Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many probation officers have been recruited since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Between 5 July 2024 and 30 September 2025, 55 qualified Band 4 probation officers joined HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). This figure reflects only those who already held the required qualification at the point of appointment.

The majority of Band 4 probation officers join HMPPS as trainees and qualify within the Department, rather than being recruited directly into Band 4 roles.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers have been recruited since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

There have been 2,623 Band 3–5 prison officers who joined HMPPS between 5 July 2024 and 30 September 2025.

This data only covers Public Sector Prison establishments in England and does not include Private Sector Prison establishments.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners who are biologically (a) male and (b) female are housed in prisons designated for the opposite sex.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

As of 1 February 2026, there were seven prisoners on E Wing, the separate unit for transgender women at HMP Downview.

The information requested cannot be provided for the general female or male prison estates without breaching our legal obligations under data protection legislation. Where a request is made for statistical information and the total figure amounts to five or fewer, we must consider whether this would be likely to lead to the identification of individuals, and whether disclosure of this information would be in breach of our statutory obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Transgender women with birth genitalia and/or any history of violent or sexual offending cannot be placed in the general women’s estate except in exceptional circumstances, where an exemption has been granted by Ministers. No transgender women have received such an exemption under this Government.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of new prisons places that will result from the building of prisons that received planning approval since 5 July 2024; what his proposed timetable is for these prison places to become available.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

As set out in the December 2024 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy, we are committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places and aim to do so by 2031. Around 4,300 of these places have received planning permission since 5 July 2024. This includes full planning permission for a c.1,500 place prison near the existing HMPs Grendon and Springhill and outline planning permission for a c.1,700 place prison near the existing HMPs Garth and Wymott. We will seek to deliver these new places as quickly as possible and continue to identify opportunities to accelerate delivery of places wherever possible.

There are currently c.5,000 places under construction across the prison estate, including c.1,700 at our next new prison, HMP Welland Oaks, in Leicestershire.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to build new female prisons during this Parliament.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We are committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places and aim to do so by 2031; we have already delivered more than 2,900 of these places since taking office.

The 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy set out our ambition to establish a pipeline of future supply beyond these 14,000 places. Decisions regarding the female estate are kept under continuous review and are balanced against government ambition, demand for places, and the need to protect both prisoner and public safety.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to Bus Service Improvement Plan funding on school travel costs.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

We are providing nearly £700 million per year to help local transport authorities deliver their Bus Service Improvement Plans, including more than £29 million allocated to East Sussex County Council over the next three years. This funding can be used to help reduce the cost of bus travel to education.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Science and Technology about the potential for a respiratory Modern Service Framework to strengthen the UK’s life sciences ecosystem by scaling up the adoption of new medicines and innovations for lung conditions.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme. There has not, therefore, been a specific assessment made in relation to winter pressures.

NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care are working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to explore innovation and policy prioritisation in respiratory health, including the cross‑Government alignment that may be required.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of a respiratory Modern Service Framework in reducing winter pressures on the NHS by simultaneously improving outcomes for long-term respiratory conditions and short-term respiratory illnesses such as flu.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme. There has not, therefore, been a specific assessment made in relation to winter pressures.

NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care are working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to explore innovation and policy prioritisation in respiratory health, including the cross‑Government alignment that may be required.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department’s timeline is for deciding on the second wave of Modern Service Frameworks, and whether respiratory conditions will be considered.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme. There has not, therefore, been a specific assessment made in relation to winter pressures.

NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care are working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to explore innovation and policy prioritisation in respiratory health, including the cross‑Government alignment that may be required.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the prevalence of respiratory disease and (b) the number of emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in Bexhill and Battle compared with national averages; and what steps he is taking to ensure respiratory health is prioritised nationally, including through the introduction of a Modern Service Framework for respiratory care.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme.

Data is available for emergency Finished Admission Episodes (FAEs) where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’. The following table shows the number of FAEs where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’ for Bexhill and Battle and for England, for activity in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector, for 2024/25 and provisionally 2025/26:

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England.

Available data on trends in respiratory conditions can be found on the Department’s fingertips dataset. Data is not available by parliamentary constituency. Data is available at regional, county, unitary authority, and integrated care board level. Information for East Sussex can be found at the following link:

https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/search/Respiratory#page/1/gid/1/pat/15/ati/502/are/E10000011/iid/40701/age/163/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1

The Government has committed to delivering three big shifts that our NHS needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to improving respiratory health in all parts of the country.

Through our community diagnostic centres we are building capacity for respiratory testing and enabling people to get diagnosed closer to home. 101 community diagnostic centres across the country now offer out of hours services, 12 hours a day, seven days a week, meaning patients can access vital diagnostic tests around busy working lives. This is alongside action being taken to expand capacity and improve the quality of pulmonary rehabilitation services to support patients living with respiratory conditions.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the average cost of accommodating an asylum seeker at (a) Crowborough Training Camp and (b) other hotels.

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

Military sites are being considered for asylum accommodation, with the aim of reducing the impact on communities and delivering better outcomes for taxpayers.

We are confident that the level of due diligence carried out on sites has improved, and that value for money assessments take place at the appropriate stage.

Costs will be included in the Departments Annual Report and Accounts in the normal way.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers have left the site and not returned whilst accommodated at the Crowborough Training Camp.

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

Asylum seekers at the site are not detained, however the site is self-contained as essential services are provided on site to reduce the impact on local services through reducing the need for asylum seekers to leave the site.

The Home Office does not give a live commentary on the number of asylum seekers accommodated at accommodation sites.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the next intake of asylum seekers are expected to arrive at the Crowborough Training Camp.

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

The Home Office does not give a live commentary on the number of asylum seekers accommodated at accommodation sites.

Site occupancy will be increased via a phased and incremental approach to full occupancy.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether asylum seekers accommodated at Crowborough Training Camp are free to leave the site; and whether restrictions are placed on their movement into Crowborough and surrounding areas.

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

In accordance with current legislation, people with a valid pending claim for asylum are permitted to remain in the UK while their claim is being processed, and as they have permission to remain in the UK during that time, they cannot be routinely detained. Detention is primarily used to facilitate removal of those who have no lawful right to remain in the UK, and who refuse to leave voluntarily.

Asylum seekers at the site are not detained, however the site is self-contained as essential services are provided on site to reduce the impact on local services through reducing the need for asylum seekers to leave the site.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers are accommodated at Crowborough Training Camp.

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

The Home Office does not give a live commentary on the number of asylum seekers accommodated at accommodation sites.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data protection safeguards are in place in relation to court lists containing home addresses and dates of birth of individuals, being provided to individuals and organisations by HM Courts & Tribunals Service, either centrally or via individual courts.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Home addresses and dates of birth of individuals are not included in Crown Court, County Court, Family Court, High Court, lists of hearings, nor in lists of hearings in the Tribunals.

Standard Lists produced by the Magistrates Court do contain the home addresses and dates of birth of individuals due to appear in court and these lists are only available to approved accredited members of the media, criminal justice partners and other government departments with legitimate reasons for requiring such information.

Standard lists do contain Special Category Data as defined by Data Protection Act 2018. This information is intended to assist the accurate reporting of court proceedings and should be handled appropriately by legal professionals and members of the media.

HMCTS will immediately cease the sharing of this data, if there is concern about how it will be used. Such data is held subject to licencing and can only be shared in agreement with licencing agreements; abiding by those licencing agreements is part of data protection.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, to provide a list of organisations and individuals that are provided court lists containing home addresses and dates of birth of individuals, by HM Courts & Tribunals Service, either centrally or via individual courts.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Home addresses and dates of birth of individuals are not included in Crown Court, County Court, Family Court, High Court, lists of hearings, nor in lists of hearings in the Tribunals.

Standard lists of hearings produced by the Magistrates Court do contain the home addresses and dates of birth of individuals due to appear in court. These lists are only available to approved accredited members of the media, criminal justice partners and other government departments with legitimate reasons for requiring such information.

The names of individuals and organisations provided with court lists, containing home addresses and dates of birth of individuals is not collated or stored centrally.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to maintain the CourtsDesk database of court records.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Courtsdesk does not have a database of, or access to, court records. Criminal court case records are held in a variety of places including at individual courts, at The National Archives and by the Ministry of Justice. Neither the Ministry of Justice nor HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) are deleting any court records. They have always been, and will remain, available through formal requests to the relevant court.

Courtsdesk has developed a historic database using courts listing data. There has been no deletion on this database.

The Ministry of Justice is doing three things: first, we have launched a market engagement exercise for new providers to reuse our data under a new licensing regime (which would be open to Courtsdesk to apply for); second, in the interim, we have contacted Courtsdesk, and I have met with its CEO, with a view to potentially reestablishing their service provided they can demonstrate they will comply with our data protection requirements; third, by the end of March we will be expanding the Court and Tribunal Hearings (CaTH) service, an online portal which allows journalists and the public to access and search court-related information. By the end of March, CaTH will include Magistrates’ and Crown Court lists alongside the Civil, Family and Tribunal hearing lists already published.

Court records have always been, and will remain, available through formal request to the relevant court.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, to publish how many times court lists containing home addresses and dates of birth of individuals have been provided to organisations and individuals, by HM Courts & Tribunals Service, either centrally or via individual courts broken down by day for every day of the last 12 months.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Home addresses and dates of birth of individuals are not included in Crown Court, County Court, Family Court, High Court, lists of hearings, nor in lists of hearings in the Tribunals.

Standard lists produced by the Magistrates’ Courts do contain the home addresses and dates of birth of individuals. Standard lists are only available to approved accredited members of the media, criminal justice partners and other government departments with legitimate reasons for requiring such information.

The management systems in Magistrates’ Courts do not collate the number of times courts lists containing home addresses and dates of birth of individuals are provided to organisations. This data is not held centrally.