Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increasing funding for support services for victims of sexual assault and violence.

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

Rape and sexual violence are devastating crimes that can have life-long impacts on victims and survivors. This Government is fully committed to supporting victims and survivors, and that is why we have made it a priority to halve violence against women and girls.

The Ministry of Justice funds a range of support services for victims and survivors of sexual violence, both through direct grant funding to organisations (such as the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund) and through funding to Police and Crime Commissioners. These services offer tailored support to victims and survivors of all ages to help them cope with their experiences and move forward with their lives. These services complement the wider support system across Government, such as NHS England-funded Sexual Assault Referral Centres.

Funding after March 2025 will be agreed through the next Spending Review.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy to increase Bereavement Support Payments in line with inflation.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) helps people through the immediate period following a bereavement by way of an initial lump sum followed by up to 18 monthly instalments. Where longer-term financial support is needed, benefits such as Universal Credit have been specifically designed to provide assistance with ongoing living costs. We have no current plans to change the duration of Bereavement Support Payment.

The rate of Bereavement Support Payment is reviewed on a discretionary basis as part of the annual uprating process, but there is no legal requirement to uprate it. BSP is not a cost-of-living benefit like Universal Credit, which has been increased in line with inflation. We will review the rate of Bereavement Support Payment later this year as part of the annual uprating process.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans she has to work with Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to help reduce reoffending by people in the criminal justice system.

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

The Ministry of Justice, working with the Department of Health and Social Care, is firmly committed to reducing reoffending by addressing health-related causes of offending behaviour.

Where appropriate, we are working to divert offenders with health needs out of the criminal justice system altogether, including through Liaison & Diversion services, present in all police custody suites and criminal courts in England. Community Sentence Treatment Requirements can also be used as part of community or suspended sentences. Previous research has shown reduced reoffending rates for these types of sentences compared to short custodial sentences, and we are working to evaluate their use.

For those in prison, we work in close partnership with NHS England, who are responsible for commissioning healthcare services, including drug treatment, in all English prisons, so that all prisoners have access to health care equivalent to that in the community. We also work with the Welsh Government, who are ultimately responsible for commissioning and delivering health services for people in prison in Wales. We also work in partnership to ensure that our prisons provide wider support to help prisoners engage with treatment. 80 prisons currently have Incentivised Substance Free Living units where prisoners commit to regular drug tests.

We also want to better support rehabilitation of prisoners leaving custody, who have engaged in treatment and help them to remain in treatment on release. NHS England’s RECONNECT service supports prison leavers with vulnerabilities including mental health and substance misuse needs to engage with services through referrals and peer support.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the work of the prison and probation services work with (a) smaller organisations that cannot easily compete for commissioned contracts and (b) other third sector organisations involved in reducing reoffending.

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

I want to acknowledge the valuable work that the third sector does in supporting the work of the Department. Officials meet regularly with the third sector to discuss mutual areas of interest.

To provide services that are best value for money, responsive to local need, and fit for purpose, it is important that organisations of all sizes can participate in contracts.

HMPPS is working to encourage and facilitate participation of voluntary community and social enterprises in the justice system, by simplifying contracting processes for lower value contracts to make them more accessible for third sector organisations. There is ongoing work to support and upskill the sector in the bidding process.

Furthermore, as part of our planning to recommission current services, we are engaging with interested parties, including current and potential suppliers, the third sector, prison and probation staff, and people in prison and on probation to support the commissioning and design of future services.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will take steps to help ensure that the probation service works closely with other services critical to reducing reoffending.

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

The role of the Probation Service is crucial in protecting the public, turning offenders’ lives around, and providing a path of reintegration into the community to ultimately break the cycle of reoffending. The Probation Service works collaboratively with many partner organisations across the criminal justice system – police forces, local authorities, health providers, the third sector, and others – to drive down offending and keep our streets safe.

There are already great examples of partnership working between HMPPS and others. For example, in Greater Manchester, HMPPS’s temporary accommodation provision is delivered in partnership between HMPPS and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, to improve efficiency and outcomes. We will continue to encourage and facilitate participation of partners to ensure the services provided are fit for purpose and meet local needs.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contractual penalties will be incurred by (a) the A303 Stonehenge tunnel, (b) the A27 bypass project and (c) other major infrastructure projects that have now been cancelled.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

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.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed application of VAT on private school fees on families who are unable to access appropriate SEND support in state schools.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

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.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the scope will be of her Department's strategic review of probation governance.

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

The Probation Service has a crucial role in protecting the public and providing a path of reintegration into the community to break the cycle of reoffending. The Service delivers these goals by working closely with local partners – such as police forces, local authorities, and third sector organisations, amongst others. The Government is committed to learning from successful examples of local partnerships and support the whole service to improve join-up and deliver better outcomes.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average cost was of (a) a prison place, (b) the supervision of a person on licence following release from prison and (c) the delivery of a community order by the Probation Service in the latest 12 month period for which data is available.

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

Information on the average annual cost per prisoner, cost per prison place and overall prison unit cost for each private and public sector prison in England and Wales is published by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) after the end of each financial year on the gov.uk website.

The overall average cost for running a prison place for a year (per prison place) in 2022-23 was £51,724. This information can also be found through the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-performance-data-2022-to-2023.

The Ministry of Justice expects the 2023-24 Prison Unit Cost data to be published in December 2024, once the 2023-24 HMPPS Annual Report & Accounts have been published.

The average cost to the Probation Service in 2023-24 of an additional person on the probation licence caseload (including probation pre-release costs) was estimated at c.£4,500 compared with c.£3,150 for an additional person on the probation court order caseload (community orders and suspended sentence orders). This can be found through the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65537c7d50475b000dc5b590/Sentencing_Bill_-_IA_-_HDC.pdf.

Note that the costs presented exclude some costs to the Ministry of Justice, such as the costs of building prisons, costs not directly tied to changes in probation caseload and MoJ HQ costs.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential financial impact on state schools of the introduction of VAT on private school fees.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

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.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many recalls to prison there were of people on licence in England and Wales in each of the last ten years for which figures are available; and what plans she has to reduce the number of recalls to prison.

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

The number of recalls to custody recorded in the ten years from 2013 to 2023 is provided in the table below.

1. The table above shows the number of recalls not the number of offenders – an offender may be recalled more than once.

2. The figures in these tables have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. As such, figures are subject to change as information is updated.

Data source: Public Protection Unit Database (PPUD)

The Government’s absolute focus is on public protection. Offenders on licence can be swiftly recalled to prison if they breach their licence conditions in such a way as to indicate that their risk has increased and they are about to commit further offences. The recall of an offender to custody is an important public protection measure but our priority is to reduce reoffending and the risks presented by offenders, so that they do not need to be recalled in order to protect the public.

Additionally, HMPPS has issued guidance to the probation practitioners, to ensure all safe alternatives to recall are considered before a decision is taken to recall an offender. HMPPS has also re-invigorated the Secretary of State’s power to release recalled offenders following a risk assessed recall review without reference to the Parole Board.

With public protection as our top priority, we continue to work across government to ensure that we take the necessary steps to reduce the recall population and keep the system functioning safely.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average caseload of probation officers in England and Wales was in each of the last ten years for which figures are available.

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

The average caseload of Probation Officers has been calculated using data from the Workload Measurement Tool (WMT) and has been presented for the period July 2021 to June 2024. Data has been restricted to this period because the Probation Service unified in June 2021, with some Probation Officers and their caseload held by Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) prior to this point. The Probation Service does not have access to data for caseload held by CRCs and so it would not be consistent to present a time series prior to June 2021.

Table One: Probation Officer average annual caseload across England and Wales

Notes

• The data within the WMT are manually entered by Senior Probation Officers (SPOs) for those in their line management chain. These data are subject to inaccuracy as a result of the manual nature with which data are entered.

• Annual average caseload per Probation Officer has been calculated by taking the average caseload on the last day of each month in that period (an average across the 12 months).

• We are aware of data quality concerns regarding some of the data with some instances of cases being allocated to those who are not delivering caseload. There may be cases where staff who have left the Probation Service still appear to hold caseload on the WMT. Some staff on long-term absences (e.g. career breaks / long-term sickness) may still have a caseload allocated to them. There are also instances where those with no contracted hours are allocated cases without having an allocated capacity. Average caseload does not take into account the level of risk or complexity of cases, and this will have a large effect on the workload of Probation Officers.

• Data have not been presented for the period prior to June 2021, the point at which unification of the Probation Service took place. Prior to June 2021, some Probation Officers and caseload were held by CRCs, data for which is not included in the WMT. It would not be consistent to present a time series of caseload per Probation Officer before and after unification.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the feasibility of expanding eligibility for the winter fuel payment to include low-income households not in receipt of Pension Credit.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

This Government is committed to pensioners – everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement.

Given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the Government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control

Support is retained for those on the lowest incomes. Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households with someone receiving Pension Credit or certain other income-related benefits. They will continue to be worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged over 80.

We have linked Winter Fuel Payments eligibility to Pension Credit and other qualifying benefits – but not Housing Benefit – because we can pay the majority of eligible recipients automatically based on information held in the Department.

Housing Benefit is not included as a qualifying benefit since the amount that someone receives is based not only on personal circumstances but also on the amount of their rent.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of the decision to change eligibility requirements for the winter fuel payment on the public purse.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

In 2022/23, 11.4 million people in 8.4 million households in Great Britain received a Winter Fuel Payment, at a total cost of £2 billion.

The Government estimates that linking entitlement to receipt of Pension Credit and other relevant DWP income-related benefits will reduce expenditure by around £1.4 billion in 2024/25 and £1.5bn in 2025/26.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support biomedical research into (a) long covid and (b) myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

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.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many licences have been issued for trail hunting on his Department's land in 2024-2025; and whether he plans to revoke any of these licences.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

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

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of people in South Devon constituency who will be affected by the decision to change eligibility requirements for the winter fuel payment.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

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)

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