Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of face-to-face civil legal aid provision for the residents of Norwich South constituency; when the provision was last reviewed; and what steps his Department is taking to improve local access to justice.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Legal aid is a vital part of the justice system and underpins our plans to build a justice system that works fairly for all parties.
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) continuously assesses the available supply of legal aid services throughout England and Wales across all categories of law. Details about volumes of contracted 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. Additionally, the LAA’s network of regional contract managers in England and Wales provide intelligence-led information regarding provision of legal aid based on contact with legal aid service providers. The LAA takes operational action, where it can, to respond to market pressures that may arise.
For civil contracts, the LAA commissions legal aid services across larger geographic areas called procurement areas, rather than by local authority or parliamentary constituency. The relevant procurement area serving the Norwich South constituency varies depending on the type of civil law.
Constituents in Norwich South can access face to face services across all civil categories of law for which legal aid is available. All procurement areas serving Norwich South exceed the minimum required number of legal aid providers. The LAA is satisfied there is adequate provision of legal aid services in Norwich South.
We are committed to sustaining the long-term future of the legal aid sector and ensuring access to justice. That is why we are uplifting immigration and housing legal aid fees, areas identified by the Review of Civil Legal Aid as facing particularly acute challenges. This is a significant investment of £20 million a year once fully implemented – the first major increase since 1996.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of jurors completed jury service lasting (a) one week or less from their first day of service, (b) more than one week but not more than two weeks, (c) more than two weeks but not more than three weeks, (d) more than three weeks but not more than four weeks, (e) more than four weeks but not more than five weeks, (f) more than five weeks but not more than six weeks, and (g) more than six weeks in the last two years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
When jurors are summoned, they are advised that Jury service usually lasts up to 10 working days, although some trials may extend beyond this period and jurors will be advised of this in advance. Jurors may also sit on more than one case during their service.
Proportion of Jurors by Jury Service Duration (Weeks) | |||
Period | Jan 2024 – Dec 2025 | Jan 2024 – Dec 2025 (%) | |
One week or less | 210,930 | 53.1% | |
Between 1 and 2 weeks | 155,178 | 39.1% | |
Between 2 and 3 weeks | 18,806 | 4.7% | |
Between 3 and 4 weeks | 5,061 | 1.3% | |
Between 4 and 5 weeks | 2,841 | 0.7% | |
Between 5 and 6 weeks | 1,667 | 0.4% | |
More than 6 weeks | 2,773 | 0.7% | |
Total | 397,256 | 100.0% | |
Source: HMCTS management information - Data extracted via Juror 16/4/2026 Notes:
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Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many children aged (a) under one years old, (b) aged between one and four years old and (c) aged five years and older were (i) adopted and (ii) given a Special guardianship order in each year since 1996.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Data on the age of the children subject to adoption and Special Guardianship Orders is routinely published in Family Court Quarterly statistics and the relevant tables are attached.
Data prior to 2011 is not readily available and to source it would incur disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of average waiting times for fact-finding hearings in the family courts; and what steps he is taking to reduce those waiting times.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government is committed to improving the performance of the Family Courts, and the Family Justice Board has agreed system-wide priorities and targets for reducing delay across England and Wales. While we do not have specific figures for the timeliness of fact-finding hearings, the latest published data shows a reduction in the national average case duration for both public and private law cases.
The Government recently announced the national rollout of the Child Focused Model for private law over the next three years. It currently operates in 10 of 43 Family Court areas and seeks to enhance the experience of children and families. The model has additionally demonstrated a significant impact on timeliness and reductions in the number of average hearings per case. Cases are concluding between 11-30 weeks quicker and outstanding caseloads have been reduced by up to 50%.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many children aged (a) under one, (b) one, (c) two, (d) three, (e) four, (f) five, (g) six, (h) seven, (i) eight, (j) nine and (k) ten and over years old were (i) adopted and (ii) subject of a Special Guardianship Order in each year since 2021.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Data on age of children subject to adoption and Special Guardianship Orders is routinely published in the quarterly Family Court Statistics and the relevant tables are attached.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the costs arising from his role as Deputy Prime Minister are being met from the department’s budget.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
As outlined on gov.uk, the Deputy Prime Minister acts on behalf of the department and also deputises for the Prime Minister. Engagements completed on the Prime Minister's behalf, including international visits, are generally paid for by the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential for a role for the voluntary sector in helping support the Probation Service during the period after release.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We recognise the valuable role played by the thousands of voluntary sector organisations that work in partnership with prisons and the Probation Service to provide vital support to people serving their sentences in prison and on returning to the community.
We welcome the Independent Sentencing Review’s recommendations on how we can better harness the value the Third Sector can add to probation work, building even stronger partnerships to enable better targeting of resources and improve outcomes for offenders.
The Ministry of Justice and H M Prison and Probation Service are continuing to work with voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations to define the role that they can play in the Probation Service of the future.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the participation of the voluntary sector to assist with the probation service.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We recognise the valuable role played by the thousands of voluntary sector organisations that work in partnership with prisons and the Probation Service to provide vital support to people serving their sentences in prison and on returning to the community.
We welcome the Independent Sentencing Review’s recommendations on how we can better harness the value the Third Sector can add to probation work, building even stronger partnerships to enable better targeting of resources and improve outcomes for offenders.
The Ministry of Justice and H M Prison and Probation Service are continuing to work with voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations to define the role that they can play in the Probation Service of the future.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the reoffending rate is for foreign national offenders convicted of sexual or violent offences against women in Great Yarmouth, compared with UK nationals convicted of comparable offences.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice does not hold data which would enable us to identify sexual or violent offences committed against women in Great Yarmouth.
Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced. We refer all foreign national offenders (FNOs) in receipt of custodial sentences to the Home Office where they are considered for removal under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS). The ERS enables the removal of FNOs at an earlier point in their sentence than would otherwise be possible. It is the most effective mechanism for removing eligible FNOs as quickly as possible, freeing up prison spaces and saving taxpayer money.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the implementation of fixed release dates by the Parole Board.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Prisoners serving a determinate sentence are usually released automatically at a point fixed by legislation relating to their sentence. In contrast, indeterminate sentenced prisoners can only be released by the Parole Board after the expiry of their tariff. They must serve a minimum term, in full, in prison, at the end of which they can only be released if the independent Parole Board is satisfied that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public for the offender to be confined. Therefore, introducing release dates fixed by the Parole Board would primarily affect indeterminate sentences.
In accordance with legislation, an indeterminate sentenced prisoner must have a parole review to consider whether the release test is met and if not, to confirm further detention. Reviews take place just prior to tariff expiry and then at least every two years thereafter. The setting of fixed release dates would not be compatible with the need for release to be based on the current risk posed by offenders and whether they could be managed safely if released into the community on licence.
During the passage of the Sentencing Act 2026, the House of Lords voted against an amendment to legislate for the Parole Board to fix a future release date for IPP prisoners.