Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to set a target date to achieve a representative (a) judiciary and (b) magistracy.

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

The Government is strongly committed to achieving a judiciary which better represents the diversity of the population. This comprises of judges, non-legal members and magistrates.

We continue to work closely with the judiciary, the Judicial Appointments Commission, the legal professions, magistrates’ representatives and employers to improve the diversity of the judiciary.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Sentencing Council's guidance entitled Imposition of community and custodial sentences - Effective from 1 April 2025, whether her Department has made an (a) estimate of the (i) additional number of pre-sentence reports required and (ii) costs of those reports and (b) assessment of the potential impact of that guidance on the (A) quality of pre-sentence reports, (B) probation service, (C) time taken for sentencing and (D) number of appeals of sentencing decisions.

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

Where a court is considering whether an offender should receive a sentence of immediate custody, a pre-sentence report must be obtained and considered before forming an opinion unless, in the circumstances of the case, the court considers that it is unnecessary to obtain a pre-sentence report. The Probation Service plays an essential role by providing an expert assessment of the nature and causes of the offender's behaviour and the risk the offender poses. Our priority remains the safety of the public and rehabilitation of offenders, and we will take all necessary steps to support the probation service in achieving these goals.

The Sentencing Council is responsible for carrying out its own impact assessments of its guidelines. The assessment for the recent Imposition of community and custodial sentences guidelines published on 5 March 2025, can be found here: https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/html-publication/item/imposition-of-community-and-custodial-sentences-overarching-guideline-final-resource-assessment/#Resource%20impacts.

The Lord Chancellor has been clear that these guidelines regarding pre-sentencing reports do not represent the views of this Government. The Lord Chancellor and the Chairman of the Sentencing Council have had a constructive discussion. It was agreed that the Lord Chancellor will set out her position more fully in writing, which the Sentencing Council will then consider before the guideline is due to come into effect. It remains the case that the Lord Chancellor is reviewing the role and responsibilities of the Sentencing Council – and look at whether a greater role for elected officials is needed.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has visited HMP Long Lartin since 4 July 2024.

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

The Lord Chancellor has been closely involved in the response to the urgent notifications we have received. Each is a reminder of the state of crisis that the last Government left behind in our prisons.

The Prisons Minister will be visiting HMP Long Lartin in the coming days and we are working closely with the prison leadership to turn these prisons around.

Found: Presented by Robert Jenrick supported by Mrs Kemi Badenoch, Rebecca Harris, Dr Kieran Mullan and Helen

Found: Hon Robert Jenrick MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government July 2019 –

Found: for your family, and for this wonderful country that we now share. 2 Foreword from Rt Hon Robert Jenrick