Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of shorter prison sentences for prisoners convicted of violent offences on reoffending rates.

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

The Independent Sentencing Review recommends a reduction in short prison sentences.

There is a compelling case for doing so: in the most recent data, nearly 60% of those receiving a 12-month sentence reoffended within a year. It is important, however, to note that the review recommends a reduction in short sentences, not abolition. It is right that judges retain the discretion to hand them down in exceptional circumstances, which David Gauke suggested could be in situations of domestic abuse.

We have also been clear that anyone who breaches protective orders linked to violence against women and girls, such as stalking and domestic abuse protection orders, will be excluded from this presumption.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of reducing prison sentences for domestic abusers on reoffending rates of assault.

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

The Independent Sentencing Review recommends a reduction in short prison sentences.

There is a compelling case for doing so: in the most recent data, nearly 60% of those receiving a 12-month sentence reoffended within a year. It is important, however, to note that the review recommends a reduction in short sentences, not abolition. It is right that judges retain the discretion to hand them down in exceptional circumstances, which David Gauke suggested could be in situations of domestic abuse.

We have also been clear that anyone who breaches protective orders linked to violence against women and girls, such as stalking and domestic abuse protection orders, will be excluded from this presumption.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to meet with Sebastien Lai.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Foreign Secretary met with Sebastien Lai, Jimmy Lai's son, and his international legal team, on 7 November 2024. I met with Sebastien and Doughty Street Chambers on 28 April. The government is clear that Jimmy Lai's case is a priority and I raised it with the Hong Kong Government last month.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the merits of international measures to secure the release of Jimmy Lai.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Jimmy Lai's case is a priority for this government. The Prime Minister raised Mr Lai's case with President Xi on 18 November 2024 at the G20 Summit in Brazil. The Foreign Secretary raised it with China's Foreign Minister in April. During my visit to Hong Kong last month, I called for Mr Lai's release during my meeting with Hong Kong's Chief Secretary.

The UK continues to call on the Hong Kong authorities to end their politically motivated prosecution and immediately release Mr Lai. Diplomats from our Consulate-General in Hong Kong have attended his court proceedings throughout, and we continue to press for consular access.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Chinese counterpart on the detention of Jimmy Lai.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Jimmy Lai's case is a priority for this government. The Prime Minister raised Mr Lai's case with President Xi on 18 November 2024 at the G20 Summit in Brazil. The Foreign Secretary raised it with China's Foreign Minister in April. During my visit to Hong Kong last month, I called for Mr Lai's release during my meeting with Hong Kong's Chief Secretary.

The UK continues to call on the Hong Kong authorities to end their politically motivated prosecution and immediately release Mr Lai. Diplomats from our Consulate-General in Hong Kong have attended his court proceedings throughout, and we continue to press for consular access.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to secure the release of Jimmy Lai.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Jimmy Lai's case is a priority for this government. The Prime Minister raised Mr Lai's case with President Xi on 18 November 2024 at the G20 Summit in Brazil. The Foreign Secretary raised it with China's Foreign Minister in April. During my visit to Hong Kong last month, I called for Mr Lai's release during my meeting with Hong Kong's Chief Secretary.

The UK continues to call on the Hong Kong authorities to end their politically motivated prosecution and immediately release Mr Lai. Diplomats from our Consulate-General in Hong Kong have attended his court proceedings throughout, and we continue to press for consular access.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department plans to bring forward legislation to protect free speech.

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

This Government recognises the fundamental importance of freedom of speech as a cornerstone of our democratic society. We have had free speech in this country for a very long time. It is one of our foundational principles of which we are all very proud. It is already protected by legislation, including notably the Human Rights Act 1998, which gives further domestic effect to the right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department plans to review the case of Lucy Connolly.

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

The Court of Appeal has considered all the evidence put before them in this case and refused the application for leave to appeal against the sentence. It would not be appropriate for any Minister of Government to comment on or intervene in such a decision of the independent judiciary, and as such the Government has no plans to review this case.

If an individual has appealed unsuccessfully and exhausted the usual routes of appeal, they are able to apply to the Criminal Case Review Commission.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has made an assessment of Lucy Connolly's condition in prison.

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

We cannot disclose personal information about an individual prisoner.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has considered compassionate measures for Lucy Connolly.

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

We cannot disclose personal information about an individual prisoner.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to make an assessment of how to improve civil service compliance with strict impartiality in (a) recruitment and (b) retention.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles explain the legal requirement that selection for appointment to the Civil Service must be on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. The Civil Service takes adherence to these principles very seriously. The Civil Service Commission publishes data regarding compliance and their most recent annual report for 2023/24 showed a 13% reduction in breaches compared to 2022/23.

For the centrally managed Senior Civil Service, departments are able to address flight risk with Pivotal Role Allowances (PRAs) for those delivering critical programmes and those responsible for implementing government priorities. All PRAs require the approval of the Cabinet Office and the Treasury and are assessed against strict eligibility criteria, including the business criticality of the role, the impact should the incumbent leave, the skills required and the level of flight risk. For grades below the SCS, departments have delegated authority to determine their own pay arrangements to reflect their recruitment and retention needs.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has made an estimate of the issues which have led to the largest number of incidents of reported civil servants being found in breach of strict impartiality conduct.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The collection of any data with regard to breaches of the Civil Service Code would be a matter for individual departments.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of incidents involving civil servants who were found to be in breach of strict impartiality.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The collection of any data with regard to breaches of the Civil Service Code would be a matter for individual departments.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department plans to take to support (a) neutrality and (b) impartiality in the civil service.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Impartiality, and in particular political impartiality, is one of the values of the Civil Service Code. It is a contractual obligation for civil servants to abide by the Code. Impartiality means civil servants must serve the Government, whatever its political persuasion, to the best of their ability.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department plans to release inmates who have served a third of their sentence in order to tackle overcrowding.

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

This Government was left an unconscionable inheritance with the prison system days from collapse. To prevent the risk of gridlock across the Criminal Justice System, we have had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe.

The previous Government added less than 500 net places, whilst the previous Labour Government added net 28,000. 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.2500 of these since taking office. Our build programme consists of the construction of four new prisons, including the recently delivered HMP Millsike, as well as the expansion and refurbishment of the existing estate. The Lord Chancellor announced in her speech of 14 May a further investment of £4.7 billion over the spending review period to deliver these places, including breaking ground at a new prison site near HMP Gartree later this year. We are also committed to undertaking critical maintenance work, and acquiring more land should further prisons be required.

On 22 May, the Lord Chancellor set out the Government’s in-principle response to the Independent Sentencing Review’s findings and recommendations, which will ensure prisons never run out of space again and dangerous offenders can be kept off the streets. One key change announced will be a new ‘earned progression model’ that will see prisoners earn their way to release through good behaviour or face longer in jail. Under this model, an offender will not necessarily leave prison at an automatic point. Instead, their release date will be determined by their behaviour. If they follow prison rules, they will earn earlier release. If they do not, they can be locked up for longer.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has conducted a review into cases of de-banking; and what steps she plans to take to prevent this.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government recognises that access to banking services is vital for people and businesses across the UK and is a matter of concern for certain sectors such as cryptoasset firms and their customers.

The government continues to engage with the banking sector and affected industries to better understand the existing and emerging issues in this area.

The government also welcomes the Financial Conduct Authority’s work to date to better understand why banks might reject or close bank accounts. Where the FCA has found areas where firms need to improve customer outcomes, the government expects firms to consider the FCA’s findings and act accordingly.

Separately, the Treasury concluded a call for evidence in April 2023 which found deficiencies in the rules applying to bank account closures. In June 2025, the government therefore legislated to require banks and other providers to give customers a longer notice period of at least 90 days before terminating services and to provide a sufficiently detailed and specific explanation.

These changes will give people and businesses the time and information they need to challenge decisions or find an alternative provider.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an estimate of the number of de-banking cases involving cryptocurrency.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government recognises that access to banking services is vital for people and businesses across the UK and is a matter of concern for certain sectors such as cryptoasset firms and their customers.

The government continues to engage with the banking sector and affected industries to better understand the existing and emerging issues in this area.

The government also welcomes the Financial Conduct Authority’s work to date to better understand why banks might reject or close bank accounts. Where the FCA has found areas where firms need to improve customer outcomes, the government expects firms to consider the FCA’s findings and act accordingly.

Separately, the Treasury concluded a call for evidence in April 2023 which found deficiencies in the rules applying to bank account closures. In June 2025, the government therefore legislated to require banks and other providers to give customers a longer notice period of at least 90 days before terminating services and to provide a sufficiently detailed and specific explanation.

These changes will give people and businesses the time and information they need to challenge decisions or find an alternative provider.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has conducted a review into the listed causes of de-banking by banking corporations.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government recognises that access to banking services is vital for people and businesses across the UK and is a matter of concern for certain sectors such as cryptoasset firms and their customers.

The government continues to engage with the banking sector and affected industries to better understand the existing and emerging issues in this area.

The government also welcomes the Financial Conduct Authority’s work to date to better understand why banks might reject or close bank accounts. Where the FCA has found areas where firms need to improve customer outcomes, the government expects firms to consider the FCA’s findings and act accordingly.

Separately, the Treasury concluded a call for evidence in April 2023 which found deficiencies in the rules applying to bank account closures. In June 2025, the government therefore legislated to require banks and other providers to give customers a longer notice period of at least 90 days before terminating services and to provide a sufficiently detailed and specific explanation.

These changes will give people and businesses the time and information they need to challenge decisions or find an alternative provider.

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Baroness Brown of Cambridge, Chair of House of Lords Science and Technology Committee to Rt Hon Suella Braverman

Access to Justice APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: of this, on 15 December 2022 Mr Justice Fordham of the High Court found that Home Secretary Suella Braverman

Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Work of the Home Office – 19th December 2022 The SoS for the HD, Suella Braverman MP, updated Parliament

Access to Justice APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: He then became the Attorney General in 2021 whilst Suella Braverman was on maternity leave.

Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Spending Review 2021: Law Officer’s Departments, Matt Western MP asked The Attorney General, Suella Braverman