Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of continuing thank you payments following the end of the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of visa uncertainty on employment opportunities for Ukrainians in the UK.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
We keep the Ukraine schemes under continuous review in line with the ongoing conflict and the Ukrainian government’s desire for the future return of its citizens to Ukraine. This is why the Ukraine Schemes are temporary and do not lead to settlement in the UK. It is important our approach respects these wishes.
The Ukraine Permission Extension scheme provides the same rights and entitlements to access work, benefits, healthcare and education as the current Ukraine schemes.
The Home Office continues to engage with our stakeholders and partners to ensure employers are fully informed and can continue to support Ukrainians. We have also updated the online guidance for employers with details of the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme, which is available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has for future visas for Ukrainian refugees once the 18-month Ukraine Permission Extension scheme expires.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
We keep the Ukraine schemes under continuous review in line with the ongoing conflict and the Ukrainian government’s desire for the future return of its citizens to Ukraine. This is why the Ukraine Schemes are temporary and do not lead to settlement in the UK. It is important our approach respects these wishes.
The Ukraine Permission Extension scheme provides the same rights and entitlements to access work, benefits, healthcare and education as the current Ukraine schemes.
The Home Office continues to engage with our stakeholders and partners to ensure employers are fully informed and can continue to support Ukrainians. We have also updated the online guidance for employers with details of the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme, which is available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many probation service staff providing pre-sentencing report delivery were in employment for courts in (a) England and (b) Wales in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The number of Probation Officers and Probation Services Officers (FTE) working in the Courts internal function as of December of each year since 2017:
| England | Wales | Total |
2017 | 988.0 | 48.8 | 1,036.8 |
2018 | 970.4 | 56.4 | 1026.9 |
2019 | 885.7 | 54.3 | 940.0 |
2020 | 863.6 | 53.7 | 917.3 |
2021 | 894.7 | 52.4 | 947.1 |
2022 | 894.4 | 56.5 | 950.9 |
2023 | 956.1 | 64.0 | 1,020.1 |
2024 | 1,060.7 | 79.7 | 1,140.4 |
The above table details, from internal management information, the FTE Probation Officers and Probation Services Officers who were recorded as working in the Courts internal function in December of each year.
Data prior to 2017 is not easily obtainable or reliable as it would come from a different data source. It would not be reliable to provide a trend between the two data sources.
Staff in this internal function would have spent some (but not necessarily all) of their time delivering Pre-Sentence Reports. Staff are also required to carry out other forms of work in court e.g. triaging court lists and producing other types of reports.
There are some other staff who may carry out Pre-Sentence Reports in addition to those in the table (sessional staff and some staff from the Offender Management internal function). These staff would carry out Pre-Sentence Reports on an ad-hoc basis and their contribution would not be quantifiable.
Any change year-on-year does not necessarily mean a change in funding for these staff and could reflect of how many staff were in post and available to carry out this work.
Administrative or managerial staff are not included in these figures, although these staff play an important role in supporting PO and PSO colleagues with the delivery of Pre-Sentence Reports.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing an independent regulator for holiday parks.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Holiday parks are already subject to licensing and oversight by local authorities and we have no plans to establish a dedicated independent regulator although we continue to monitor the effectiveness of the existing regulatory framework.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) standard delivery, (b) fast delivery, and (c) oral pre-sentence reports were produced in (i) Wales and (ii) England in 2024.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Probation Service is responsible for producing pre-sentence reports (PSRs) where they have been requested by the Court. The PSR assesses the offender’s behaviour, the risk they pose, and recommend sentencing options tailored to the individual. The report can suggest community sentences and specific requirements like treatment programmes. Ultimately, the PSR provides recommendations to the Court, but the final decision rests with the judge.
The following table shows the number of PSRs prepared by the Probation Service and presented to the criminal courts in England and Wales between January 2024 and December 2024.
Magistrates' and Crown Courts | England | Wales | Total |
Total pre-sentence court reports (PSR) | 91,857 | 7,149 | 99,006 |
Standard PSR | 4,838 | 748 | 5,586 |
Fast Delivery PSR written | 71,157 | 4,376 | 75,533 |
Fast Delivery PSR oral | 15,862 | 2,025 | 17,887 |
Note, PSR figures by region are published every April as part of the Offender Management Statistics quarterly bulletin. Please also note that the data pipeline used to compile the figures has been updated. This change was introduced for the 2024 figures. More details can be found in the 'Probation data process transition' section of Chapter 6 of the publication, available here: Offender management statistics quarterly: October to December 2024 - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of (a) the contribution of the UN Charter to the UK and (b) its future role in the UK; and what steps he is taking with international partners to help prevent the imposition of political settlements that potentially affect sovereignty without consulting the people affected.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains deeply committed to the United Nations and its founding principles, purposes and core values, as outlined in the UN Charter. The UN continues to play a critical role in preventing and ending conflicts, delivering lifesaving humanitarian assistance, protecting people from pandemics and disease, and supporting countries build stronger economies. Against the backdrop of an increasingly difficult global economic and geopolitical situation, multilateral cooperation is more important now than ever.
The principles of the sovereign equality of States, and the need for parties to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State are clearly enshrined within the UN Charter. The UK works with international partners to call out any violations of these principles, including in the case of Ukraine, where we support a just and lasting peace in line with the UN Charter.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of extending the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme beyond March 2026.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department has no plans to reconsider the £25,000 cap in 2025/26. Based on previous scheme data, we expect 94% of claims to be unaffected by the change.
Future Government spending is a matter for the 2026 Spending Review.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the names of deceased fathers can be included on birth certificates in instances where the parents were unmarried prior to his death.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Under Section 55A of the Family Law Act 1986, in situations where a child is born to unmarried parents, and the father dies prior to the birth, a Declaration of Parentage must be issued by the court in order for the paternity to be established. Once a declaration is issued, the birth can be re-registered to include the father’s details.
We want to make the process as simple as is possible in these circumstances, whilst still ensuring the court has means to establish parentage if one parent is deceased and not able to convey their views. This is vitally important as, in some cases, this decision will have significant financial implications for others, such as children from previous relationships.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the correspondence from the First Minister of Wales to her on the impact of welfare reforms in Wales, dated 11 March 2025, if she will publish her Department's reply to that letter.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Secretary of State responded to the First Minister of Wales on March 28. Her published response can be found here: Secretary of State letter to the First Minister of Wales - GOV.UK