Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Section 133 (1ZA) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 on people wrongly convicted of crimes.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act provides for the Secretary of State to pay compensation to an individual who has suffered a miscarriage of justice, subject to meeting the statutory test. This is administrated by the Miscarriages of Justice Application Service (MOJAS). Annual data is published on MOJAS setting out number of applications and who is eligible for compensation.

The Law Commission is currently undertaking a review of the criminal appeals process, including the test for compensation payable for miscarriages of justice under section 133, and we look forward to their report in 2026.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 24 June, 1 August and 15 September 2025 from the hon. Member for Tooting relating to case reference RA69084.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department of Business and Trade aims to respond to correspondence in 15 working days. This case has been transferred to the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) to answer.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of independence of the Property Redress Service.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

My Department monitors the performance of Property Redress through monthly data returns and regular governance meetings. We take all complaints about their services seriously. Where they arise, we challenge the schemes if we receive suggestions that they have failed to meet the standards to which they subscribe. We are satisfied with the responses to date.

Property Redress are approved as a competent alternative dispute resolution provider under the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015. As part of this, they are subject to periodic review and required to demonstrate how their decision making remains independent.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Property Redress Service in dealing with complaints.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

My Department monitors the performance of Property Redress through monthly data returns and regular governance meetings. We take all complaints about their services seriously. Where they arise, we challenge the schemes if we receive suggestions that they have failed to meet the standards to which they subscribe. We are satisfied with the responses to date.

Property Redress are approved as a competent alternative dispute resolution provider under the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015. As part of this, they are subject to periodic review and required to demonstrate how their decision making remains independent.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help support tenants who are unable to secure new tenancies due to private landlords failing to provide references upon request.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Where a landlord has requested a reference from a previous landlord and is unable to obtain this, we encourage landlords to make use of other available referencing criteria to give them and the tenant the confidence that the tenancy is suitable. This is already common practice for tenants renting for the first time or those from abroad. Local authorities may also offer guarantee schemes or assistance with rent payments to help people on low incomes or at risk of homelessness to secure a property when they may otherwise struggle to do so. The Government has no plans to introduce a statutory duty for landlords to provide tenants references when requested.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making it a statutory duty for landlords to provide tenant references when requested.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Where a landlord has requested a reference from a previous landlord and is unable to obtain this, we encourage landlords to make use of other available referencing criteria to give them and the tenant the confidence that the tenancy is suitable. This is already common practice for tenants renting for the first time or those from abroad. Local authorities may also offer guarantee schemes or assistance with rent payments to help people on low incomes or at risk of homelessness to secure a property when they may otherwise struggle to do so. The Government has no plans to introduce a statutory duty for landlords to provide tenants references when requested.