Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent progress has been made to update the National Information Centre on Children of Offenders online information resource.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The National Information Centre on Children of Offenders (NICCO) website was created in 2016 as a partnership between Barnardo’s and HMPPS. It was constructed to replace an earlier site called iHOP which Barnardo’s had developed jointly with the Department for Education as an information centre for professionals working with the children of prisoners.
As well as being an updated information hub, NICCO also became the repository of the family strategy documents created by all prisons.
Discussions are currently underway to review how best to retain and update the information held on the NICCO site.
Asked by: Calum Miller (Liberal Democrat - Bicester and Woodstock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reform the family court.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Today, the Deputy Prime Minister announced national rollout of the Child Focused Model, formerly known as Pathfinder, over the next three years.
We are investing £17 million next year to expand the model across courts in the North East, North West and East Midlands so more children and families can benefit.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking ensure that people convicted of charges related to grooming gangs receive adequate sentences.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Government is determined to ensure that grooming gang members face the toughest possible sentences for their crimes.
This is why we are introducing a new statutory aggravating factor requiring courts to consider grooming when sentencing for specified sexual offences committed against those under 18.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence have taken their own lives while (1) in prison, and (2) out on release.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There were 92 self-inflicted deaths of people serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence while in prison custody in the period from the introduction of the sentence in 2005 to December 2025. There were 44 such deaths of people serving an IPP on licence in the community between April 2019 and March 2025.
Data on community‑based deaths is only available for this more restricted period because:
Before April 2019 information was collected through manual returns, and identifying individuals serving an IPP sentence would require matching thousands of records, which cannot be done without disproportionate cost; and
Data for the period from April 2025 to March 2026 is scheduled for publication in October 2026.
The category of self-inflicted deaths includes a broader range of deaths than suicide. Definitions for apparent causes of death are provided in the ‘Safety in Custody’ and ‘Deaths of Offenders in the Community’ statistical publications. For breakdowns by year and other accompanying notes, please refer to the tables below. Information on self-inflicted deaths in prison by IPP prisoners are published annually in the detailed deaths tables accompanying the ‘Safety in Custody’ statistics (see Table 1_7 of Deaths in prison custody 1978 to 2025 for the most recent data, as provided here).
Table 1: Self-inflicted deaths in prison custody by Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence type since 2005, England and Wales
Imprisonment for Public Protection | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| |
4 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 2 |
|
Data sources and quality
Deaths figures are derived from the HMPPS Deaths in Prison Custody database. As classification of deaths may change following inquests or as new information emerges, numbers may change from time to time.
Notes
(1) Deaths in prison custody figures include all deaths of prisoners arising from incidents during prison custody. They include deaths of prisoners while released on temporary license (ROTL) for medical reasons but exclude other types of ROTL where the state has less direct responsibility.
(2) Due to the number of deaths that remain unclassified (awaiting further information) in recent years, and the latest year particularly, caution should be used when comparing with earlier periods.
(3) Apparent cause is based on the HMPPS classification of deaths in prison custody. The self-inflicted deaths category includes a wider range of deaths than suicides. When comparing figures with other sources it is important to determine whether the narrower suicide or broader self-inflicted deaths approach is in use.
(4) All classifications of deaths remain provisional until confirmed at inquest.
(5) In addition to deaths in prison custody which occur in hospitals, hospices or nursing homes, a small proportion will occur while in an ambulance on the way to hospital, while on escort.
(6) An indeterminate sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) was introduced in 2005. It was intended for high-risk prisoners considered ‘dangerous’ but whose offence did not merit a life sentence. The number of prisoners held on this sentence increased initially and the increase was offset by reductions elsewhere.
(7) Recalled prisoners are those held in custody for breaching the terms of their licence conditions following release into the community. Recalled prisoners are not shown separately within the deaths tables, they are recorded against their initial sentence type.
(8) Caution should be used when comparing the number of deaths from one year to the next due to low numbers which are subject to fluctuation.
Table 2: Self-inflicted deaths of offenders serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence supervised on licence in the community, financial year 2019/20 to 2024/25, England and Wales (1) (2) (3) (4) | ||||||
| 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 (p) |
Community | 6 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 7 |
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|
|
|
|
| |
p) The 2024/25 figures are provisional and may be updated in future publications to account for any changes or additions to the data since they were originally collected
(1) Apparent causes for years prior to 2023/24 are based on data reported through annual returns (prior to 2020/21 only) or the national Delius case management system and have not been independently verified. From 2023/24 onwards, cause data sourced from Delius have been independently verified by the General Register Office (GRO) and updated accordingly. The latest provisional data for 2024/25 remain based on apparent causes, i.e., they have not been independently verified. For further details about the GRO verification process, refer to the guide to deaths of offenders supervised in the community statistics.
(2) The reporting period for these statistics (financial year 1 April to 31 March) relates to when the death occurred.
(3) A new set of death classifications was implemented on 1 April 2022 and, as such, figures for 2022/23 onwards are not comparable to those presented for previous years. The category of 'self-inflicted death' up to 31 March 2022 includes any death of a person who has apparently taken his or her own life, irrespective of intent. The category of 'self-inflicted death' from 1 April 2022 includes any death of a person at their own hand, including where intent is undetermined. This includes some drug poisonings (e.g., where a suicide note is found or the circumstances are suspicious) but not drug poisonings which appear to have been the accidental result of consumption for another purpose. Refer to the guide to deaths of offenders supervised in the community statistics for further details about the new set of classifications.
(4) In June 2025, a data sharing agreement was established with the General Register Office (GRO) to provide access to official cause of death data following the registration of a death. This information is then used to update the provisional categorisation of deaths on the probation case management system. Official causes of death from the GRO are only available for deaths occurring from 1 April 2023 onwards. Also, the registration of a death can be delayed when a case is referred to the coroner and, as such, the official cause of death from the GRO is not available for deaths that occurred in the most recent period. Comparisons across cause of death categories over time should, therefore, not be made, as periods prior to 1 April 2023 and the most recent reporting period are based on provisional classifications, which are not directly comparable to GRO-verified data.
Data sources and quality
The figures in this table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Source: National Delius case management system.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the review of pornography law will include differences between online and offline regulation in relation to children’s access to sexually explicit material.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
On 9 December 2025, during the House of Lords Committee Stage debate on the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government announced that it would accept, in part, recommendation 24 of Baroness Bertin’s Independent Review on Pornography:
‘The current criminal justice response is ineffective in tackling illegal pornography online. Government should conduct its own legislative review of this regime to ensure that legislation and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance is fit-for-purpose in tackling illegal pornography in the online world.’
The Ministry of Justice will be reviewing the criminal law relating to pornography, which will give an opportunity to look holistically and consider whether it is fit for purpose in an ever-developing online world. This will involve reviewing the effectiveness of existing legislation which criminalises the possession and publication of illegal pornographic material both online and offline. We have accepted in part because the Government cannot accept the recommendation to review CPS guidance. As the CPS is independent, whether to conduct a review of guidance would be a matter for them to decide.
As the review is focused on the criminal law set out above, it will not appraise the adequacy of age-verification, age-assurance methods or regulation.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department's review of the criminal law relating to pornography will consider the adequacy of existing age-verification and age-assurance measures in preventing children from accessing online pornography.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
On 9 December 2025, during the House of Lords Committee Stage debate on the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government announced that it would accept, in part, recommendation 24 of Baroness Bertin’s Independent Review on Pornography:
‘The current criminal justice response is ineffective in tackling illegal pornography online. Government should conduct its own legislative review of this regime to ensure that legislation and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance is fit-for-purpose in tackling illegal pornography in the online world.’
The Ministry of Justice will be reviewing the criminal law relating to pornography, which will give an opportunity to look holistically and consider whether it is fit for purpose in an ever-developing online world. This will involve reviewing the effectiveness of existing legislation which criminalises the possession and publication of illegal pornographic material both online and offline. We have accepted in part because the Government cannot accept the recommendation to review CPS guidance. As the CPS is independent, whether to conduct a review of guidance would be a matter for them to decide.
As the review is focused on the criminal law set out above, it will not appraise the adequacy of age-verification, age-assurance methods or regulation.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department plans to publish a review of the criminal law relating to pornography.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
On 9 December 2025, during the House of Lords Committee Stage debate on the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government announced that it would accept, in part, recommendation 24 of Baroness Bertin’s Independent Review on Pornography:
‘The current criminal justice response is ineffective in tackling illegal pornography online. Government should conduct its own legislative review of this regime to ensure that legislation and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance is fit-for-purpose in tackling illegal pornography in the online world.’
The Ministry of Justice will be reviewing the criminal law relating to pornography, which will give an opportunity to look holistically and consider whether it is fit for purpose in an ever-developing online world. This will involve reviewing the effectiveness of existing legislation which criminalises the possession and publication of illegal pornographic material both online and offline. We have accepted in part because the Government cannot accept the recommendation to review CPS guidance. As the CPS is independent, whether to conduct a review of guidance would be a matter for them to decide.
As the review is focused on the criminal law set out above, it will not appraise the adequacy of age-verification, age-assurance methods or regulation.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the cumulative number of years of experience held by prison officers in each year since 2010.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The cumulative length of service, in years, held by public sector band 3-5 prison officers is given in the following table. Figures are given as at 31 December each year.
Table 1 – Cumulative length of service1 of public sector band 3-5 prison officers2 in England and Wales, as at 31 December each year from 2010 to 20253
Date | Number of prison officers in post | Cumulative length of service of these prison officers (Years) |
(Full Time Equivalent) | ||
31/12/2010 | 24,501 | 329,353 |
31/12/2011 | 23,054 | 326,563 |
31/12/2012 | 21,841 | 326,660 |
31/12/2013 | 18,731 | 287,921 |
31/12/2014 | 17,796 | 278,258 |
31/12/2015 | 18,226 | 271,984 |
31/12/2016 | 17,879 | 261,501 |
31/12/2017 | 19,892 | 253,286 |
31/12/2018 | 22,673 | 247,620 |
31/12/2019 | 22,100 | 245,855 |
31/12/2020 | 21,485 | 242,229 |
31/12/2021 | 22,057 | 239,723 |
31/12/2022 | 21,546 | 226,367 |
31/12/2023 | 23,174 | 219,792 |
31/12/2024 | 23,041 | 215,660 |
31/12/2025 | 22,067 | 213,125 |
Notes:
1. The length of service in HMPPS is calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS
2. Band 3-5 Officers includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officers (incl. specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officers, and Band 5 / Custodial Managers
3. The dates reflect the Full Time Equivalent and cumulative years of service at that particular point of the year.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to support Women's centres in Greater Manchester.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
I welcome the positive work happening in Greater Manchester to support women involved in the criminal justice system, and the work of women’s community sector organisations that provide crucial infrastructure for the criminal justice system.
His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) currently funds specialist support for women on probation through Commissioned Rehabilitative Services (CRS) delivered by third sector organisations, including providers of women’s centres. HMPPS is committed to ensuring CRS contracts deliver holistic, gender-specific support that meets women’s needs, informed by service users, stakeholders and providers.
The Ministry of Justice is providing a further £7.2 million in 2025-2026 to support the women’s community sector. This funding is aimed at building sustainability, expanding interventions and increasing capacity, including residential provision where needed. Funding for future years is subject to internal allocations.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether improvements in prison management arising from the Managing Women in Crisis Working Group have been shared with devolved justice departments in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Improvements in prison management arising from the Managing Women in Crisis Working Group have not yet been shared more widely, but H M Prison & Probation Service will shortly be publishing its 12-month progress report to H M Inspectorate of Prison’s thematic report ‘Time to Care: What helps women cope in prison’, setting out the measures it has put in place.