Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve the quality of (a) court buildings and (b) technology used in courts.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Historical underfunding has resulted in challenges across the court estate, with an estimated £1.3 billion building maintenance backlog.
It is vital that court infrastructure does not prevent hearings from taking place, that is why we announced a boost in court capital maintenance and project funding from £120 million last year, to £148.5 million for 2025/26.
We are committed to enhancing the condition of our existing estate while also delivering new facilities. Examples include a purpose‑built modern court building under construction in the City of London, with further new facilities in Reading and Blackpool. A state-of-the-art Tribunals Centre in London, providing 30 hearings rooms, is scheduled to open in early March.
We also continue to invest in technology in courts as part of a providing a modern justice system. In 2025/26 HMCTS is investing over £20 million of capital funding in IT hardware to provide the courts with modern audio-visual capability - to improve digital evidence presentation and remote participation, replaced over a quarter of staff laptops and improved Wi-Fi coverage and capacity. In 2025, HMCTS replaced the contact centre solution used by the Courts and Tribunals Service Centres and modernised significant digital applications used in courts, moving old technology out of legacy data centres. As part of continual improvement, HMCTS is progressing with the adoption of Artificial Intelligence, to improve systems and services throughout the Justice system.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to respond to the publication of the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Part 1 of Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts was published on 9 July 2025, which contained a number of recommendations for structural reform of the criminal courts. On 2 December, the Deputy Prime Minister set out the reforms Government intends to pursue, alongside investment and modernisation.
On 4 February 2026 Sir Brian Leveson published Part 2 of his report, where he makes 135 recommendations to improve efficiency and modernise the criminal courts. The report is thorough and I welcome his ambition to see real improvements in the system.
We will urgently consider the latest recommendations, alongside Sir Brian’s remaining recommendations from Part 1, and respond to them in the coming months.
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 take legislative steps through the Sentencing Bill to toughen fines and sentences for people convicted of the assault of retail workers.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Sentencing Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 22 January 2026 and is therefore not open to further amendment. However, the Government is taking additional steps to strengthen protections for retail workers through the Crime and Policing Bill. It is unacceptable that violence and abuse towards retail workers continues to rise. That is why, through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are bringing a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. This bespoke offence will send a clear signal to perpetrators that assaults on retail workers are unacceptable and won’t go unpunished.
The Crime and Policing Bill also ensures that all shop theft is treated with the seriousness it deserves by repealing section 22A of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980, so low value shop theft (of £200 or less) is no longer treated separately as a summary-only offence, but can instead be prosecuted as general theft, which carries a higher maximum penalty. Together, these measures further reinforce the Government’s commitment to tackling violence, abuse and criminality affecting retail staff.
Asked by: Lorraine Beavers (Labour - Blackpool North and Fleetwood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how his Department plans to promote the National Year of Reading within the criminal justice system.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The National Year of Reading is a welcome opportunity to promote a wide range of activity to improve literacy and engagement with reading for people in custody and on probation.
As part of this work we have appointed the first ever Prison Reading Laureate, the author Lee Child. He will champion the transformative power of reading across the criminal justice system, continue expansion of his successful literacy pilot programme which has been running in a number of prisons since 2025 and will bring in more authors to work with prisons across the country, promoting the benefits of reading to rehabilitation.
Reading is a priority for HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) who work with many voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations such as the Reading Agency and National Literacy Trust. A programme of work is planned throughout this year to improve national access to books and facilitate workshops with authors. The Youth Custody Service is also launching its first ever Literacy Festival to inspire reading amongst some of the most complex children in our society.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to reduce the number of delays to court hearings caused by the late arrival of prisoners.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
In 2025, the overall Criminal Justice System timely delivery to court performance was 98.19%, Prisoner Escort and Custody Services (PECS) suppliers met the contractual requirement for timely delivery of prisoners to court in 99.91% of cases. The impact of recent reform policies on delivery times is under review.
In addition to its regular oversight meetings with the contractors, the PECS contract management team continues to work collaboratively with criminal justice partners to address any performance issues. Strategic Partnership Boards convene quarterly to review performance and agree strategies to drive and sustain improvement.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the effectiveness of introducing a statutory duty of candour on the military.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Bill will apply to all public authorities, including the military.
Appropriate safeguards for sensitive information will be in place and we are clear that nothing should undermine our national security.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many charges were laid under Prison rule 51 relating specifically to aggravation towards a protected characteristic of (a) race, (b) religion and (c) belief in the last year where data exists; and how many of those charges were proven.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Prison Rule 51 sets out the offences of which an adult prisoner can be found guilty, including those which relate to aggravation towards a protected characteristic. The information on the breakdown of which protected characteristics these offences against discipline relate to can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Data on Adjudication outcomes related to these offences can be found in the Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK, which are published quarterly.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many illegal marriages have been recorded in each year since 2010, broken down by local authority area.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice does not hold this data.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what representations he has received from counterparts in Five Eyes countries that do not have a statutory duty of candour.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The sovereign capabilities of our security and intelligence agencies, underpinned by appropriate safeguards and oversight, enable us to keep ahead of our adversaries and provide the lynchpin for our collaboration with our Five Eyes partners.
We work incredibly closely with our allies, particularly our Five Eyes partners, to ensure our collective national security.
We are clear that the duty of candour must not undermine national security.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many nights were spent in hotels by Departmental staff in financial year 2024-25 by the star rating of the hotel.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
This information is not held centrally.