Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of court backlogs on health outcomes for prisoners held on remand.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Government inherited a justice system in crisis, with a record and rising open caseload of nearly 80,000 criminal cases waiting to be heard in the Crown Court and too many victims waiting years for justice. That is why the Government commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to conduct an Independent Review of the Criminal Courts. On 2 December, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a major programme of court reform to tackle these unacceptable delays and restore confidence in the criminal justice system. As part of our ongoing efforts to improve timeliness and efficiency in our criminal courts, we also asked Sir Brian to review court operations and make recommendations designed to boost court efficiency in Part 2 of his review. We are awaiting that report in the New Year and will look to act on its recommendations.

We are committed to working with our health partners to ensure that people in prison including those on remand have access to an equivalent standard, range and quality of health care in prisons to that available in the wider community to support their health outcomes. This is reflected in the National Partnership Agreement on Health and Social Care in England. This includes access to a range of treatments and interventions within prison as set out in the national service specification for mental health care in prisons.

For prisoners with severe mental health needs, the Mental Health Act (2025) received Royal Assent in December and contains several flagship reforms to improve access to mental health care and treatment, including, but not limited to, provisions to:

• Introduce a new statutory 28-day time limit for transfers from prison and other places of detention to hospital to reduce unnecessary delays experienced by prisoners who require mental health treatment.

• Stop courts temporarily detaining people with severe mental illness in prison as a ‘place of safety’ whilst awaiting a hospital bed for treatment or assessment under the Mental Health Act; and

• End the use of remand for own protection under the Bail Act where the court’s sole concern is the defendant’s mental health.

We will implement these reforms as soon as it is safe to do so.

The Sentencing Bill, currently being considered before parliament, introduces a package of amendments to the Bail Act (1976), which, alongside the presumption to suspend short sentences of 12 months or less, will help to address the unsustainable growth in the prison remand population.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress has been made towards publishing a formal Government response to the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report.

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

The government is committed to enhancing provision and choice for older people in the housing market and we will continue to consider this issue as we develop our long-term housing strategy.

As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 26 November 2024 (HCWS249), the government is giving careful consideration to the recommendations from the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report including in relation to specialist accommodation for older people.

The government is consulting on changes to the NPPF, including proposed changes to support the delivery of specialist forms of accommodation such as housing for older people. The consultation is open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to require retirement housing operators to provide leaseholders with more detailed annual reporting on how management fees, including any surplus or excess sums, are spent or retained.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 95245 on 5 December 2025.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the proposals in the Strengthening Leaseholder Protections Over Charges and Services consultation are intended to apply to event fees in retirement villages.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 95245 on 5 December 2025.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what clinical monitoring arrangements are in place for prisoners who have been on hunger strike for more than 14 days.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Healthcare services in the prison estate are commissioned by NHS England. All prison healthcare providers are commissioned and contracted to use National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines and have pathways of care in place for people refusing food and/or fluid. If a person requires hospital care this will also be available and facilitated.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to update guidance on handling complaints in children's social care.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Departmental officials will be meeting with the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to better understand issues with the complaints process, but at present we are not planning to update the complaints guidance. We will, however, publish updated statutory guidance on advocacy services for children, who are making complaints, this year.

Hospices and end of life care

Gambling harms

Public health campaign on tackling stigma towards suicide

Deregistration of international non-governmental organisations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Iran protests

Less Survivable Cancers Week

Convention on Cluster Munitions and preventing UK involvement in their production

Winter NHS corridor care

Pavement parking consultation response

Found: South East) Anna Dixon (Labour; Shipley) Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat; Tiverton and Minehead) Sarah Green

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Chair); Mr Clive Betts; Anna Dixon; Sarah Green

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Chair); Mr Clive Betts; Anna Dixon; Sarah Green

Found: Q52 Sarah Green: It is page 27, paragraph 2.12.

Found: South East) Anna Dixon (Labour; Shipley) Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat; Tiverton and Minehead) Sarah Green

Found: Q38 Sarah Green: That is really helpful; thank you.

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Chair); Mr Clive Betts; Anna Dixon; Sarah Green

Found: South East) Anna Dixon (Labour; Shipley) Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat; Tiverton and Minehead) Sarah Green

Found: Public Accounts Committee members present: Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Chair); Mr Clive Betts; Sarah Green

Found: South East) Anna Dixon (Labour; Shipley) Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat; Tiverton and Minehead) Sarah Green