Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2025 to Question 87077 on Children: Custody, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of expanding the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Since my response to PQ 87077 on 10 November 2025, uptake of the Mediation Voucher Scheme has continued to grow. The scheme has now helped over 51,000 families access mediation services since its launch.
Decisions on the continuation or expansion of the Mediation Voucher Scheme beyond March 2026 form part of the ongoing funding allocations discussion for the three-year Spending Review period. Any decisions on if and how the scheme could be expanded will be taken once the allocations process has concluded, should the scheme continue.
Local authority-level reporting on voucher take-up is something we are working towards. Our new client survey now collects location data, which will allow us to provide more detailed insights in the future.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2025 to Question 87080 on Child Arrangement Orders, if he will make such an assessment.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government does not have any plans to undertake a formal assessment of the efficacy of child arrangement orders. However, we have recently published a review of the courts’ application of the presumption of parental involvement that explored the impact of decisions about child arrangements on child welfare. The Review found a high incidence of orders for direct contact between children and parents, even in cases where a parent has caused or posed a risk of harm. The evidence from the review suggested this could have long term negative impacts for children.
The Government is continually working with stakeholders to ensure that the family justice system delivers outcomes that work for children and families. The Government recently announced its intention to repeal the presumption of parental involvement from the Children Act 1989 when parliamentary time allows, alongside a wider package of family court reforms. A Child Arrangements Order may be made by the court in private family law cases to determine whom a child is to live with, spend time with or otherwise have contact with. Child Maintenance calculations are carried out by the Child Maintenance Service and are based on HM Revenues and Customs data. The calculation represents an amount of money that is broadly equal to the amount that a paying parent would spend on the child if they were still living with them, irrespective of the income or assets of the receiving parent.
The Children Act 1989 states that the welfare of the child is the paramount consideration in family proceedings. The welfare checklist in the Children Act 1989 requires decision-makers to consider the ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned, and the Government has no plans to change this.
The Government believes that children’s voices must be central to family court proceedings and is delivering a new approach to private family law proceedings, known as Pathfinder. Under the Pathfinder model, a far greater proportion of children are engaged by Cafcass or Cafcass Cymru compared with the Child Arrangements Programme, and the court process puts a greater emphasis on the voice of the child through the ordering of a Child Impact Report (Report), which contains clear recommendations from the social worker, taking into account the child’s wishes and feelings.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has considered changes to child arrangement orders that would affect child maintenance requirements for parents without custody.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government does not have any plans to undertake a formal assessment of the efficacy of child arrangement orders. However, we have recently published a review of the courts’ application of the presumption of parental involvement that explored the impact of decisions about child arrangements on child welfare. The Review found a high incidence of orders for direct contact between children and parents, even in cases where a parent has caused or posed a risk of harm. The evidence from the review suggested this could have long term negative impacts for children.
The Government is continually working with stakeholders to ensure that the family justice system delivers outcomes that work for children and families. The Government recently announced its intention to repeal the presumption of parental involvement from the Children Act 1989 when parliamentary time allows, alongside a wider package of family court reforms. A Child Arrangements Order may be made by the court in private family law cases to determine whom a child is to live with, spend time with or otherwise have contact with. Child Maintenance calculations are carried out by the Child Maintenance Service and are based on HM Revenues and Customs data. The calculation represents an amount of money that is broadly equal to the amount that a paying parent would spend on the child if they were still living with them, irrespective of the income or assets of the receiving parent.
The Children Act 1989 states that the welfare of the child is the paramount consideration in family proceedings. The welfare checklist in the Children Act 1989 requires decision-makers to consider the ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned, and the Government has no plans to change this.
The Government believes that children’s voices must be central to family court proceedings and is delivering a new approach to private family law proceedings, known as Pathfinder. Under the Pathfinder model, a far greater proportion of children are engaged by Cafcass or Cafcass Cymru compared with the Child Arrangements Programme, and the court process puts a greater emphasis on the voice of the child through the ordering of a Child Impact Report (Report), which contains clear recommendations from the social worker, taking into account the child’s wishes and feelings.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2025 to question 94597, what information his Department holds on the proportion of the 80,000 families affected by locked Child Trust Funds who will have gained access to those funds within the next three years.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice does not hold this information. Capacity to manage financial affairs is decision-specific and cannot be determined simply by reference to any disability or condition a person may have. Capacity can also fluctuate over time.
Using the current legal processes, all Child Trust Funds, where the account holder lacks mental capacity, can be accessed by a parent or carer who obtains legal authority to manage those funds. This can be done by making an application to the Court of Protection. Authority can be obtained in advance of the account holder reaching age 18, and in many cases no court fee will be payable.
A toolkit for parents and carers Making Financial decisions for young people who lack capacity Making financial decisions for young people who lack capacity: A toolkit for parents and carers - GOV.UK was published in June 2023 and explains the process.
The Ministry of Justice is considering what further steps could be taken to raise awareness of the current law and improving the court process while maintaining necessary safeguards.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has recently considered measures to improve the accountability of CAFCASS.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
As a Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, the oversight and assurance arrangements for Cafcass are carried out in accordance with the Arms-Length Body Code of Practice. Specific areas of oversight are also covered in the Framework Document between the Ministry of Justice and Cafcass, which sets out the sponsorship governance arrangements, financial management and performance reporting. The Framework Document is reviewed and updated at least once every three years unless exceptional circumstances arise. The next scheduled review of the framework is due to be undertaken by December 2026.
Cafcass is subject to regular inspections by Ofsted, At the most recent full inspection, conducted in January 2024, Cafcass was rated as “outstanding”, the key finding of the Ofsted report are available here. Ofsted also undertook a ‘focused visit’ between 21 and 23 October 2025, which considered Cafcass’s work in relation to private law proceedings where domestic abuse is a factor. Ofsted’s letter of findings is available here.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 8 December 2025 to Question 97022, how much and what proportion of his Department's expenditure on Microsoft Software licenses and services was allocated to (a) new service implementations and (b) renewal or maintenance of existing system; and how this compares to the previous year’s expenditure in each category.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Lord Hain (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Palestine Action protestors are (1) in prison, (2) in prison awaiting trial, (3) serving prison sentences, (4) on hunger strike and awaiting trial, and (5) on hunger strike and serving prison sentences.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
As of 12 December, 29 Palestine Action protestors are in prison; seven are on hunger strike and awaiting trial. None are serving prison sentences. Six are currently being tried and the remainder are awaiting trial.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Timpson on 10 December (HL12375), what assessment they have made of the planned level of tuition for young offenders by the Shaw Trust compared to the number of hours delivered.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Shaw Trust is programming the required learning hours; delivery is affected by restrictions on mixing between certain children, which limit the number of learners who can be accommodated in a classroom at any one time. These restrictions arise from conflicts that have transferred into custody from the community. The establishment is actively addressing this by working to resolve these conflicts, enabling greater classroom integration and maximising access to education.
The action plan prepared in response to the joint Ofsted/HMIP thematic report The Quality of Education in Young Offender Institutions was published on 15 November 2024.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Timpson on 10 December (HL12375), what action they are taking at Feltham Prison and Young Offenders Institution to increase the number of hours of tuition delivered by the Shaw Trust.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Shaw Trust is programming the required learning hours; delivery is affected by restrictions on mixing between certain children, which limit the number of learners who can be accommodated in a classroom at any one time. These restrictions arise from conflicts that have transferred into custody from the community. The establishment is actively addressing this by working to resolve these conflicts, enabling greater classroom integration and maximising access to education.
The action plan prepared in response to the joint Ofsted/HMIP thematic report The Quality of Education in Young Offender Institutions was published on 15 November 2024.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to tackle family court backlogs in London.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government remains committed to reducing the outstanding caseload within the Family Court and is working closely with system partners to drive forward a cross-cutting programme of work to achieve this. At a national level the Family Justice Board has agreed system-wide targets for 2025/26, with a continued focus on reducing delay.
In London, a dedicated Family Justice Strategy has been implemented, which brings together key partners across the three London Family Court areas. This work has included targeted investment over 2025/26 to tackle the outstanding private law caseload by providing additional court capacity and ensuring that courts follow the Public Law Outline, with clear arrangements for overseeing performance. These measures have already delivered a reduction in delays and the London model is being evaluated with a view to applying lessons learned in other regions.