Oral Answers to Questions

Steve Yemm Excerpts

Tuesday 10th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Catherine McKinnell]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point and a very clear case for why we have to deal with the prison system we inherited. The system has very deep and complex pressures, some of which he has highlighted: drones, security on the estate, drugs, and ensuring that we can invest in rehabilitation. All those things are made more challenging while our prison system is running at capacity, due to the system we inherited. However, they also make us more determined to achieve the outcomes for which he quite rightly advocates.

[Steve Yemm (Mansfield) (Lab)]

11. What progress his Department has made on utilising AI for innovation in legal services.

[The Minister for Courts and Legal Services (Sarah Sackman)]

The Ministry of Justice has made significant progress on the responsible utilisation of AI in innovation within the legal services sector. I will offer two examples: first, our launch of the legal services advisory AI growth lab, which brings together Government, regulators and innovators to accelerate responsible AI adoption in legal services; secondly, our commitment to continue to fund LawtechUK, so that we can accelerate the adoption of AI usage across the country. That is what we mean by growth in every postcode.

[Steve Yemm]

I thank the Minister for her answer. The Labour Government inherited record backlogs in the Crown court system, with victims waiting years and years to access justice. What more could the Government be doing to utilise AI and technological solutions to get the courts moving quicker to improve access to justice and, crucially, to deliver justice for victims?

[Sarah Sackman]

I thank my hon. Friend for an excellent question. I am passionate about using technology and AI responsibly to address the problem of delays in our criminal courts. We are using AI transcription to improve open justice; we are using AI case readiness tools to help our judges to ensure that cases are ready to be heard on time; and we are using AI responsibly in the scheduling of cases. All those things will ensure greater efficiency over time in our courts.