Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) assumptions and (b) formulae she uses to model prison place need.

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

On 11 December 2024, we published the first annual statement on prison capacity, fulfilling our commitment to increased transparency, holding this government and future governments to account.

The demand projections used in the annual statement are based on population projection Accredited Official Statistics which are published at: Prison Population Projections: 2024 to 2029 - GOV.UK. Further detail on the modelling methodology is contained within the publication, including an overview of the assumptions used.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time was that remand prisoners spent on remand in each of the last 20 years.

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

Information relating to the time spent on custodial remand is not centrally held by the Ministry of Justice. To obtain the data to answer this question would involve a manual interrogation of court records which would incur a disproportionate cost to the Department.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time was that prisoners released from recall spent on recall in each year for which data are available.

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

The requested information for indeterminate prisoners re-released following recall can be found in Table 5_Q_11 of the Department’s Offender Management Statistics Quarterly publication: licence-recalls-Oct-to-Dec-2024.ods.

The corresponding information for determinate sentenced prisoners is only obtainable at disproportionate cost as it requires data matching between different data systems (namely prison recall information from the Public Protection Unit Database, and prisoner release information from prison-NOMIS).

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average number of people in prison on custodial sentences was in each of the last 20 years.

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

Information on the number of people in prison on custodial sentences is published as part of the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly.

Data from 2002-2015 can be found in Table 1.Leg.1 at the following link: Prison-population-2002-to-2015.ods.

Data from 2015-2024 can be found in Table 1.A.1 at the following link: Prison-population-2015-to-2024.ods.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate she has made of lead times for Parole Board hearings in each year from the earliest year for which data are available to the latest year for which data are available.

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

The Parole Board has worked hard to reduce its growing caseload and manage the time it takes from referral to completion of prisoner reviews at both paper and oral hearings.

Timeliness of Parole Board hearings is not routinely published, however, in its annual report for 2023/24, the Board states that it had seen a reduction of 78% in cases waiting over 90 days to be listed for an oral hearing compared to the previous year: Parole Board for England and Wales Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24.

We continue to work closely with the Parole Board to further improve the efficiency and timeliness of prisoners’ parole reviews.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of the addition of modular precast concrete blocks in Category C prisons.

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

In December, we published the 10-year capacity strategy outlining our commitment to build 14,000 prison places. We have already delivered c.2,500 places in the prison estate since coming into office, including a new c.1,500 place Category C prison HMP Millsike.

To deliver the 14,000 places, we are using a range of supply types which are compliant with standards and requirements for prison accommodation to be safe, decent and lawful. This includes houseblocks and modular units such as Rapid Deployment Cells. We use Modern Methods of Construction and Design for Manufacture and Assembly to provide efficiency in terms of both timelines and costs; for example, through the use of pre-manufactured components, such as pre-cast concrete, which streamlines on site-assembly.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2025 to Question 21573 on Mental Health: Children and Young People, whether he plans to publish further updates to those statistics.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Although no decisions have yet been made to commission further waves, the Department recognises the importance of the Mental Health of Children and Young People in England Report. We will publish plans in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7July to Question 63294 on Personal Independence Payment and Universal Credit, whether projections of the number of claims for (a) PIP and (b) health components of Universal Credit are based on an extrapolation of recent trends.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP produces forecasts of benefit payments based on DWP assumptions agreed by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), alongside economic determinants, judgments and assumptions provided by the OBR.

The number of PIP claimants is forecast by considering new claims for the benefit, the rate of successful awards, and the likelihood that claimants leave the benefit, split by age (working age or pension age) and claim type (new claim or reassessment from Disability Living Allowance).

The new claims assumption is informed by recent trends with adjustments made for seasonality and changes in external drivers such as trends in numbers of people with health conditions, the cost of living, and responses to public awareness. Similarly, award rates and exit rates are also based on recent trends.

The Universal Credit caseload forecast combines evidence from the recent past with assumptions and OBR judgements on future trends. The driving factors within the UC Health forecast include observed benefit onflows and changes in circumstances that affect UC eligibility for benefits units, covering not only health but also family make-up, housing status, and earnings, derived from DWP admin data. The key assumptions affecting the UC Health Forecast include the plan to move all legacy claimants to UC by the end of March 2026 and an OBR judgement that onflows will fall from their recent high as real household disposable incomes recover, as described in the November 2023 EFO (see 4.57 CP 944 – Office for Budget Responsibility – Economic and fiscal outlook – November 2023). The drivers and assumptions of the UC Health forecasts were discussed in the OBR’s Welfare Trends Report of October 2024. Additionally, the UC forecast reflects further OBR forecasts and judgements on economic and demographic change (see answer to PQ 63294).

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2025 to Question 63294 on Personal Independence Payment and Universal Credit, what (a) driving factors and (b) assumptions she uses to model projections for the number of claims for (i) PIP and (ii) health components of Universal Credit.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP produces forecasts of benefit payments based on DWP assumptions agreed by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), alongside economic determinants, judgments and assumptions provided by the OBR.

The number of PIP claimants is forecast by considering new claims for the benefit, the rate of successful awards, and the likelihood that claimants leave the benefit, split by age (working age or pension age) and claim type (new claim or reassessment from Disability Living Allowance).

The new claims assumption is informed by recent trends with adjustments made for seasonality and changes in external drivers such as trends in numbers of people with health conditions, the cost of living, and responses to public awareness. Similarly, award rates and exit rates are also based on recent trends.

The Universal Credit caseload forecast combines evidence from the recent past with assumptions and OBR judgements on future trends. The driving factors within the UC Health forecast include observed benefit onflows and changes in circumstances that affect UC eligibility for benefits units, covering not only health but also family make-up, housing status, and earnings, derived from DWP admin data. The key assumptions affecting the UC Health Forecast include the plan to move all legacy claimants to UC by the end of March 2026 and an OBR judgement that onflows will fall from their recent high as real household disposable incomes recover, as described in the November 2023 EFO (see 4.57 CP 944 – Office for Budget Responsibility – Economic and fiscal outlook – November 2023). The drivers and assumptions of the UC Health forecasts were discussed in the OBR’s Welfare Trends Report of October 2024. Additionally, the UC forecast reflects further OBR forecasts and judgements on economic and demographic change (see answer to PQ 63294).

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will list the key subjects into which her Department is recruiting 6,500 new expert teachers.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

There are 2,346 more full-time equivalent teachers in secondary and special schools in 2024/25 compared to 2023/24 and there are 12% more trainees who have accepted offers to train as secondary teachers, and in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), acceptances are up 25% compared to last year.

The department is driving teacher recruitment and retention across all subjects to deliver our pledge. We recognise that workforce shortages are more acute in some subjects which is why we have invested £233 million in recruitment incentives, including bursaries worth £29,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £31,000 tax-free for trainees in mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.

In addition, for 2025/26 the department is offering targeted retention incentives worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools or teach technical subjects in further education colleges.

.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on recruiting 6,500 new expert teachers in key subjects.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

There are 2,346 more full-time equivalent teachers in secondary and special schools in 2024/25 compared to 2023/24 and there are 12% more trainees who have accepted offers to train as secondary teachers, and in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), acceptances are up 25% compared to last year.

The department is driving teacher recruitment and retention across all subjects to deliver our pledge. We recognise that workforce shortages are more acute in some subjects which is why we have invested £233 million in recruitment incentives, including bursaries worth £29,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £31,000 tax-free for trainees in mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.

In addition, for 2025/26 the department is offering targeted retention incentives worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools or teach technical subjects in further education colleges.

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Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of prisoners eligible for release from prison on home detention curfew were released on home detention curfew (a) in the first month of eligibility and (b) at any time in each of the last three years.

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

The number of those released on home detention curfew (HDC) within 30 days of their HDC Eligibility Date in the latest published data period (between 01 October and 31 December 2024) in England and Wales was 2,827.

The number of those released on HDC each year is published in the Department’s Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ) publication. This information can be found in Table 3_A_14:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/685492a1f812712f84581555/prison-releases-2024.ods

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the press release entitled UK and Albania agree groundbreaking new arrangement on prisoner transfers, published on 24 May 2023, how many prisoners have been transferred under the agreement with Albania in the last 12 months.

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

Between 17 July and 31 December 2024 (the latest period for which validated figures are available), four Albanian national offenders were transferred to Albania under the bi-lateral Prison Transfer Agreement. Prisoner transfer is just one scheme where foreign national offenders can be removed early from prison and it is more suited to those serving longer sentences. The Government pursues removal through all available mechanisms and during 2024, 1,610 Albanian foreign national offenders were removed from England and Wales, up 7% from the previous year.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2025 to Question 65243 on Prisoners' Release, what data her Department holds on trends over time in the average length of time spent on recall for (a) determinate sentenced prisoners and (b) all prisoners.

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

The requested information for the average length of time spent on recall for indeterminate prisoners can be found in Table 5_Q_11 of the Department’s Offender Management Statistics Quarterly publication: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/680923bf148a9969d2394f58/licence-recalls-Oct-to-Dec-2024.ods.

The corresponding information for determinate sentenced prisoners is only obtainable at disproportionate cost as it requires data matching between different data systems (namely prison recall information from the Public Protection Unit Database, and prisoner release information from prison-NOMIS).

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2025 to Question 65241 on Prisoners on Remand, what data her Department holds on trends in the average length of time spent on remand in that period.

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

Information relating to the time spent on custodial remand is not centrally held by the Ministry of Justice. To obtain the data to answer this question would involve a manual interrogation of court records which would result in a disproportionate cost to the Department.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with (a) OfQual (b) examination boards on the potential impact of moving most GCSEs for most pupils to a digital format.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18. The Review is evaluating the existing national curriculum and assessment system in England, to ensure they are fit for purpose. The Review panel published an interim report in March 2025 which highlighted that further work is ongoing to consider the issue of onscreen assessment. The interim report is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6821d69eced319d02c9060e3/Curriculum_and_Assessment_Review_interim_report.pdf.

The department and Ofqual are considering the potential risks and benefits of onscreen assessment, including the implications for schools and colleges, students and other stakeholders.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of potential advantages and disadvantages of moving most GCSEs for most pupils to a digital format.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18. The Review is evaluating the existing national curriculum and assessment system in England, to ensure they are fit for purpose. The Review panel published an interim report in March 2025 which highlighted that further work is ongoing to consider the issue of onscreen assessment. The interim report is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6821d69eced319d02c9060e3/Curriculum_and_Assessment_Review_interim_report.pdf.

The department and Ofqual are considering the potential risks and benefits of onscreen assessment, including the implications for schools and colleges, students and other stakeholders.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to mandate the installation of automated external defibrillators in retirement (a) villages and (b) homes.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to improving access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces and reducing inequalities in access to these life saving devices. Following the depletion of the existing AED fund, launched in September 2023, the Government approved a further £500,000 in August 2024 to fulfil existing applications to the Fund.

The Department selected a joint bid from Smarter Society as its independent partner to manage grant applications. Smarter Society reviewed funding applications, against requirements specified by the Department. These requirements were to ensure that the resource was allocated where there was the greatest need, e.g. remote communities with extended ambulance response times, places with high footfall and high population densities, hotspots for cardiac arrest including sporting venues and venues with vulnerable people, and deprived areas.

At present, there are no plans to introduce legislation requiring the installation of AEDs in retirement villages and homes. Additionally, the Department has not conducted a formal assessment of the number of AEDs currently in place within these facilities. As noted above, this is because AEDs are allocated based on greatest need, and collecting this data would not likely be decision relevant.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of retirement (a) villages and (b) homes without automated external defibrillators.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to improving access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces and reducing inequalities in access to these life saving devices. Following the depletion of the existing AED fund, launched in September 2023, the Government approved a further £500,000 in August 2024 to fulfil existing applications to the Fund.

The Department selected a joint bid from Smarter Society as its independent partner to manage grant applications. Smarter Society reviewed funding applications, against requirements specified by the Department. These requirements were to ensure that the resource was allocated where there was the greatest need, e.g. remote communities with extended ambulance response times, places with high footfall and high population densities, hotspots for cardiac arrest including sporting venues and venues with vulnerable people, and deprived areas.

At present, there are no plans to introduce legislation requiring the installation of AEDs in retirement villages and homes. Additionally, the Department has not conducted a formal assessment of the number of AEDs currently in place within these facilities. As noted above, this is because AEDs are allocated based on greatest need, and collecting this data would not likely be decision relevant.

Found: Q231 Damian Hinds: I have a question for the schools Minister.

Found: made I: Lizzi Collinge and Rachel Gilmour II: Luke Murphy III: Sir John Hayes, Rachel Gilmour, Damian Hinds

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Caroline Dinenage (Chair); Mr Bayo Alaba; Zöe Franklin; Damian Hinds

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Caroline Dinenage (Chair); Mr Bayo Alaba; Zöe Franklin; Damian Hinds

Found: Members present: Dame Caroline Dinenage (Chair); Mr Bayo Alaba; Zöe Franklin; Mr James Frith; Damian Hinds

Found: Culture, Media and Sport Committee member present: Damian Hinds.

Found: Members present: Dame Caroline Dinenage (Chair); Mr Bayo Alaba; Zöe Franklin; Mr James Frith; Damian Hinds

Found: year: • Rt Hon Gillian Keegan MP to 4 July 2024, Secr etary of State for Education • Rt Hon Damian Hinds

Found: the year: • Rt Hon Gillian Keegan MP to 4 July 2024, Secretary of State for Education • Rt Hon Damian Hinds

Found: Letter dated 02/07/2025 from Sir Ian Bauckham, Chief Regulator, Ofqual, to Damian Hinds MP regarding

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