Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make it her policy to implement all recommendations made in the Ministry of Justice report entitled Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases, published in June 2020, as part of her Department's planned Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government was elected with a mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. As part of this we are committed to ensuring everyone involved in private law children cases in the family courts is protected from harm and that the welfare of the child is always the court’s paramount consideration when making decisions about children’s lives.
In May 2023, the Ministry of Justice published a delivery update which outlined the progress made against the recommendations of the Final Report on Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases. This can be found on GOV.UK.
The Ministry of Justice has already taken forward many of the actions it committed to following the report, including announcing family court reforms, such as expanding our Pathfinder programme in the family court which is improving the experience of children, and domestic abuse survivors in private law court proceedings relating to children. The Government will be publishing its new cross-government strategy later this summer, which will outline how we aim to meet our ambition to tackle violence against women and girls.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Law Commission report entitled Building families through surrogacy: a new law, published on 28 March 2023, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of implementing the recommendation on taking away a mother’s parental rights at birth* on levels of risk of adverse mental health effects for the mother should she change her mind after birth.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice has not carried out an assessment of the potential impact of implementing this recommendation.
The Government will publish a response in due course. Any consideration of this specific recommendation and its implications would form part of this wider work.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times their Department has accepted in full the position of the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s (a) findings and (b) recommendations on (i) issuing an apology and (ii) other forms of redress in the last 10 years.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice does not keep records of or track all the findings and recommendations made by the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that prisoners who do unpaid work do not undertake work for profit-making businesses that would otherwise be remunerated.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
While there is not anything called ‘unpaid work’ in prisons, convicted prisoners are expected to work and there are various jobs across prison workshops, kitchens, laundries and other services like wing cleaning for which prisoners are paid. Prisoners are also paid to work in prison industries, which can be commercial, employer-led spaces or can make products for the internal prison market that we would otherwise have to buy (such as cell furniture and prisoner clothing), saving the taxpayer money.
In addition, Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) allows prisoners to be released temporarily into the community for specific purposes, including to engage in employment. Prisoners working on ROTL are paid the same as their counterparts in the community and are subject to the same income tax, National Insurance and child support requirements, as well as other court ordered deductions. The Prisoners’ Earnings Act 1996 gives governors the power to deduct up to and including 40% from prisoners’ earnings on ROTL. As per the Prison Rules 1999, all monies raised from the levy are sent to Victim Support.
Certain offenders will carry out unpaid work in the community, when sentenced to do so by the courts. In 2023, around half of those on community-based sentences had such a requirement, with around 5 million hours delivered each year. However, it is a core principle of community payback that unpaid work must not directly replace paid work, should comply with state aid regulations and forced labour conventions, and should avoid creating competitive advantages through the provision of free labour. It serves as a credible punishment that is visible to the public, with rehabilitation serving as an important secondary element.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Timpson on 9 June (HL7762), why they are not planning to renew HMP Eastwood Park’s current programme for prisoners aged 50 and over.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
A contract for Creative Engagement provision at HMP Eastwood Park has been put out to tender and will include elements of previous provision plus additionality to engage and support women in their personal development. This provision will be available to all women, including those over 50.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to improve (a) data and (b) evidence collection in response to her Department's report entitled Intergenerational offending: A narrative review of the literature, published on 5 June 2025.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Official Statistics on the scale of parental imprisonment were published in July 2024 and can be found at: Official Statistics in Development: Estimates of children with a parent in prison - GOV.UK.
Further work is ongoing to refine these estimates. Additionally, analysis has started with the aim of providing more in-depth understanding of the impact of parental imprisonment on children, looking at factors such as demographics and education. This work will provide valuable insights, with the intention of driving meaningful change in policy and support for affected children.
The Areas of Research Interest publication reflects our ambition to improve the evidence base on intergenerational offending. This is used as the basis for ongoing conversations, collaboration and challenge with experts in academia, research organisations and funding bodies, and can be found at: Areas of Research Interest.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to support children with a parent in prison.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Having a parent in prison is considered an adverse childhood experience and can have a significant impact on a child’s life chances. This Government has committed to ensuring these children are identified and offered the support they need to thrive.
We are working closely with the Department for Education to determine how to effectively identify and support these children. We understand the importance of driving forward this agenda and officials from both Departments are working with a wide range of stakeholders, including sector experts and those with lived experience, to support the development of policy proposals.
Prisons across England and Wales already offer a range of services to maintain family relationships including social visits, family days, prison voicemail and collaborations with organisations such as the award-winning charity led initiative Storybook Mums and Dads, enabling parents in prison to record bedtime stories for their children.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 58502, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of chess in prisons on reducing offending behaviour.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Ministry of Justice is aware of research that is in progress in relation to regular chess sessions across the prison estate. To date, no formal assessment has been made of any effect on re-offending.
As chess is not a structured physical activity, it is not included in the management information that is collected centrally. To determine how many prisons hold regular chess sessions, it would be necessary to consult each individual establishment, and this could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 58502, how many prisons currently hold regular chess activity sessions.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Ministry of Justice is aware of research that is in progress in relation to regular chess sessions across the prison estate. To date, no formal assessment has been made of any effect on re-offending.
As chess is not a structured physical activity, it is not included in the management information that is collected centrally. To determine how many prisons hold regular chess sessions, it would be necessary to consult each individual establishment, and this could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 58502, what the total discretionary budget across the prison estate for (a) education and (b) sports in 2024-2025.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Non-discretionary spending on education in the adult prison estate and part of the private prison estate is funded from the Prison Education Framework budget. Governors are able to supplement this with provision from the Dynamic Purchasing System budget (£12.6 million in 2024-25).
Funding for sport forms part of the budget for measures at establishment level aimed at reducing re-offending. As the sport element is not disaggregated, it is not possible to give a budget figure for this provision.