Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department will publish the details and allocations of its £550 million investment over the next three years in victim support services as part of the Government's violence against women and girls strategy.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government is committed to halving Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in a decade. Ensuring victims receive the right and timely support is a key part of this mission. The Ministry of Justice has committed £550 million in funding for victim and witness support services over the next three years, including year-on-year increases. This includes funding for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund, and national services such as the Witness Service and the Homicide Service.
We do not routinely publish the full Ministry of Justice budget for victim and witness support services. The budgets for individual PCC areas are published on each area’s website. A breakdown of grant funding for the previous financial year is published on an annual basis on the Government Grants Information System. The latest data, released in March 2026, covers the 2024-2025 financial year.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2026 to Question 106177, on Rents: Appeals, whether any programmes of works detailed in that Answer are estimated not to be completed before the implementation of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 on 1 May 2026.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
All the programmes of work detailed in the answer to Question 106177 are expected to be completed by implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 on 1 May 2026. This includes recruitment exercises for additional administrative staff, establishment of a centralised operational hub, updates to operational processes, availability of suitable estates capacity for hearings and enhancements to technology systems.
Recruitment of judges and members for the Property Chamber is ongoing, with further recruitment exercises planned throughout 2026.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department holds data on the outstanding caseload in the County Court in England and Wales.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
No data is held regarding outstanding caseloads in the County Court in England and Wales. Civil cases do not progress through the court system in a linear way. The vast majority of civil cases settle, are resolved by default judgment, or conclude outside of a final court hearing. Only about 3% of cases are disposed of at a final hearing. Given this, and the fact that civil claims are often driven by party behaviour, an outstanding caseload figure would not provide a fair or meaningful reflection of County Court demand or performance.
I can confirm County Court performance is improving, with the median time taken from claim issue to hearing falling for all tracks. The median time taken for small claims to go to trial was 36.1 weeks in October to December 2025, 6.4 weeks faster than the same period in 2024. The median time taken for fast/intermediate/multi track claims to go to trial was 9.3 weeks faster than the same period last year, at 57.4 weeks in the current quarter.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department collects data on document handling errors or lost filings in County Court civil cases.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested is not held centrally. The terms “document handling errors” and “lost filings” are broad and may encompass a wide range of issues, making it difficult to provide a specific or reliable answer. HMCTS is reducing the risk of administrative errors in civil claims through work to digitalise processes.
The Deputy Prime Minister has announced further modernisation of civil justice with £50 million investment to continue digitalising the County Court.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what is the rate of recidivism for hare coursing in the most recent period for which reporting is available.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the national rollout of the new child-focused family court model adequately identifies and responds to cases of parental alienation.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government does not recognise the concept of “parental alienation” and does not believe it is a syndrome capable of diagnosis. We are working with the Family Procedure Rule Committee to limit the instruction of unregulated experts, including unregulated “parental alienation” experts.
The Family Justice Council guidance on “Responding to a Child’s Unexplained Reluctance, Resistance or Refusal to Spend Time with a Parent and Allegations of Alienating Behaviour” provides a clear framework for assessing whether alienating behaviours are present.
The guidance clarifies that the child's perspective should be central, emphasising an understanding of their experiences and reasons for rejecting a parent. The guidance is clear that where the court finds that domestic abuse has occurred then the child’s rejection of the parent may be appropriate and justified.
The Child Focused Model prioritises early identification of risk and the voice of the child is amplified through a ‘Child Impact Report’. In addition, victims of domestic abuse are offered specialist support from an Independent Domestic Violence Adviser (IDVA), which includes the offer of in-court support.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has taken steps to implement the Law Commission’s July 2022 recommendations on weddings law reform in England and Wales; and whether his Department has published any progress reports.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government announced on 2 October 2025 that we intend to reform weddings law when parliamentary time allows, taking forward the two key elements from the Law Commission report. We will move to a more flexible system that gives couples greater choice over where and how they marry and simplify the legal framework so that it is fairer, more consistent and reflects modern society, while continuing to protect the dignity of marriage.
Ahead of these reforms, we will be undertaking a public consultation early this year. This consultation will seek views from wide range of stakeholders, including members of the public, couples, celebrants, and others to ensure broad engagement by those affected by and interested in weddings law.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the consultation on the Marriage Act 1949 reforms will be launched; how long it will run; and what steps will be taken to ensure the broad engagement with all stakeholders including couples and celebrants.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government announced on 2 October 2025 that we intend to reform weddings law when parliamentary time allows, taking forward the two key elements from the Law Commission report. We will move to a more flexible system that gives couples greater choice over where and how they marry and simplify the legal framework so that it is fairer, more consistent and reflects modern society, while continuing to protect the dignity of marriage.
Ahead of these reforms, we will be undertaking a public consultation early this year. This consultation will seek views from wide range of stakeholders, including members of the public, couples, celebrants, and others to ensure broad engagement by those affected by and interested in weddings law.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 4 September 2025 to Question 70519 on Public Inquiries, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of the Nottingham Inquiry.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
In fulfilment of the PM’s commitment, this Government established a statutory Inquiry into the horrific attacks that took place in Nottingham in 2023. The Inquiry was formally announced by the previous Lord Chancellor to Parliament on 22 April.
The total cost of the Nottingham Inquiry from its commencement up to 31/03/26 is £10.9 million.
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 community sentences were passed in each of the last ten years; and what proportion of these included an unpaid work requirement.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The data requested are provided in the attached excel tables.
The decision as to what type of order to impose at sentence, or when imposing any other type of Order in court, is a matter for our independent judiciary, taking into account all the circumstances of the case before them.