Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January to Question 103029, on Crown Prosecution Service: Vacancies, how the vacancy rate for Crown Prosecutors as of the end of December 2025 compares the preceding five years, broken down by region.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The overall vacancy rate for ‘Crown Prosecutors’ across the 14 regional, geographic areas that make up the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is 4.5% (at the end of December 2025). The table below includes the regional breakdown for CPS vacancy rates applicable to these legal roles for December 2025 against the three preceding years only*.
Area | Dec-22 | Dec-23 | Dec-24 | Dec-25 |
Cymru Wales | 10.3% | 6.0% | 2.4% | 7.0% |
East of England | 10.7% | 6.0% | 6.1% | 3.9% |
East Midlands | 14.9% | 8.8% | 4.0% | 8.6% |
London North | 1.5% | 0.4% | 0.9% | 9.0% |
London South | 6.1% | 4.7% | 0.4% | -3.9% |
Mersey Cheshire | 5.4% | 9.5% | -0.9% | 2.6% |
North East | 12.1% | 5.2% | 6.1% | 15.4% |
North West | 10.2% | 1.7% | 5.7% | -3.4% |
South East | 4.5% | 1.8% | -1.2% | 3.8% |
South West | 7.7% | 14.1% | 0.7% | -0.1% |
Thames and Chiltern | 7.5% | 8.8% | 7.4% | 11.5% |
Wessex | 10.0% | 5.5% | 4.8% | 1.3% |
West Midlands | 17.2% | 7.3% | 1.4% | 6.9% |
Yorkshire and Humberside | 12.8% | 5.0% | 4.7% | 4.0% |
14 Geographic Areas | 9.5% | 5.6% | 3.0% | 4.5% |
*The CPS does not hold information on vacancy rates dating back five years and has therefore provided the three years preceding December 2025 only.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what advice his Department has received from the UK Health Security Agency on the health impacts and emerging evidence concerning electromagnetic fields associated with public exclusion zone requirements for telecommunications masts.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Advice provided by the UK Health Security Agency to the Government, which includes the Department, on the health impacts of electromagnetic fields associated with telecommunications masts is publicly available on the GOV.UK website, at the following link:
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases were adjourned due to lack of judicial availability in the last 12 months.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on trials that are ineffective due to a judge or magistrate not being available.
An ineffective trial does not go ahead on the scheduled trial date, and a further listing is required.
This information can be found on a quarterly basis using the ‘Trial effectiveness at the criminal courts tool’ and filtering the reason to ‘23. Ineffective reason: Judge/magistrate availability’ at the link below: Criminal court statistics quarterly: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the outstanding caseload is in the Crown Court, broken down by offence category and region.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the Crown Court open caseload on a quarterly basis in the Criminal Court Statistics publication. The latest available data covers the period up to September 2025 and this can be broken down by offence category and region using the Crown Court receipts, disposals and open cases tool.
Criminal court statistics quarterly: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons on the interaction between specialist veterinary training pathways and the Skilled Worker visa salary requirements.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office regularly engages across Whitehall departments on the immigration system, including Department for Food and Rural Affairs and the Food Standards Agency, on areas such as salary and broader route requirements.
Those working towards professional registration and qualification can qualify for a reduced salary requirement under the new entrant provision in the Skilled Worker immigration route.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on the potential impact of any change in sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory on the legal status and administration of the .io top-level domain.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
My Department recognises the importance of the .io country code top level domain (ccTLD) and the need for its continuity and stability. We are engaging closely with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on the potential impact of a change in sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory on the status of the .io ccTLD.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what the current vacancy rate is for Crown Prosecutors, broken down by region.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The overall vacancy rate for ‘Crown Prosecutors’* across the 14 regional, geographic areas that make up the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is 4.5% (at the end of December 2025). The table below includes the regional breakdown for CPS vacancy rates applicable to these legal roles.
For context, the vacancy rates are shown alongside the number of vacancies within each geographic area, against the current area Full Time Equivalent (FTE).
*These figures include all legal staff designated as ‘Crown Prosecutors’ only.
| Actual FTE | Budget FTE (T2) | Vacancies | Vacancy Rate |
Cymru Wales Area | 151.85 | 163.28 | 11.43 | 7.0% |
East of England Area | 145.80 | 151.66 | 5.86 | 3.9% |
East Midlands Area | 176.25 | 192.83 | 16.58 | 8.6% |
London North | 253.48 | 278.48 | 25.00 | 9.0% |
London South | 248.80 | 239.43 | (9.37) | -3.9% |
Mersey Cheshire Area | 133.79 | 137.32 | 3.53 | 2.6% |
North East Area | 110.03 | 130.07 | 20.04 | 15.4% |
North West Area | 251.40 | 243.14 | (8.26) | -3.4% |
South East Area | 145.64 | 151.46 | 5.82 | 3.8% |
South West Area | 128.69 | 128.50 | (0.19) | -0.1% |
Thames and Chiltern Area | 127.48 | 144.01 | 16.53 | 11.5% |
Wessex Area | 121.19 | 122.75 | 1.56 | 1.3% |
West Midlands Area | 230.80 | 247.82 | 17.01 | 6.9% |
Yorkshire and Humberside Area | 237.70 | 247.53 | 9.82 | 4.0% |
14 Geographic Areas | 2,462.91 | 2,578.27 | 115.36 | 4.5% |
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what the average time taken by the Crown Prosecution Service to make a charging decision was in each of the last five years.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) holds management information which shows the mean average in calendar days from referral for a charging decision or early advice to the decision to authorise a charge against suspects.
This was 46 days in 2024-25, 44 days in 2023-24, 45 days in 2022-23 and 42 days in 2021-22.
The timeliness data includes cases where the police have submitted a file for early advice as well as those for charging decision. The data includes cases where the police were required to submit further evidence prior to a decision to charge. This generally includes more than one submission and more investigation.
The timeliness of a charging decision is determined by three key factors: whether the case has been sent to the CPS for early advice during the investigative process, how quickly the police can complete the necessary enquiries; and how quickly the CPS can then review the evidence provided by the police and finalise the charging decision.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of potential reductions in dredging activity on levels of flood risk, in the context of (a) the removal of the Landfill Tax exemption for Air Pollution Control residues and (b) the Government’s flood prevention programme.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the important role that the energy from waste, dredging and biomass sectors play in supporting the Government’s circular economy objectives.
The Government announced at Budget last year that it would remove the Landfill Tax exemption for stabilisers used in dredged material from April 2027 because it is inconsistent with the government’s circular economy ambitions. The decision followed on from a consultation on reform to the tax, during which the Government engaged with stakeholders in a range of sectors. This will not prevent the use of stabilisers, but it will encourage businesses to limit their use to what is necessary.
The Government do not expect the change to have a significant impact on flood risk management as most material removed during routine waterway maintenance is reused locally and deposited adjacent to the channel, avoiding the need for disposal at landfill sites.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of increases in dredging disposal costs arising from the removal of the Landfill Tax exemption for Air Pollution Control residues on trends in levels of frequency and scale of dredging of rivers, canals and ports.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the important role that the energy from waste, dredging and biomass sectors play in supporting the Government’s circular economy objectives.
The Government announced at Budget last year that it would remove the Landfill Tax exemption for stabilisers used in dredged material from April 2027 because it is inconsistent with the government’s circular economy ambitions. The decision followed on from a consultation on reform to the tax, during which the Government engaged with stakeholders in a range of sectors. This will not prevent the use of stabilisers, but it will encourage businesses to limit their use to what is necessary.
The Government do not expect the change to have a significant impact on flood risk management as most material removed during routine waterway maintenance is reused locally and deposited adjacent to the channel, avoiding the need for disposal at landfill sites.