Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of complaints generated by AI on the capacity of legal complaints handling services.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The legal profession in England and Wales, together with its regulators and the Office for Legal Complaints (OLC), operates independently of government. Legal services providers handle complaints about their services in the first instance. The OLC administers the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) scheme, which considers service complaints that have not been resolved by providers, while the legal services regulators consider concerns about professional conduct. The Legal Services Board (LSB) oversees the legal services regulators and the OLC.
The Government has not undertaken a specific assessment of the impact of AI-generated complaints. However, through its regular engagement with these bodies, the Ministry of Justice is aware that AI can help consumers articulate and pursue complaints but may also increase demand and place additional pressure on complaints-handling services.
For example, the LeO has reported a record 37% increase in new complaints in 2025–26. It has identified increased use of AI as a driver of this demand and also as a factor increasing the complexity of the complaints it receives. The OLC is responding through operational improvements and a longer-term transformation programme, using technology and AI.
The recently published independent review of the LSB also recognises the importance of maintaining effective consumer redress and ensuring the legal services regulatory framework is equipped to respond to emerging risks, including those associated with technology and AI. The Government is considering the review's recommendations and will set out its response in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of custodial sentences under 12 months.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The evidence shows that those given a community order or suspended sentence reoffend less than similar offenders given a short prison sentence. Short prison sentences can exacerbate issues with employment, housing, and maintaining family ties, without allowing sufficient time to provide effective rehabilitative services.
In line with this evidence, and recommendations made by the Independent Sentencing Review, the Sentencing Act 2026 introduced a presumption for the courts to suspend sentences of immediate custody, of 12 months or less. The courts will always have the power to send offenders to prison where they have breached a court order, an individual is at significant risk of physical or psychological harm, or in exceptional circumstances.
Limiting the use of short sentences will help offenders to break the cycle of re-offending, reduce crime and lead to fewer victims and safer communities.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the appropriateness of current sentences for sexual offences.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent judiciary. They must sentence within the legislative framework set by Parliament, and in line with the relevant Sentencing Council guidelines, unless not in the interest of justice to do so.
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 establishes a comprehensive framework of serious offences with robust maximum penalties. These penalties reflect the gravity with which such offending is treated.
The Government keeps criminal offences and the associated penalties under review to ensure that the legislative framework remains effective, proportionate and responsive to the seriousness of offending. The legislation has recently been further strengthened through the creation of specific sexual offences against children under 16, which carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. This demonstrates the Government’s commitment to ensuring that the law provides the highest level of protection for children and reflects the seriousness of these crimes.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the provisions in the Public Office (Accountability) Bill on the functions of the security services.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has worked closely with the UK Intelligence Community and with the Intelligence and Security Committee to assess the impact of any measures on the functions of the intelligence and security services.
The Bill includes measures designed to ensure that sensitive information is handled securely and can be protected from inappropriate disclosure. This includes information related to the functions of the intelligence and security services.
As for all public authorities, there will be some limited costs for the intelligence and security services in preparing for the application of the duty and in adapting existing practice to meet its requirements. The Bill’s impact assessment sets out that the extent of ‘new’ costs in the support of these investigative processes is likely to be low.
The Government will continue to review the impact assessment of the Bill as the Bill is amended.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of prisoner awareness and understanding of what to do when a fire occurs; and what steps they are taking to ensure prisoners are aware of what to do when fires occur.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Upon arrival, all prisoners receive a comprehensive fire safety induction covering the actions to take in the event of a fire and the risks and consequences associated with fire-setting behaviour. The quality and effectiveness of the induction process are subject to quarterly audits to ensure compliance and consistency across the prison estate.
All prisons have an adequate level of fire suppression. In the closed prison estate, 11 prisons are equipped with both fixed automatic and manual water misting systems: four of these have automatic systems in all cells, and seven have automatic systems installed in some cells, with manual provision in the remainder. The other 101 closed prisons are equipped with manual water misting systems.
H M Prison & Probation Service’s technical standards require all new closed prisons and secure accommodation blocks to be fitted with fixed automatic water misting systems in prison cells.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prisons are equipped with (1) automatic water misting systems only, (2) manual handling water misting systems only, or (3) both automatic and manual handling water systems.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Upon arrival, all prisoners receive a comprehensive fire safety induction covering the actions to take in the event of a fire and the risks and consequences associated with fire-setting behaviour. The quality and effectiveness of the induction process are subject to quarterly audits to ensure compliance and consistency across the prison estate.
All prisons have an adequate level of fire suppression. In the closed prison estate, 11 prisons are equipped with both fixed automatic and manual water misting systems: four of these have automatic systems in all cells, and seven have automatic systems installed in some cells, with manual provision in the remainder. The other 101 closed prisons are equipped with manual water misting systems.
H M Prison & Probation Service’s technical standards require all new closed prisons and secure accommodation blocks to be fitted with fixed automatic water misting systems in prison cells.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to make further progress with the Courts and Tribunals Bill.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government understands the pressure that is currently on the court system. The Crown Court backlog currently stands at over 80,000 cases and over 22,000 of those cases have been open for over a year. Behind each of those cases is someone awaiting justice – defendants seeking to clear their name and victims putting their lives on hold. The Crown Court caseload means that thousands of victims and witnesses are waiting years for their day in court. This cannot be acceptable. The justice system exists to serve the public, and this Government is committed to building a stronger justice system in which the public can have confidence.
The Courts and Tribunals Bill is currently progressing through Parliament and will have report stage in the House of Commons when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Hannah Spencer (Green Party - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders are being enforced overseas.
Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The UK fully supports the operation of international treaties for the reciprocal (cross border) enforcement of maintenance orders (REMO). Children have the right to care and support and parents have a responsibility to provide it, including when the paying parent and the child are living in different countries. The Government encourages suitable countries to become party to REMO treaties, in particular the 2007 Hague Convention on International Child Support and Family Maintenance.
While the enforcement of orders is a matter for the country of enforcement, the UK raises systemic issues on Hague Conventions at the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Officials regularly discuss individual cases and the country-to-country operation of REMO treaties bilaterally.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which influencers and content creators his Department has paid to support its campaigns.
Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice works with a range of influencers and content creators to help us reach audiences who are less likely to engage with traditional government channels. Wherever possible we do this on a low / no cost basis to secure maximum value to the taxpayer.
On occasion and in line with Government Communications Service best practice, we use paid influencers to help deliver campaigns covering key departmental priorities and operationally critical campaigns – for example in the recruitment of frontline staff. This can often provide a more effective and cost-efficient way of reaching audiences than traditional advertising.
The Department considers that disclosing the identities of individual influencers and content creators engaged to support campaigns would be likely to prejudice its commercial interests. The Department works with content creators on a campaign-by-campaign basis, with arrangements varying depending on campaign objectives, audience, content requirements and commercial terms. Disclosure of the identities of paid creators could undermine the Department's ability to negotiate favourable terms, including securing pro bono or reduced-cost support where appropriate, thereby reducing its ability to achieve value for money for the taxpayer in future campaigns.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for each Arm's Length Body (ALB) their Department sponsors, (a) how many people are employed in the following bands of total earnings, or nearest equivalent, (i) under £25,000, (ii) £ 25,001 to £ 35,000, (iii) £35,001 to £50,270, (iv) £50,271 to £100,00, (v) £100,001 to £ 125,140 and (vi) over £125,140, and (b) what estimate they have made of the total unfunded public sector pension liability.
Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.