Asked by: Claire Hazelgrove (Labour - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help reduce violent reoffending among young people who are on bail.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Government recognises the importance of reducing offending, including violent reoffending, among children who are on bail through close supervision and high levels of support by skilled staff. We are investing £5 million over the next three years in strengthening the bail packages available for children, so that courts have access to more robust community-based options that both support children to make positive changes and help manage the risk of offending. We are also reforming the annual youth remand funding arrangements to further support greater local authority investment in high-quality community alternatives to custodial remand, including suitable community placements (specialist fostering and accommodation), family support and enhanced Bail Intensive Supervision and Support services. This builds on the Greater Manchester Youth Remand Funding pilot, which has demonstrated promising early findings in improving their bail and community remand offer regionally, to keep children and communities safe. We are now offering multi-year funding to local authorities to scale up this regional model, encouraging areas to collaborate in developing a broader range of bail support options to meet the needs of children and protect the public.
Asked by: Claire Hazelgrove (Labour - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that those acting under a valid and registered Lasting Power of Attorney are not subjected to (a) disproportionate and (b) burdensome additional evidential requirements by (i) banks and (ii) other third party organisations.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones
Banks and other financial institutions are required to follow the requirements under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, the Immigration Act 2017 and the Sanctions and Money Laundering Act 2018. The Ministry of Justice has worked with UK Finance and other stakeholders to review the extent of customer identification evidence required by banks and other third-party organisations to meet these requirements in relation to attorneys acting under a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) and deputies acting under a court order.
Following a public consultation by HM. Treasury in Spring 2025, amendments were made to guidance issued by the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMLSG). The amended guidance clarified the evidence that financial firms should request to confirm the identity of an attorney or court appointed deputy and the legal authority granted to them to access one or more accounts.
In December 2025, UK Finance issued a practice note for financial institutions which summarises the customer due diligence requirements that financial firms should take when registering an attorney appointed under an LPA or a court appointed deputy.
The changes to the JMLSG guidance and the UK Finance Practice Note should standardise the evidential requirements and make the identification process less burdensome for attorneys and court appointed deputies.
The Department and UK Finance will continue to monitor the situation.