Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of security officers at magistrate's courts.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Security in our courts and judicial security is paramount. Over £20 million in additional funding in 2025/26 has been allocated to a programme of works to further strengthen the existing arrangements. Local court security risk assessments are carried out to determine the appropriate number of Court Security Officers deployed at Magistrates Courts. These are reviewed when there are any significant changes to work activities or threats. There are ongoing risk monitoring arrangements in place to ensure the adequacy of these arrangements.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has conducted a risk or opportunity assessment of the potential strategic use of seized Bitcoin assets as part of the UK's financial reserves.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, which sets out necessary steps for the management and realisation of assets, the seizure, recovery and management of Bitcoin assets is subject to consideration of independent law enforcement and the courts.
There are no currently plans to amend the Act to divert seized coins to a centrally held fund or reserve.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to the Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985 to strengthen legal protections for (a) children and (b) parents fleeing domestic abuse under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is aware of concerns around the operation of the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention in situations where there are allegations of domestic abuse.
Published judgments demonstrate that courts in the UK take into account domestic abuse when assessing the grave risk of harm exception under Article 13(b) of the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention.
The International Child Abduction and Contact Unit, as the operational Central Authority for England and Wales under the 1980 Hague Convention on behalf of the Lord Chancellor, carries out the administrative work required under the Convention; the Central Authority has no role in the assessment of grave risk of harm.
The UK has been leading efforts to consider these issues internationally, including via a Forum held in South Africa last year, part-funded by the Government, and will be taking an active role in the organisation of a second Forum in Brazil later this year.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that cases involving domestic abuse are assessed under the grave risk exception of Article 13(b) of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction; and what guidance she has provided to (a) central authorities and (b) courts for such assessments.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is aware of concerns around the operation of the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention in situations where there are allegations of domestic abuse.
Published judgments demonstrate that courts in the UK take into account domestic abuse when assessing the grave risk of harm exception under Article 13(b) of the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention.
The International Child Abduction and Contact Unit, as the operational Central Authority for England and Wales under the 1980 Hague Convention on behalf of the Lord Chancellor, carries out the administrative work required under the Convention; the Central Authority has no role in the assessment of grave risk of harm.
The UK has been leading efforts to consider these issues internationally, including via a Forum held in South Africa last year, part-funded by the Government, and will be taking an active role in the organisation of a second Forum in Brazil later this year.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of reasonable adjustments in public sector recruitment processes for disabled applicants.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is fully committed to the Equality Act 2010 (the Act), which protects disabled people from discrimination in the workplace. The Act prohibits direct and indirect disability discrimination and requires employers - including those in the public sector - to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees and applicants who meet the Act’s definition of disability, to ensure that they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to their non-disabled colleagues.
The reasonable adjustment duty on employers requires them to make adjustments to any element of a job, job application or interview process, whether on an anticipatory basis or at the request of the disabled person.
The failure of an employer to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled employee or job seeker, or discounting a job application simply because the applicant is disabled could amount to direct disability discrimination under the Act.
The Act recognises the need to strike a balance between the needs of disabled people and the interests of employers. What is ‘reasonable’ will vary from one situation to another. This is because factors like the practicability and cost of making the reasonable adjustment, and the resources available to different employers will be different. It will therefore be for the courts to decide, in the event of a claim of alleged disability discrimination, and on a case-by-case basis, what reasonable adjustments should be made.
It is a matter for individual public sector employers as to how they ensure compliance with their legal obligations under the Act, but many will be subject to the Act’s Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), which requires public authorities, and those carrying out public functions, to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination (including on grounds of disability), advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between different people. The duty to have “due regard” obliges a public authority to consider the equality aims set out in the duty when exercising its functions, like taking decisions, and then to decide what weight to accord to them. Public authorities place themselves at greater legal risk if they do not interpret the law correctly.
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) provides authoritative and impartial advice free to employees or employers in relation to employment discrimination issues via their website. and telephone helpline 0300 123 1100 or text relay service 18001 0300 123 1100. You can access the website here: http://www.acas.org.uk. Acas also provides employees and employers with Early Conciliation to help them resolve/settle their workplace dispute without going to court.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the level of risk of eviction of social housing tenants who remain in a property after a joint tenant has served notice to quit (a) in cases involving relationship breakdown and (b) in general.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Joint periodic tenancies can be ended unilaterally by one of the joint tenants.
Once one of the joint tenants terminates a joint tenancy, then as a matter of law it ceases to exist and the landlord has a right of possession, though that may be challenged in the Courts.
Social landlords, subject to complying with their own allocations policies, have the flexibility to provide a new tenancy to a current resident where a notice to quit is served, either for the same property or for a different property.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment she has made of the level of violence against prison officers in prisons.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
Reducing the levels of violence in prisons is a key priority and we are working hard to make prisons as safe as possible.
In response to recent serious assaults on our brave and hardworking prison officers, we are mandating the use of Protective Body Armour in the highest risk units and this summer we will trial the use of tasers by specialist staff in adult male prisons.
To protect our staff from serious assaults, PAVA – a synthetic pepper spray – is available in the adult male closed estate and a limited rollout in three Youth Offender Institutions is planned to commence in the summer period, to be used as a last resort in response to an immediate threat of serious harm. We are also committed to removing wet shave razors, that can be used as weapons. Electric shavers are in 31 priority sites in the adult male closed estate and this rollout continues.
All new staff receive violence reduction training and prisoners who pose a raised risk of violence are supported through a case management approach to address the underlying causes of their violence. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 doubled the maximum penalty to two years’ imprisonment for those who assault prison officers.
We publish Safety in Custody statistics quarterly covering deaths, self-harm and assaults in prison custody in England and Wales. Statistics on assaults on staff can be found in Table 4 of the Safety in Custody summary tables to December 2024.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of safeguards in preventing harm to children during court-ordered contact arrangements.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice recognises the importance of safeguarding children during court-ordered contact arrangements.
The legislation which governs child arrangements cases makes a child’s welfare paramount and presumes a child’s welfare is furthered by the involvement of both parents, unless there is evidence of a risk of harm. Following the recommendation from the ‘Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases’ report, the Ministry of Justice has carried out a thorough review of the presumption of parental involvement, which will be published shortly.
Where an individual believes that a wrong decision or an unjust decision (due to serious procedural or other irregularity in the proceedings in the lower court) has been made by the courts, there are routes of appeal and individuals can apply to have a Child Arrangements Order varied or discharged.
In some cases, to ensure children’s safety, courts order contact at Child Contact Centres. These are primarily accredited centres run by the National Association of Child Contact Centres, which operate under rigorous safeguarding standards. These include secure premises with controlled access, trained staff present during supervised contact, and comprehensive risk assessments tailored to each family's circumstances.
Asked by: Lord Caine (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 22 May (HL Deb col 244), what assessment they have made of the risk that elderly veterans will be compelled to appear in coroners' courts in Northern Ireland as a result of their decision to re-open legacy inquests and because of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This Government's commitment to our Armed Forces community is unshakeable. The vast majority of veterans who served in Operation Banner did so with distinction in very difficult circumstances.
This Government’s approach will ensure that legacy cases are dealt with sensitively, efficiently and lawfully, and that veterans who engage with legacy mechanisms are provided with the appropriate support. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is working closely with the Defence Secretary and Minister for Veterans and People on how to ensure that their interests are fully considered in the changes we are going to make.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to ensure that disabled court users have equal access to (a) legal representation and (b) appropriate support in court jurisdictions.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Legally-aided advice and representation is available to disabled people on the same basis as it is to the wider population. The issue must usually be in-scope of legal aid, and applicants are subject to means and merits tests, if applicable.
Duty solicitors may be available in some proceedings to help ensure individuals, regardless of disability, are able to access representation.
The Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service offers on the day in-court emergency representation to anyone at risk of losing their home.
At the magistrates’ court, a disabled person who has been charged with a criminal offence is entitled to the same legal protections and support as any other defendant. This includes access to the Court Duty Solicitor Scheme, which provides free legal advice and assistance to unrepresented individuals on their first appearance.
With regards to financial eligibility for legal aid, there are several disability-related payments that are disregarded from the income assessment for criminal and civil legal aid. These include Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, direct payments and Attendance Allowance.
Our current grant programmes are providing over £6 million of grant funding up to March 2026 to over 60 organisations across the advice sector. This funding will help organisations to sustain and improve their legal support provision, including support at court where necessary.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) provides reasonable adjustments for disabled court and tribunal users in accordance with its legal duty under the Equality Act 2010. To meet its wider Public Sector Equality Duty and the commitments in its vulnerability action plan, HMCTS also has a wider duty to take steps to avoid treating people less favourably because of their disability. Court and tribunal users are encouraged to get in touch with HMCTS to discuss any particular adjustments or support they require, to enable their individual needs to be met when they attend court.