Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate has his department made of the size of the (a) youth custody population, (b) youth secure estate for the next five years.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
During the last 12 months, the population of the youth secure estate has varied in the range 440 to 510. Work on future projections is in hand, but owing to the small numbers involved and consequent volatility, there are difficulties in generating robust figures.
Later this year, we will set out our plans for wider reforms to youth custody, to deliver better outcomes for children, communities and taxpayers. This will include consideration of the future shape and configuration of the youth secure estate.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps is he taking to improve the safety of officers in the Youth Custody Service.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Unacceptable levels of violence faced by Youth Justice Workers (i.e. officers) in young offender institutions were part of the wider difficulties across the criminal justice system that this Government has had to address. Making PAVA spray available in young offender institutions, subject to strict controls, was necessary to keep both staff and young people in custody safe. Each use of PAVA spray is reviewed by an independent panel and reported to Ministers for further scrutiny. H M Prison & Probation Service, as well as external organisations, are continuing to exercise very close scrutiny of any use of PAVA spray.
The Youth Custody Service’s Framework for Integrated Care, known as ‘SECURE STAIRS’, which is delivered in partnership with the Department for Health and Social Care, and includes improvements in areas such as conflict resolution and specialist psychological interventions, is integral to improving safety within the youth estate. The Youth Custody Service has also developed roadmaps to effective practice which focus on outcomes in areas such as safety, behaviour management support and education.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding has been allocated to the Youth Custody Service for the next five years.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
As budget allocation across the Department is agreed annually, it is not possible to provide the information requested.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will list the organisations authorised to send religious and welfare packs to prisons in England and Wales for (a) Ramadan and (b) Eid.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Decisions on whether any external materials may be provided are taken by individual establishments. They are subject to governor approval, national policy on faith and pastoral care, security requirements, and extremism safeguards. All proposed materials are assessed by chaplaincy teams in conjunction with prison security staff, including scrutiny against the Inappropriate Materials Guidance and oversight by Prevent Leads and Chaplaincy headquarters, and may be refused or withdrawn where concerns arise.
HMPPS chaplaincy teams do not request or use materials from the Islamic Human Rights Commission in prisons.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many religious chaplaincies have permitted the Islamic Human Rights Commission to send religious materials to prisons in England and Wales.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Decisions on whether any external materials may be provided are taken by individual establishments. They are subject to governor approval, national policy on faith and pastoral care, security requirements, and extremism safeguards. All proposed materials are assessed by chaplaincy teams in conjunction with prison security staff, including scrutiny against the Inappropriate Materials Guidance and oversight by Prevent Leads and Chaplaincy headquarters, and may be refused or withdrawn where concerns arise.
HMPPS chaplaincy teams do not request or use materials from the Islamic Human Rights Commission in prisons.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in which police force areas is the Acquisitive Crime scheme currently live.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Domestic Abuse Perpetrators on Licence (DAPOL) pilot is currently live in eight probation regions: East Midlands; West Midlands; London; Kent, Surrey and Sussex; East of England; South West; South Central; and Wales.
The Electronic Monitoring for Acquisitive Crime (AC) scheme is currently live in the following 19 police force areas in England and Wales: Avon and Somerset, Bedfordshire, Cheshire, City of London, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Durham, Essex, Gloucestershire, Gwent, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Humberside, Kent, the Metropolitan Police area, North Wales, Nottinghamshire, Sussex and West Midlands.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the number of marriages between uncle and niece legally contracted overseas by people now residing in England and Wales.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice does not collect data on overseas marriages.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has paid for followers on social media platforms it uses.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice has not paid for followers on its social media platforms.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help ensure that prison staffing levels are sufficient to maintain security.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Effective prison security is a prerequisite for the safe and stable regimes required to promote prisoner rehabilitation, and sufficient levels of skilled frontline staff are fundamental to delivering secure and rehabilitative prison regimes. Against a challenging labour market, we have recruitment campaigns at all prisons where there are current or projected needs, and provide enhanced support to the prisons in the most challenging parts of the estate. HMPPS offers several routes to become a prison officer, including:
To help improve Prison Officer retention, HMPPS has created a retention strategy which is linked to wider activities around employee experience, employee lifecycle and staff engagement at work. As of December 2025, the resignation rate for Band 3-5 Prison Officers was the lowest it has been in the last four years.
We have specialist staff and equipment to stop the smuggling of contraband in prisons – such as drugs, weapons and mobile phones – which can fuel violence and create instability.
We remain committed to ensuring prisons are sufficiently resourced and that we retain and build levels of experience, both of which are fundamental to delivering quality outcomes in prisons.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential risk to public safety posed by prisoners who escape custody and remain at large for over 30 days.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Public protection is our top priority. The number of escapes from prison establishments and prisoner escorts is very low. If a prisoner escapes or absconds, the police are immediately notified and are responsible for locating the offender.
Those who escape or abscond face serious consequences including, in the case of absconders, being returned to closed prison conditions, where they may serve up to two additional years. Escapees face an additional sentence of imprisonment for which there is no statutory maximum term. Prisoners whose release is subject to a decision of the Parole Board are likely to spend a longer period in custody before the Board will agree to their release.