Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how he plans to reduce his capital budget in order to fund the Defence Investment Plan; and whether these reductions will impact prison expansion or construction.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Departments have been asked to contribute 1p in every £1 of their capital budgets to fund this Government’s Defence Investment Plan, helping keep the country safe in an increasingly volatile world. The Ministry of Justice will set out further impacts on specific policies and programmes in due course.

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; we have already delivered c.3,200 of these since taking office. We have committed £4.7bn over the spending review period (26/27 to 29/30) towards the delivery of these places.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether Ministers in the Ministry of Justice have met with the Honourable Member for Makerfield since 22 June 2026.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

No Ministry of Justice Ministers have had meetings in an official capacity with the Rt Hon Member for Makerfield, since 22 June 2026.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made representations to his counterpart in the US Government on the case of Sarah Steele and the use of a military trial at RAF Lakenheath for her case.

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

Halving violence against women and girls is a decade-long mission for this Government. This case is extremely concerning and our thoughts are with the victim, and with the other victims whose experiences have subsequently come to light. Given the cross-agency nature of this case, officials are working across Government to establish the full facts, and FCDO engagement with the US authorities will form part of that work. We are also reviewing what guidance is in place for the police on this type of incident. We will not hesitate to act where victims are being let down.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made on establishing a dedicated helpline to provide a new route for victims to request information through the Victims and Courts Act 2026, and when the helpline will open.

Answered by Catherine Atkinson

The Government is committed to delivering a new route for victims to request information about their offender as soon as practicable, and we are working with operational partners to ensure that implementation of the helpline is trauma-informed and effective. Work is underway and we expect to confirm timelines soon.

Victims eligible and opted into the Victim Contact Scheme will be notified of an offender’s release, in line with existing practice. Supporting victims and ensuring they are informed remains a key priority.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, regarding her plans to house asylum seekers at RAF Barnham, whether she intends that all asylum seekers housed there will be male.

Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

No final decision has been made on whether to use Barnham as asylum accommodation. If deemed suitable, the site would accommodate single adult males between the ages of 18 and 65 who have applied for asylum.

Male asylum seekers (of all ages) constitute the higher number of all adult asylum applications received in the UK. This creates a greater demand for accommodation suitable for males.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Ozempic injections intended for use by prisoners have been found in prisons in the past year.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The information requested relating to Ozempic injections cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

The latest published statistics for all drug finds in prisons can be found via this link: HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2024 to March 2025 - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the security risks of building the Sunnica Energy Farm on local communities.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

We cannot comment on individual investment cases including what assessments were made, but investment into the energy sector is subject to the highest levels of national security scrutiny.

We will continue to work closely with industry to ensure the UK remains one of the most attractive investment destinations in the world.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will a) provide a list of items sold at the Heritage Hub at HMP/YOI Isis, b) the cost of each item, and c) state whether there is a cost to the taxpayer in running the Heritage Hub.

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

The list of celebratory events held to promote inclusion at HMP Isis in the past year is as follows:

• Student Debate with University of Hertfordshire for International Youth Day (11 August 2025)

• Black History Month seminar (22 October & 24 October 2025)

• Hair salon for Black History Month (27-31 October 2025)

• Full staff event for Black History Month, Food and Quiz (31 October 2025)

• International Women’s Day (09 March 2026)

• St Patricks Day celebration for Gypsy, Roma, Traveller (GRT) men (30 March 2026)

• Football competition (22 April 2026)

• Rainbow smoothies for staff for Pride Month (23 June 2026)

• GRT history event for GRT History Month (26 June 2026)

The following items are available at the Heritage Hub for purchase by prisoners:

• Braid Foam- £13.99

• Carmex- £2.30

• Cantu Conditioner- £5.60

• Cantu Shampoo- £4.99

• Cantu Gel- £8.00

• Gummy Styling Wax- £6.57

• Murrays Bees Wax- £13.49

• Black Soap- £8.28

• Let’s Dred Bees Wax- £9.33

• Pure Shea Butter- £7.50

• Jerk Sauce- £2

• OGX Shampoo- £4.00

• OGX Conditioner- £3.81

• Blue Magic Leave In Conditioner- £8.99

• Curry Paste Pots- £1.85

• Plastic Rat Tail Comb- £1

There is no additional cost to the taxpayer.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, to provide a list of any celebratory events that have been held to promote inclusion at HMP Isis in the past year.

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

The list of celebratory events held to promote inclusion at HMP Isis in the past year is as follows:

• Student Debate with University of Hertfordshire for International Youth Day (11 August 2025)

• Black History Month seminar (22 October & 24 October 2025)

• Hair salon for Black History Month (27-31 October 2025)

• Full staff event for Black History Month, Food and Quiz (31 October 2025)

• International Women’s Day (09 March 2026)

• St Patricks Day celebration for Gypsy, Roma, Traveller (GRT) men (30 March 2026)

• Football competition (22 April 2026)

• Rainbow smoothies for staff for Pride Month (23 June 2026)

• GRT history event for GRT History Month (26 June 2026)

The following items are available at the Heritage Hub for purchase by prisoners:

• Braid Foam- £13.99

• Carmex- £2.30

• Cantu Conditioner- £5.60

• Cantu Shampoo- £4.99

• Cantu Gel- £8.00

• Gummy Styling Wax- £6.57

• Murrays Bees Wax- £13.49

• Black Soap- £8.28

• Let’s Dred Bees Wax- £9.33

• Pure Shea Butter- £7.50

• Jerk Sauce- £2

• OGX Shampoo- £4.00

• OGX Conditioner- £3.81

• Blue Magic Leave In Conditioner- £8.99

• Curry Paste Pots- £1.85

• Plastic Rat Tail Comb- £1

There is no additional cost to the taxpayer.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what was the cost of providing foreign national prisoners with phone credit in the past year.

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

As the data collected in relation to telephone credit do not include the nationality of the prisoner, it is not possible to provide the information requested without incurring disproportionate cost.

We are focused on removing foreign national offenders (FNOs), to protect the public and ease the burden on taxpayers. We have already changed the law so that most foreign prisoners can be deported after serving 30% of their prison time, rather than 50%.

In the year to 31 March, deportations of FNOs were up 13% compared with the previous year, with more than 5,800 removed.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the maximum budget will be for appointing a contractor to manage the RAF Barnham site.

Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

Due diligence and assurance work for all proposed large sites including Barnham is still ongoing. Once complete, approvals will be sought in the normal way and details published as appropriate for Government Major Programmes.

No final decision has been made on whether to use MoD Barnham for asylum accommodation and no contractual agreements have been awarded to manage the site

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many victims to date have been sent letters advising them their perpetrator may be released from prison early as a result of the Sentencing Act 2026, and how many victims his Department expects to contact as part of this process.

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

This Government inherited a prison system on the brink of collapse, and we are fixing this crisis. Through the introduction of the landmark Sentencing Act, we are ensuring that courts retain the ability to impose custodial sentences on serious and dangerous offenders. Without these measures, the prison estate would have faced the risk of exhausting available capacity.

The progression model introduced by the Sentencing Act will come into force on 2 September 2026. The revised release arrangements apply to sentence types rather than to specific offences or individual cases. More than 18,000 of the most serious and dangerous offenders are excluded from these changes and will continue to serve custodial terms in line with existing arrangements.

Eligible victims who have opted into the Probation Service Victim Contact Scheme, where the offender is serving a standard determinate sentence, are being informed of the commencement of the legislation. Victim Liaison Officers will write to victims again to confirm whether the offender’s release date has changed as a result of the new arrangements.

As of 9 July 2026, 8,711 victims had been contacted and informed of the general legislative changes. This figure should not be interpreted as the number of offenders affected, as not all offenders will necessarily receive an earlier release date. Additionally, not all victims choose to participate in the Victim Contact Scheme, and some offenders have multiple victims.

Sentences are currently being recalculated, and, at this stage, we cannot provide figures on the number of offenders whose release dates will change and, therefore, the number of victims affected as a result of change. This will continue to evolve whilst the calculations take place.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he will reply to my letter of 23 May 2026 regarding the publication of sexual offence prosecutions and convictions by nationality and immigration status.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The honourable member for West Suffolk will receive a response to his letter before the House rises for Summer Recess.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 1 July 2026 to Question 12579 on Ministry of Justice: HMP Winchester, which prisoner groups are underrepresented in access to personal development opportunities.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The HMPPS Action Plan was published on 19 June 2026 in response to HM Inspectorate of Prisons findings from its unannounced inspection of HMP Winchester between 9 and 19 February 2026.

Action Point 11 focuses on prisoner groups currently underrepresented in access to personal development opportunities. This includes prisoners with neurodiverse conditions or physical disabilities, young adults, and those who may need additional support to participate because of language barriers, basic skills needs or low levels of literacy.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether civil servants are allowed to use paid working hours to participate in staff networks.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Most participation in Ministry of Justice Staff Network activity is expected to take place within employees’ own time.

Some volunteers undertaking agreed staff network leadership roles or to carry out agreed activity requested by the Department may have an agreed time allocation to support delivery.

This must be agreed in advance with the individual’s line manager and the planned activity must align to our objectives and deliver benefits to the Department. Such arrangements are subject to departmental policy, managerial agreement and operational requirements.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what legal advice he took before the Ministry of Justice published the Public appointments diversity and outreach strategy 2026.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Any legal advice sought or provided between a lawyer and client is subject to legal professional privilege.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 30 June 2026 to Question 12838 on Ministry of Justice: Offences against Children: Prisoners' Release, what the licence conditions are and what oversight is in place for those released early who have been part of grooming gangs.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government is committed to strengthening public protection and ensuring the Probation Service has the tools and capacity it needs to keep communities safe and protect victims. We are investing £700 million into probation and community services, recruiting 1,300 additional probation officers this year, and ensuring every prison leaver is tagged unless there is clear reason not to.

On release from custody all offenders are subject to standard licence conditions which emphasise that the offender is still serving their sentence in the community, must stay in touch with probation, and will be recalled to custody if they cannot be safely managed in the community.

Probation will apply additional licence conditions where appropriate to address the specific risks an offender presents – including victim-related conditions such as exclusion zones and no-contact requirements. We are also introducing restriction zones for the most serious sexual and violent offenders where appropriate, which will be enforced by electronic monitoring. Victims who are eligible and opted into the Victim Contact Scheme will be notified of an offender’s release, in line with existing practice and will continue to be able to make representations for licence conditions.

All offenders will remain on licence to the end of their sentence and where an offender breaches their licence conditions, probation have a full suite of options for managing this, including recall to prison.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many victims have the Ministry of Justice identified as being affected by the legislative changes of the Sentencing Act 2026 regarding the early release of prisoners, and how many victims have been contacted advising them of this.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government inherited a prison system on the brink of collapse, and we are fixing this crisis. Through the introduction of the landmark Sentencing Act 2026, we are ensuring that courts retain the ability to impose custodial sentences on serious and dangerous offenders. Without these measures, the Prison Estate would have faced the risk of exhausting available capacity and police forces being unable to make arrests.

The Sentencing Act 2026 contains provisions will which change the proportion of a standard determinate sentence which must be served in prison before the offender serving such a sentence is released automatically on licence. More than 18,000 offenders serving more serious sentences are excluded from these changes and will stay in prison for as long as they do now.

The provisions will come into force on 2 September 2026 and may affect the scheduled release dates of those currently serving a standard determinate sentence. Eligible victims who have opted into the Probation Service Victim Contact Scheme, where the offender is serving a standard determinate sentence, have been informed of the commencement of the legislation. As of 1 July 2026, 8,203 victims had been contacted and informed of the legislative changes. This figure should not be interpreted as the number of offenders affected, as not all offenders will necessarily receive an earlier release date. Additionally, not all victims choose to participate in the Victim Contact Scheme, and some offenders have multiple victims.

Sentences are now being recalculated, and, at this stage, we cannot provide figures on the number of offenders whose release dates will change and, therefore, the number of victims impacted. This will continue to evolve whilst the calculations take place. Victim Liaison Officers will write to victims again to confirm whether the offender’s release date has changed as a result of the new arrangements

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many eligible victims who have opted into the Probation Service Victim Contact Scheme have not been contacted to advise them that their perpetrator may be released from prison early.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government inherited a prison system on the brink of collapse, and we are fixing this crisis. Through the introduction of the landmark Sentencing Act 2026, we are ensuring that courts retain the ability to impose custodial sentences on serious and dangerous offenders. Without these measures, the Prison Estate would have faced the risk of exhausting available capacity and police forces being unable to make arrests.

The Sentencing Act 2026 contains provisions will which change the proportion of a standard determinate sentence which must be served in prison before the offender serving such a sentence is released automatically on licence. More than 18,000 offenders serving more serious sentences are excluded from these changes and will stay in prison for as long as they do now.

The provisions will come into force on 2 September 2026 and may affect the scheduled release dates of those currently serving a standard determinate sentence. Eligible victims who have opted into the Probation Service Victim Contact Scheme, where the offender is serving a standard determinate sentence, have been informed of the commencement of the legislation. As of 1 July 2026, 8,203 victims had been contacted and informed of the legislative changes. This figure should not be interpreted as the number of offenders affected, as not all offenders will necessarily receive an earlier release date. Additionally, not all victims choose to participate in the Victim Contact Scheme, and some offenders have multiple victims.

Sentences are now being recalculated, and, at this stage, we cannot provide figures on the number of offenders whose release dates will change and, therefore, the number of victims impacted. This will continue to evolve whilst the calculations take place. Victim Liaison Officers will write to victims again to confirm whether the offender’s release date has changed as a result of the new arrangements

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish a list of the events held to celebrate Black History Month and Pride Month in prisons in the past year.

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

His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service does not hold this information centrally. Individual prisons may choose to mark occasions such as Black History Month and Pride Month through local activities or events, but there is no central requirement for establishments to report these or to maintain a national record.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will provide a breakdown of the religion of the prison population by ethnicity for each of the past four years.

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

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which influencers and content creators his Department has paid to support its campaigns.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice works with a range of influencers and content creators to help us reach audiences who are less likely to engage with traditional government channels. Wherever possible we do this on a low / no cost basis to secure maximum value to the taxpayer.

On occasion and in line with Government Communications Service best practice, we use paid influencers to help deliver campaigns covering key departmental priorities and operationally critical campaigns – for example in the recruitment of frontline staff. This can often provide a more effective and cost-efficient way of reaching audiences than traditional advertising.

The Department considers that disclosing the identities of individual influencers and content creators engaged to support campaigns would be likely to prejudice its commercial interests. The Department works with content creators on a campaign-by-campaign basis, with arrangements varying depending on campaign objectives, audience, content requirements and commercial terms. Disclosure of the identities of paid creators could undermine the Department's ability to negotiate favourable terms, including securing pro bono or reduced-cost support where appropriate, thereby reducing its ability to achieve value for money for the taxpayer in future campaigns.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how working hours were spent by civil servants in the Ministry of Justice undertaking agreed staff network leadership roles or carrying out agreed activity requested by the Department in the past six months, and what is the average agreed allocation in hours per civil servant.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The information requested is not held centrally. Under the Ministry of Justice Staff Groups and Networks Policy 2026, staff network leaders may agree a time allocation, which should not generally exceed 10% of contracted hours (pro-rated).