Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October to Question 84015 on Legal Aid Scheme: Ely and East Cambridgeshire, when the Legal Aid Agency last assessed the adequacy of legal aid provision in Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency; and if they will undertake a new assessment in that constituency.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) continually assesses supply across all procurement areas. The LAA’s network of regional contract managers located throughout England and Wales provide intelligence-led information based on contact with legal aid service providers. In addition, the LAA regularly reviews available supply to make sure there is adequate provision for legal aid, in all categories of law, and takes operational action where it can, to respond to market pressures that may arise.
For civil contracts the LAA commissions and monitors the supply of legal aid services across larger geographic areas called procurement areas, rather than by local authority or parliamentary constituency. These areas vary depending on the type of civil law.
Ely and East Cambridgeshire fall within several procurement areas, which cover all civil categories of law for which legal aid is available. All of these procurement areas exceed the minimum required number of legal aid providers. In addition to local providers, national services are also available to your constituents. These include early legal advice through the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service, and telephone-based support for housing, debt, education, and discrimination issues via Civil Legal Advice.
Criminal legal aid contracts are commissioned nationally. The LAA monitors and take measures within its control to ensure there is sufficient coverage for local duty solicitor schemes, in this case the Cambridge and Ely scheme. These schemes are based on demand, so the number of solicitors may vary between areas.
As set out in the response to PQ 84015, the LAA is satisfied there is currently adequate provision of legal aid services in Ely and East Cambridgeshire.
Details about legal aid providers are published in the LAA’s official statistics (Tables 9.1–9.9). These figures help the LAA monitor the availability of services across different legal categories and regions in England and Wales.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the level of jury service expenses on jury members’ finances.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Jury service is an important civic duty, and the Government is committed to ensuring jurors feel supported throughout their service. Jurors can claim subsistence and travel expenses, as well as a loss of earnings allowance from the court. The jury summoning process provides for applications for deferral or excusal from service based upon financial hardship. All support for jurors is kept under review to ensure it remains appropriate and accessible.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Levitt on 2 October (HL10681), whether they will publish the notes of the meetings with the promoters of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill and the actions taken as a result of those meetings in the Library of the House.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government does not intend to place the notes of meetings with the Sponsors of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill into the Library of the House.
As my honourable friend the Minister of State for Courts and Legal Services discussed with the House of Lords Select Committee considering the Bill on 29 October, the Government has worked with the Sponsors to ensure the Bill is workable, in order to fulfil the Government’s duty of care to the statute book, whilst remaining neutral on the matter of assisted dying.
The Ministry of Justice recognises the importance of promoting openness and transparency in Government. However, it is also in the public interest that the Government can engage confidentially with the Sponsors, so that the advice provided in relation to the operability and soundness of the Bill can be free and frank – both in relation to this Bill and any future private member’s Bill where the Government engages closely with the Sponsor.
Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of mediation services on resolving disputes for residents in Dudley; and what steps he is taking to ensure equality of access to those services.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government encourages the use of dispute resolution such as mediation, to allow parties to resolve their disputes earlier and more consensually, which saves them time, money and stress, and reduces the waiting time for a judicial hearing for cases that do not settle.
Since 2024, all parties to money claims under £10,000 in the county courts in England and Wales are required to attend a free, one-hour mediation appointment with HMCTS’ Small Claims Mediation Service as an integrated step in the litigation journey. Parties can request any necessary adjustments, including translation or interpretation services, to ensure full participation in mediation appointments, and HMCTS assesses these needs individually to maintain accessibility.
The Government is also committed to supporting more families reach agreement outside of court through mediation, where it is safe and appropriate to do so. The Family Mediation Voucher Scheme, introduced in April 2021, is available to families across England and Wales including those living in Dudley. The scheme offers up to £500 towards mediation costs and has already supported over 49,000 families. The Government has committed to continue funding the scheme until at least March 2026. Analysis of the first 7,200 cases completed under the scheme shows that 69% of participants reached a whole or partial agreement and did not need to go to court to resolve their issues.
In addition, civil legal aid is available, subject to a means assessment, for the mediation of family disputes (for example over contact or financial arrangements) that the mediator has assessed as suitable for mediation.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department has spent on social media advertising by (a) influencer and (b) organisation in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice uses social media influencers to help deliver its communications and operational priorities. This includes activity to support recruitment campaigns for prison officers, probation officers and magistrates, ensuring that frontline services are effectively staffed to maintain public safety and deliver swift access to justice.
Some sensitivities exist around aspects of this expenditure, as disclosure could prejudice commercial interests. All influencer activity is subject to strict Cabinet Office spending controls to ensure we balance effectiveness with value for money for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of prison officers recruited through the Unlocked Graduates programme on (a) prisoner rehabilitation outcomes and (b) reoffending rates in establishments where they have been deployed.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice's workforce planning process ensures that we use all appropriate recruitment routes to ensure that we have in place the level of Prison Officers we need to support delivery.
The information regarding retention rates is scheduled for future publication, with the release date to be confirmed.
The effect of prison officers recruited through the Unlocked Graduates programme on rehabilitation outcomes and reoffending rates is not held centrally.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were (a) committed to prison and (b) given suspended committal orders for non-payment of council tax in 2024.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
In 2024, there were 0 people committed to prison, and 19 given suspended committal orders for non-payment of council tax.
Non-payment of council tax is not a criminal offence and cannot attract a custodial sentence. However, under the committal to prison process, a court order can provide for someone to be committed to prison for not paying a debt.
Committal to prison can only ever be the last resort for non-payment of council tax. Before a magistrates’ court commits someone to prison for failure to pay their council tax, it must have issued a “liability order” and the local authority must have (at least) tried and failed to take control of the debtor’s goods and sell them to recover the debt. Councils have additional powers of enforcement under a liability order, including deduction from earnings, deduction from benefit, charging orders on the property, and bankruptcy. If a council applies for committal to prison, the court must inquire into the debtor’s means, and the council must satisfy the court that there is no other effective method of collection and that failure to pay is due to wilful refusal or culpable neglect. This is to prevent persons who are genuinely unable to pay their council tax from being committed to prison. Where that is the case courts have the power to remit the debt.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the annual cost of housing foreign national offenders in UK prisons.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We do not disaggregate prison running costs by nationality and the cost to hold individuals depends on the category of prison. Our unit costs for holding prisoners are published on GOV.UK alongside the Prison performance data 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK. Data on the number of Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) in custody is published in Offender management statistics quarterly: April to June 2025 - GOV.UK (prison population table 1_Q_9).
Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced. Where appropriate, the Ministry of Justice will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. Between 5 July 2024 and 4 July 2025, over 5,000 were FNOs. This is an increase of 14% compared to the 4,532 FNO returns in the same period 12 months prior.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the comparative retention rates of (a) prison officers recruited through the Unlocked Graduates programme and (b) those recruited through standard routes; and what steps he is taking to ensure similar retention rates for future cohorts.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice's workforce planning process ensures that we use all appropriate recruitment routes to ensure that we have in place the level of Prison Officers we need to support delivery.
The information regarding retention rates is scheduled for future publication, with the release date to be confirmed.
The effect of prison officers recruited through the Unlocked Graduates programme on rehabilitation outcomes and reoffending rates is not held centrally.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect on prison officer recruitment capacity of the conclusion of the Unlocked Graduates contract in 2026.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice's workforce planning process ensures that we use all appropriate recruitment routes to ensure that we have in place the level of Prison Officers we need to support delivery.
The information regarding retention rates is scheduled for future publication, with the release date to be confirmed.
The effect of prison officers recruited through the Unlocked Graduates programme on rehabilitation outcomes and reoffending rates is not held centrally.