Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for all appeals involving Surrey County Council the number of cases in which the Tribunal issued a) a notice proposing that the local authority be barred from further participation and b) a barring order preventing the local authority from taking further part in the appeal, reported separately for 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 to date.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the policy paper published on 9 November by the Bar Council, Tackling violence against women and girls – why family courts are key.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has read the Bar Council’s policy paper with interest and agrees that the family courts play a key role in our commitment to halve incidences of violence against women and girls over the next decade.
We agree with the Bar Council that proper data and analysis is an essential first step. The Government funded the recently published Family Court Review and Reporting Mechanism pilot, led by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and will publish a response to the report by the end of the year.
This Government also recognises that legal aid is a vital part of the justice system, supporting the ability of individuals to access publicly funded legal assistance to uphold their legal rights. Legal aid is available for certain private family matters such as child arrangements if an individual is a victim of domestic abuse or at risk of being abused, subject to providing the required evidence of domestic abuse and passing the means and merits tests. Last year we spent £854 million on the provision of family legal aid and we continue to keep the policy under review.
With our partners across the family justice system, we are committed to long-term reform of the family courts to better support and protect victims of domestic abuse and serious violence and their children. Central to this is our new Pathfinder model, which uses a more investigative and less adversarial approach for private law proceedings relating to children and is now operating in nine court areas, with expansion to a tenth in January 2026.
The Government will be publishing our new, cross-government Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy as soon as possible.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve the process in which domestic abuse cases reach the family court in a) the north west and b) Warrington.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government is committed to improving the experience of victims of domestic abuse in the family courts across England and Wales, including in the north west and Warrington.
In early 2026, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) plans to roll out a new digital service for applications for non-molestation orders and occupation orders. This service will make it easier and quicker for applicants to submit applications for these protective orders via an online portal.
Additional support is available to litigants in person via CourtNav, a free online tool operated by RCJ Advice, a citizens advice and law centre dedicated to improving access to justice. CourtNav guides individuals through applying for non-molestation and occupation orders, assisting with drafting applications and supporting statements. Applicants also have the option to have their application checked by a legal adviser, who can help identify the most appropriate course of action.
To streamline the process, the CourtNav system can automatically direct applications to HMCTS’s digital service. This enables information entered in CourtNav to transfer directly into the HMCTS system, ensuring better integration and efficiency when applications are submitted to the court.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 86689, what information his Department holds on the number of court cases that (a) did not progress and (b) were delayed due to the non-attendance of professional witnesses in 1). England and 2). Greater Manchester in the last 12 months.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
An ineffective trial is a trial that does not go ahead on the scheduled trial date, and so a further listing is required. This can be due to action or inaction by one or more of the prosecution, the defence or the court. If a trial is deemed ineffective due to the witness being absent, this would indicate that the trial has been delayed.
The Ministry of Justice publishes ineffective trials statistics by reason including trials that are rescheduled due to “prosecution witness absent – professional/expert” here: Criminal court statistics quarterly: April to June 2025 - GOV.UK. These statistics can be filtered by Local Criminal Justice Board to isolate figures for Greater Manchester. We do not have access to data on ineffective trials due to the absence of a defence professional witness.
The Ministry of Justice cannot provide data on cases that “did not progress” due to the non-attendance of professional witnesses. This information would only be held in the individual court records for cases that are discontinued, and examination of these records would be of disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has to introduce Jade's Law.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is committed to implementing Section 18 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, which introduces an automatic restriction on the exercise of parental responsibility where one parent has been convicted and sentenced for the murder or voluntary manslaughter of the other. The provision will come into force on a day appointed via regulations made by the Secretary of State, following the development of the necessary procedural and legislative frameworks to support its effective delivery.
Officials are working with key delivery partners including Local Authorities, the Crown Prosecution Service, the National Police Chiefs Council and HMCTS across the criminal and family justice systems, to ensure effective implementation. This includes considering potential consequential amendments to the Family Procedure Rules 2010 and Criminal Procedure Rules 2020, as well as supporting Practice Directions and statutory guidance.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the scale of the economic impact of the third-party litigation funding sector, in particular in terms of jobs, growth and inward investment in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government recognises the critical role third-party litigation funding plays in access to justice and in the attractiveness of England and Wales as a jurisdiction to resolve disputes. Whilst we have not carried out a formal assessment of its precise economic contribution, we are seized of its importance to growth and the attractiveness of our legal services sector as well as the role it plays in extending access to justice. That is why we are committed to ensuring it works fairly for all. We are considering the Civil Justice Council’s recent report on litigation funding, and we will outline next steps in due course.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the contribution of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives fellows to improving equality, diversity and social mobility in the legal profession; and what steps he taking to further these aims.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice recognises the contribution of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) and its Fellows in improving equality, diversity and social mobility in the legal profession. I reflected this when I delivered a welcome address at the CILEX annual conference this month in Birmingham, noting that CILEX is a valuable engine of social mobility in the profession. Data showing the diversity of CILEX members is published by CILEX Regulation (CRL) in its biennial Diversity Data Survey. The most recent published survey is available here: https://cilexregulation.org.uk/diversity-data/.
The legal profession in England and Wales, together with its regulators, operates independently of Government. Under the Legal Services Act (LSA) 2007, the responsibility for regulating the sector sits with approved regulators, overseen by the Legal Services Board (LSB). CRL is the independent regulatory body of CILEX. Encouraging an independent, strong, diverse and effective legal profession is one of nine regulatory objectives under the LSA 2007, which the LSB, approved regulators, and the Office for Legal Complaints, have a duty to promote.
Recent action by CRL includes publishing its first Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy, issuing its next biennial Diversity Data Survey, expanding diversity reporting in enforcement, and revising qualifying employment and experience requirements to remove barriers. CRL is refreshing its EDI Strategy this year. Steps taken by CILEX include establishing the CILEX Foundation in 2021 to remove financial and social mobility barriers and launching the CILEX Judicial Academy in 2024 to help increase diversity within the judiciary by supporting lawyers – including CILEX professionals – aspiring to judicial careers.
While respecting independence, the Ministry of Justice maintains regular dialogue with the legal services representative bodies and regulators on a range of issues including improving equality, diversity, and social mobility in the profession.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Sahayb Abu v Secretary of State for Justice [2025] EWHC 3026 (Admin), how much his Department has paid Mr Denny De SIlva in (a) damages, (b) other compensation, (c) ex gratia or out-of-court payments and (d) legal costs.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
I refer the Right Hon. Member to the Answer I gave on 17 November to Question 89422.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will issued sentencing guidelines for people convicted of supporting Hamas during university protests.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Government is absolutely clear that support for proscribed organisations is unacceptable. Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT) makes it an offence to invite support for; recklessly express support for; or arrange a meeting in support of a proscribed organisation. Section 13 of TACT makes it an offence to wear clothing or carry articles in public, which arouse reasonable suspicion that an individual is a member or supporter of a proscribed organisation, and publish an image of an item of clothing or other article, such as a flag or logo in the same circumstances. Proscription offences can carry a maximum penalty of up to 14 years in prison and/or an unlimited fine.
While everyone is entitled to their political opinions, and higher education providers have duties to take reasonably practicable steps to secure freedom of speech and academic freedom within the law, any discussions and protests must be lawful. Inciting others to violence or terrorism is not protected speech. In these instances, we would expect university leaders to take robust action, particularly where there are concerns that a criminal act may have been committed, including reporting crimes to the police.
The investigation and prosecution of criminal offences, including determining whether an offence has been committed or not, is a matter for the police and Crown Prosecution Service, which are operationally independent. Sentencing decisions in individual cases are a matter for the independent judiciary.
Sentencing guidelines are developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, in fulfilment of its statutory duty to do so. All sentencing courts in England and Wales must follow any sentencing guidelines which are relevant to the offender’s case, unless it is in the interests of justice not to do so (by virtue of section 59 of the Sentencing Code). The court must give reasons when departing from the guidelines.
The Sentencing Council has issued a package of guidelines on terrorism offences, including the s.12 TACT offence of support of a proscribed organisation, which provide the Court with guidance on factors that should be considered, which may affect the sentence given. They set out different levels of sentence based on the harm caused and how culpable the offender is. The guidelines also include non-exhaustive lists of aggravating and mitigating factors which can result in an upward or downward adjustment in the sentence. The guidelines can be found online at the Council’s website: https://sentencingcouncil.org.uk/.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of support available for victims of prisoners mistakenly released from prison.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The HMPPS Victim Contact Scheme is a service for the victims of offenders who are convicted of a specified violent, sexual or terrorism offence and are sentenced to twelve months or more imprisonment. Victims who decide to receive the service are allocated a Victim Liaison Officer who will keep the victim updated on key stages throughout the sentence, including if the offender is released from prison in error and when the offender is returned to custody.
Whilst the Victim Contact Scheme is not a support service, Victim Liaison Officers are responsible for directing and referring victims to sources of additional support where this is appropriate, including national and location victim support services. Under the Victims’ Code, all victims are entitled to be given information about and be referred to victim support services by the police to help them cope and recover from the impact of a crime.
Through the Victims and Courts Bill, we will be updating the legislative framework that establishes the Victim Contact Scheme to bring victims currently served by different post-conviction communication schemes into the Victim Contact Scheme and provide a new route for other victims to request information via a dedicated helpline.