed. Verifying an address and a company's link to it, however, would rely on different evidence, requiring much more manual processing. Given Companies House registers over 800,000 companies per year, the vast majority of which are entirely legitimate, the resource demands are likely to be disproportionate and such checks are not currently part of government plans.

Great British Energy will support the roll out of small and medium-scale renewable energy projects, using established technologies, to develop up to 8 GW of cleaner power. To ensure Great British Energy is set up to deliver its Local function effectively, my officials will continue to engage with local and community groups as GBE continues to be developed and implemented.

The Value for Money assessments already undertaken by the Department follow HMT guidelines in the appraisal of carbon abatement, comparing the emissions of the capture projects with and without CCUS technology. Hydrogen projects seeking support from Government are assessed in respect of their compliance with the Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard, developed to ensure hydrogen production contributes to our greenhouse gas emission reduction targets under the Climate Change Act.

Consumers should expect high-quality, reliable services. Operators have statutory obligations to keep services available and take all appropriate and proportionate measures to prepare for and minimise any disruption or outages.

In 2019, Ofcom - the independent regulator - worked with telecoms operators to introduce a voluntary, automatic compensation scheme for domestic broadband. 10 internet service providers are signatories to the scheme and collectively cover over 90% of home broadband consumers.

We will continue to work with Ofcom to monitor the market to ensure that consumers are receiving reliable services and recourse for when things go wrong.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the independent body responsible for regulating advertising in the UK and co-regulates broadcast advertising under contract with Ofcom. The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP), sister organisations of the ASA, are responsible for codifying the standards for advertising to the marketing industry as part of their CAP and BCAP Codes.

We are considering the best available evidence from a wide range of sources and working closely with the relevant organisations to inform decisions on how best to fulfil our manifesto commitment to reducing gambling-related harm. We will provide further updates to the House soon.

Under the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, the government will make available an additional entitlement for priority subjects and longer courses, above an individual’s core four year entitlement.

Learners will be able to access this additional entitlement to study a limited number of priority subjects, such as medicine. This will ensure that learners can always gain skills in priority areas, regardless of remaining entitlement or previous qualifications.

In 2025, the department will outline in more detail the specific courses that will be eligible for this additional entitlement.

The department is developing a comprehensive strategy for post‐16 education and skills, to break down barriers to opportunity, support the development of a skilled workforce and drive economic growth through the government’s Industrial Strategy.

The department is committed to working collaboratively with the sector to bring forward this strategy, building on the Curriculum and Assessment Review, the introduction of Skills England and with a continued focus on lifelong learning.

The department’s vision for a Youth Guarantee will ensure all young people aged 18 to 21 have the opportunity to access the education, training, apprenticeship or employment support they need to open up job and career opportunities. It also looks to strengthen the support for 16 to 17-year-olds who are at risk of or have disengaged from sustained participation in education and learning.

The guarantee will bring together and enhance provision and support for young people by providing tailored support for 18 to 21-year-olds into further learning and onto fulfilling work who may need additional help. The guarantee will address personal barriers, such as mental or physical health, care giving responsibilities, homelessness or transport. Additionally, it will enable preparation for employment and, through work experience, offer additional careers advisers and a new National Jobs and Careers Service.

The guarantee will also help 18 to 21-year-olds to access education and training opportunities locally and will build on wider system improvements including Skills England, the new foundation apprenticeship, the Lifelong Learning Entitlement and the Growth and Skills offer.

The Department for Education and the Department for Work and Pensions are developing the guarantee with mayoral authorities to provide local, tailored support and will work with local areas on future expansion. The department will launch eight Trailblazers in England from spring 2025 backed by up to £45 million in funding.

High-quality careers advice is an essential part of the government’s missions to break down the barriers to opportunity and to drive economic growth. Secondary schools are legally required to provide independent careers guidance on the full range of education and training options and offer at least six opportunities for providers of technical education or apprenticeships to speak to all pupils during years 8 to 13.

Additionally, in secondary education, the department is boosting work readiness with its plan to guarantee two weeks’ worth of work experience for every young person. The department wants to see multiple, targeted workplace experiences with all types of businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises and growth sectors. The department is funding pilots initially with a focus on identifying what works. To ensure every young person can get the expert advice they need, the department will train 1,000 careers advisers. These ambitions are vital to ensuring that young people develop relevant skills for work and are supported to make successful transitions from education and training into meaningful employment.

The Office for Students also holds higher education providers to account for students' employment outcomes. Providers are expected to offer high-quality careers support and ensure that at least 60% of their students’ progress into professional employment or further study within 15 months of graduating.

The department does not have entry requirements for apprenticeships, but we understand that employers may wish to set their own as apprentices are employees.

The department does have specific English and mathematics exit requirements which apprentices must meet, and we recognise the concerns that have been raised by learners, employers and providers about the barriers these can pose to accessing or completing an apprenticeship.

The department is considering how its English and mathematics exit requirements policy can be improved to make sure it recognises the benefits to upskilling in these subjects, while also being delivered in a way that supports people to achieve.

The department continues to fully fund apprentices who do not hold the required English and mathematics qualifications to achieve these as part of their apprenticeship.

The impact on the state sector as a result of the introduction of VAT on private school fees is being carefully considered. HM Treasury will deliver the tax changes. Further details of the government’s assessment of the expected impact will be published at the Budget. A Tax Information and Impact Note will be published alongside the Finance Bill once the independent Office for Budget Responsibility has scrutinised and certified the impacts of the final policy.

To support schools with overall costs, the department is providing almost £1.1 billion in 2024/25 through the new Core Schools Budget Grant (CSBG). This matches what the department has calculated is needed to fully fund, at a national level, the teacher pay award and the support staff pay offer in the 2024/25 financial year, over and above the available headroom in schools’ existing budgets. Guidance on the new CSBG can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/core-schools-budget-grant-csbg-2024-to-2025.

The department understands that the picture will be different for individual schools and that funding will not always match a school’s precise costs. The formula allocates funding based on schools’ pupil numbers and their characteristics. Schools can then decide how to use this funding, including how many teachers and support staff to employ. When the department allocates grant funding for additional costs, it calculates the cost across the whole system and then adds that cost into the formula. This approach keeps funding fair. If grant funding was based on each schools’ specific teacher costs, then funding would be disproportionately allocated to the schools that already spend the most on their teachers and support staff, rather than giving every school a fair increase in their spending power.

The Water Restoration Fund, which launched in April 2024, was established to reinvest water company environmental fines and penalties into projects to improve the water environment. Defra is continuing to work with His Majesty’s Treasury regarding continued reinvestment of the water company fines and penalties on water environment improvement.

Defra regularly communicates and engages with farmers and landowners through a range of methods. Links to Defra’s grants and schemes are available through https://www.gov.uk/guidance/funding-for-farmers, a single webpage designed to make it easier for farmers and landowners to be aware of opportunities available. Regular updates explaining schemes and updating on changes are made through https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/ , which includes a subscription function so users can receive e-mail updates when new posts are published. Defra ministers and engagement teams regularly meet with stakeholders and members of the agricultural community in order to share and discuss Defra’s grants and schemes, including attending agricultural shows and other stakeholder events.

This Government reconfirmed its commitment to Environmental Land Management schemes in the recent Spending Review, where we prioritised directing investment to these schemes as part of the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history.

As a core element of the Environmental Land Management schemes, Landscape Recovery is uniquely placed to provide large-scale, long-term benefits for nature, delivering improvements to biodiversity, carbon emissions, water quality, air quality, flood resilience and food security.

Landscape Recovery projects that were awarded funding in rounds one and two are continuing, and we are continuing to move into the delivery phase with the first round of projects. Plans for a third round of Landscape Recovery will be confirmed in due course.

During the Financial Years (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25 a total of 115 Number of Farm Businesses have received Capital Grant Funding in South Devon constituency.

These are broken down by financial year below.

Capital Grants- How many applicants received funding by Volume:

Defra routinely use the best available scientific advice, including that provided by the International Council of the Exploration of the Seas (ICES), within international fisheries negotiations, where catch limits are agreed on shared stocks, and in wider policy development The best available scientific advice is considered as part of our policy approach which seeks to balance obligations and objectives, as set out in the Fisheries Act 2020 and the Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS).

In line with the JFS, making use of ICES advice, the UK seeks to achieve greater environmental sustainability and provide profitable outcomes for the industry including aiming to increase over the medium term the total number of stocks fished at Maximum Sustainable Yield. As part of the annual negotiation process, Defra officials provide Ministers with an assessment of how the UK negotiating position on fishing opportunities balances these objectives on a stock-by-stock basis.

The Department for Transport is a party to the Uninsured and Untraced Drivers’ Agreements with the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB). However, the MIB is an independent organisation within the motor insurance industry and is separate from Government.

The MIB is responsible for decisions dealing with the investigation and payment of claims and there is no final appeal to the Secretary of State for Transport. This means that the Secretary of State has no role in the supervision of individual cases, which is the role of the MIB. Disputes that arise under the agreements are settled by way of arbitration. If a claimant is dissatisfied with the way that their claim is handled the MIB has its own formal complaints procedure.

In the case of the A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down (Stonehenge Tunnel), although the contracts were awarded, the construction had not commenced. Following the announcement to cancel the project National Highways is working with its contractors to bring ontracts to a close in a controlled manner.

In the case of the A27 Arundel bypass, although a design and build contract had been awarded, construction had not commenced and following the deferral announcement in March 2023 the contract was brought to a controlled close with limited liabilities or additional costs.

On 28 November we published national Pension Credit applications and award statistics. This publication provides application volumes from 29 July 2024 to 17 November 2024. Pension Credit applications and awards: November 2024 - GOV.UK

Data is captured weekly and cannot be broken down further to give a figure from 22 August 2024 exactly. The statistics show that 128,000 Pension Credit claims were received between 19 August 2024 and 17 November 2024. This figure has been rounded to the nearest 1000.

Please note, the figures presented are from DWP’s Pension Credit system which has previously been collected for internal departmental operations use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics publication standards.

We do not currently hold data at a constituency level.

The requested information is not readily available as student loan income is not separated in the data we have and to provide this would incur disproportionate cost.

There are currently no plans to relaunch The Kickstart Scheme.

The Kickstart Scheme was a time-limited response to the effects of the pandemic economic downturn on young people. The scheme came to an end in September 2022 with over 163,000 Kickstart jobs started by young people since its launch.

There continue to be a range of initiatives businesses can get involved in to give opportunities and experience to young people, including apprenticeships, mentoring circles, and work experience. Our Strategic Relationships Team continuously work to connect DWP with employers and partners to strengthen working relationships and to build new opportunities to support young people back to work. This will be strengthened with the introduction of the Youth Guarantee which was announced in The Get Britain Working White Paper.

The Youth Guarantee is for all 18-21 year olds to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work to reduce the number of young people not earning or learning.

Learning from the evaluation of the Kickstart scheme is also being utilised in the design of other employment support.

The department has no plans to negotiate reciprocal agreements with Commonwealth countries on uprating UK pensions.

To be comparable with the Winter Fuel Payment statistics, the Pension Credit data that has been used is based on the 2010 Westminster Parliamentary constituencies, not 2024.

Due to Westminster Constituencies boundary changes, data isn’t explicitly available/ published for South Devon constituency. Therefore, to obtain the above figure, the statistics for Totnes constituency (now abolished and replaced by South Devon constituency) has been used. The estimation is calculated by subtracting the number of Pension Credit recipients for Totnes Constituency from the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients for Totnes constituency.

The estimated number of pensioners in South Devon constituency (2010 boundary) who will lose Winter Fuel Payments is 22,279. This is based on Feb-24 Pension Credit statistics and 22/23 Winter Fuel Payment statistics, (sources below).

Please note that Pension Credit claimants are the majority of those that will be eligible for Winter Fuel Payments, not all. There are other pensioners who are eligible for Winter Fuel Payments (as they claim other means tested benefits) but they are not considered in these figures as it is not possible to do so.

Furthermore, the above does not take into account any potential increase in Pension Credit take-up we might see as a result of the policy change (means testing Winter fuel payments to those on Pension Credit and other means tested benefits). We do not have data on those additional Pension Credit claims by Parliamentary constituencies or local authorities.

Also, the published Pension Credit figures refer to households rather than individuals, so the number of individuals claiming Pension Credit, will be higher (i.e. taking account of households where it is a couple claiming Pension Credit).

Sources used:

winter-fuel-payments-caseload-2022-to-2023.ods (live.com)

Stat-Xplore - Table View (dwp.gov.uk) (Feb-24 data)

The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator of doctors, physician associates, and anaesthesia associates in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for setting standards that must be met by both domestic and international applicants wishing to be added to their registers to ensure registrants are safe to practise.

A page has been published on GOV.UK specifically for Ukrainian refugees which aims to provide an overview of the processes required by specific healthcare professional regulators, and is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-in-healthcare-in-the-uk-homes-for-ukraine.

The GMC provides help with fees associated with registration. Individuals can seek further information from the GMC’s website.

It is our ambition that all Ukrainian refugees who are healthcare professionals in their home country and meet the standards required in the UK are able to achieve registration efficiently and use their skills within our National Health Service.

Drug and alcohol treatment is funded through the Public Health Grant. In addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department allocated local authorities £267 million in 2024/25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. An additional £105 million from the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is improving treatment pathways and recovery, housing, and employment outcomes for people affected by drug and alcohol use. Future targeted funding for drug and alcohol treatment services beyond 2025 will be announced very shortly. The Department will write directly to each local authority to set out indicative allocations for 2025/26, which will be subject to departmental and HM Treasury approvals, so final allocations could vary. We understand the importance of funding certainty for informing local system’s operational decision making and future planning, and we are engaging with commissioners and providers on this.

My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has also made it clear that the Government will conclude a multi-year Spending Review in the first half of 2025. In future, we anticipate that Spending Reviews will be set every two years to cover a three-year period, including a one-year overlap with the previous Spending Review, helping build in greater certainty and stability over public finances.

The Department is focused on supporting local areas to deliver high quality drug and alcohol treatment services, including in the Slough constituency and Berkshire. This includes additional investment in 2024/25 in the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery systems of £950,455 in Slough, and £1,860,131 in the wider Berkshire area, through a range of specific grants. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has also produced a Commissioning Quality Standard which provides guidance in commissioning effective alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services, and a range of wider guidance and data that will support the delivery of high-quality treatment and recovery services. Further information on the Commissioning Quality Standard is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commissioning-quality-standard-alcohol-and-drug-services

We are striving for digital services to improve access, experience, and outcomes for the widest range of people, based on their preferences, as any digital healthcare benefits will be limited if people remain digitally excluded. Mitigating against the risk of digital exclusion is one of five key priorities that NHS England has asked the integrated care systems to address in their drive to reduce healthcare inequalities. Digital health tools should be part of a wider offering that includes face-to-face support, with appropriate help for people who struggle to access digital services.

Patients are able to access National Health Services, such as requesting general practice appointments and managing secondary care appointments, through local online tools and the NHS App, which can also be accessed through a web browser. The NHS App is designed to meet international accessibility standards, and the services are routinely tested with a range of people with accessibility issues. User reviews and research show the NHS App and website to be highly usable and simple to use. Local online tools must also meet minimum accessibility standards.

The previous Government did not previously accept the recommendation to establish a redress agency, as set out in the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review. However, the Government is carefully considering the valuable work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and the resulting Hughes Report, published in February 2024, which recommended and set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. We will be providing an update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report at the earliest opportunity.

The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The NIHR and the Medical Research Council (MRC) are committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment of long COVID and ME/CFS, and are actively exploring next steps for research in these areas.

Over the last five years, the Government, through the NIHR and the MRC, has invested over £50 million into long COVID research through two specific research calls. The projects funded aim to improve our understanding of the diagnosis and underlying mechanisms of the disease, and the effectiveness of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies and interventions, as well as to evaluate clinical care.

The MRC has provided £4.15 million of ME/CFS research funding since 2013, including £3.19 million jointly awarded with the NIHR for the DecodeME project, which aims to find genetic risk factors of ME/CFS to better understand the disease and ultimately to find treatments. The NIHR has committed approximately £3.9 million of programme funding over the same period.

As findings emerge from current research, we encourage researchers to apply for funding to build on and develop the newly established infrastructure, partnerships, and research capabilities. Government research funders remain available to support long COVID and ME/CFS researchers in their applications for funding.

The Government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity, ensuring every child has access to high-quality education, which is why we have made the tough decision to end tax breaks for private schools. This will raise revenue for essential public services, including investing in the state education system

This VAT change will not impact pupils with most acute additional needs where these can only be met in private schools, as determined by an Education and Health Care Plan in England, and equivalent processes in other nations.

Where pupils are placed in a private school because their needs cannot be met in the state sector, and they have their places funded by their Local Authority, the Local Authority will be able to reclaim the VAT they incur on these pupils’ fees. In Northern Ireland, it will be the Education Authority who fund placements in private schools and will be able to reclaim the VAT in this way.

The government will publish a Tax Information and Impact Note setting out the impacts of the changes, including the equalities impacts, alongside the Finance Bill.

This Government has set out an ambition to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) within a decade and will treat it as the national emergency that it is. We will deliver a cross-government, transformative approach, underpinned by a new VAWG Strategy published later this year.

We are already driving forward activity which supports local government to tackle VAWG. The government has increased funding to local authorities 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. The Home Office has confirmed a number of grants held for the next financial year (2025-26) with charities supporting victims of VAWG. We have sought to protect frontline services and give them certainty, so they can plan ahead effectively.

Furthermore, the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 will, once in force, require local policing bodies, local authorities, and integrated care boards to collaborate in relation to the commissioning of certain victim support services, and to prepare and publish a joint commissioning strategy for victims of domestic abuse in their area. This strategy will be informed by a joint needs assessment.

Child sexual abuse is a despicable crime and this new government will be taking robust action to safeguard children, provide support and care to victims and survivors and ensure perpetrators face the full force of the law.

I have not had any specific engagement with the Church of England on this matter to date. However, I am clear that safeguarding of children from abuse is everyone’s responsibility, including the Church.

I have met with Professor Alexis Jay recently and recognise her significant contribution to these important issues, having chaired the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse as well as the more recent independent review into safeguarding in the Church of England.

I will be working with the Home Secretary and ministerial colleagues across government to strengthen the cross-institutional response to identifying and responding to this horrific crime as a matter of urgency.

No licences have yet been issued for trail hunting on the Ministry of Defence Estate for the 2024–2025 season.

Managing agents are contracted by landlords to deliver services on their behalf. Details of services provided are usually set out in a management agreement between the agent and landlord.

The government’s response to the Competition and Markets Authority’s market study into housebuilding, which included consideration of management on private estates and homeowner choice over their estate management company, was published on 22 October. It can be found on gov.uk here.

As set out in my Written Ministerial Statement to parliament of 21 November 2024 (HCWS244), the government is clear that it is committed to bring the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ private estates and unfair costs to an end and we will consult next year on the best way to achieve this.

Managing agents are contracted by landlords to deliver services on their behalf. Details of services provided are usually set out in a management agreement between the agent and landlord.

The government’s response to the Competition and Markets Authority’s market study into housebuilding, which included consideration of management on private estates and homeowner choice over their estate management company, was published on 22 October. It can be found on gov.uk here.

As set out in my Written Ministerial Statement to parliament of 21 November 2024 (HCWS244), the government is clear that it is committed to bring the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ private estates and unfair costs to an end and we will consult next year on the best way to achieve this.

This Government is committed to ensuring the family court system is safe and supportive for all parties, particularly those who are survivors of domestic abuse.

Family courts have various tools available to protect participants. Courts have the power to prohibit the cross-examination of domestic abuse survivors by their abusers. Victims of domestic abuse are automatically considered to be vulnerable when the court is determining whether to make special measures, such as allowing someone to give evidence by video link, or from behind a screen. The Family Procedure Rules and Practice Directions allow for Independent Domestic Violence Advisers and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers to accompany parties in the courtroom.

In proceedings relating to children, the court has powers under section 91(14) of the Children Act 1989 to make orders to prevent a person from making applications to court without prior permission from the court, for example where further proceedings would risk causing harm to parents or children.

The Government recognises the impact family court proceedings can have on children and adult survivors of domestic abuse which is why we are is committed to halving incidences of violence against women and girls; reforming the family justice system so that victims of domestic abuse are supported is key to this.

The courts hearing family proceedings have the power to prohibit the cross-examination of domestic abuse survivors by their abusers. Victims of domestic abuse are automatically considered to be vulnerable when the court is determining whether to make special measures, such as allowing someone to give evidence by video link, or from behind a screen. The Family Procedure Rules and Practice Directions allow for Independent Domestic Violence Advisers and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers to accompany parties in the courtroom.

Central to the Department’s work on reforming the family justice system is the Pathfinder pilot. This entirely reformed court model uses a more investigative and less adversarial approach for private law proceedings relating to children and is currently operating in Dorset, North Wales, Birmingham and South-East Wales. The pilot seeks to improve the experiences of children and families in proceedings, in particular for survivors of domestic abuse, and reduce re-traumatisation. At the heart of this model is closer multiagency working which has led to improved communication, greater consistency in information and multi-disciplinary training. The pilot courts work closely with the specialist domestic abuse sector including Independent Domestic Abuse Advisers to ensure that adequate domestic abuse risk assessments and support is in place. We are exploring options for further rollout to ensure that more people can benefit from this approach.

When deciding an issue relating to the upbringing of a child, the child’s welfare must be the court’s paramount consideration. When considering arrangements to be made for a child, the court must have particular regard to a list of factors, including the wishes and feelings of the child, considered in light of the child’s age and level of understanding. Depending on the type of proceedings, the child may automatically be a party to the case or may be made a party by the court if it is in their best interests to do so.

In most proceedings relating to a child, it is part of the role of Cafcass, or Cafcass Cymru, to engage with children to establish their wishes and communicate these to the court. Cafcass and Cafcass Cymru officers can use various methods to ensure children can make their feelings and wishes clear to the court in their own words and will submit their own analysis of the evidence to the court.

The Government is exploring how to enhance the voice of the child in private family law proceedings to ensure children’s wishes and views are central to proceedings concerning them via the Pathfinder pilot currently in place in Dorset, North Wales, Birmingham and South-East Wales. As part of the evaluation of the pilots we are working with partners and stakeholders to assess methods of child engagement and understand more about the voice of the child in the initial pilot sites of Dorset and North Wales. We expect the findings of this to be published in Spring 2025.

Criminal Courts

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 are also in the process of extending 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.

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.

Civil Courts

The civil courts play a crucial role in supporting the economy and growth as well as ensuring citizens have access to justice.

Performance remains a challenge in the civil courts and the Government is committed to resolving cases quickly, as well as ensuring that claims are dealt with appropriately and proportionately according to their complexity and value.

The Ministry of Justice is working closely with the senior judiciary to improve performance across the jurisdiction by reducing demand, increasing capacity and introducing efficiencies. For example, we continue to explore the expansion of integrated mediation in certain disputes, to enable the swift and cost-effective resolution of disputes. The county courts use a ‘national and virtual region pool’ which enables judges to hear cases outside their regional circuit, to ensure that available judicial resource can be deployed to areas of significant demand elsewhere when needed.

Probation Service practitioners have a complete record of all cases that were managed by Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs). National Delius and Offender Assessment System (OASys) records were preserved as the primary case record, as was the position before, during and after the structural changes to probation made by the Transforming Rehabilitation reforms.

In addition to this, the Probation Reform Programme carried out extensive work to ensure that any information from local CRC recording systems was appropriately migrated at the point of reunification.