Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what measures are currently in place, or planned, to provide ongoing support and redress for survivors of abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Prison and Probation Ombudsman’s investigation published on 12 November set out in stark detail the horrific abuse that boys and young men experienced at Medomsley Detention Centre (MDC). The PPO asked the Government to consider three issues – that the Government make an apology, that the complaints process should be reformed, and that children should be asked about their experiences of custody by a trained independent member of staff.
On 12 November, the Government published a Written Ministerial Statement and sent an open letter to victims and survivors. In both, we made a full apology for the abuse which victims and survivors endured and recognised the ineffective governance structures and failures of leadership at every level, which meant the abuse was allowed to continue for such a long time. In the Government response, we also committed to setting up a Youth Custody Safeguarding Panel to make recommendations to improve safeguarding across the youth estate today, including reviewing the ways children can make complaints and are asked about their experiences in custody. This panel has now been established and will be chaired by Isabelle Trowler (the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families), who will consider the issues raised in the PPO report and report to ministers by spring 2026.
In terms of support for victims and survivors, the Ministry of Justice put in place a settlement scheme to provide compensation. To date, this has settled over 2,700 claims, totalling over £10 million. Whilst no amount of compensation can change what has happened in the past, this scheme remains open and we have encouraged anyone who has not already, to make a claim.
There are not any plans to establish a public inquiry into MDC. The PPO report is forensic and follows criminal investigations by the Durham Constabulary – Operations Halter One and Two in the 2000s, and the comprehensive Operation Seabrook beginning in 2013. Due to the breadth and depth of these investigations, a public inquiry would be very unlikely to uncover any new information or insight. Adrian Usher, the Ombudsman, has shared this view – “It is my opinion that should a public inquiry arise following the publication of my report, I cannot see how it would produce a more comprehensive account of what happened at Medomsley, and the causes of it, than my investigation has revealed.”
Asked by: Oliver Ryan (Labour (Co-op) - Burnley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the safeguarding implications for children who have a parent in prison; and whether he plans to introduce a national statutory mechanism to identify those children, including a requirement for prisons and probation services to notify local authorities and schools when a parent is incarcerated.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We recognise that more can be done to ensure children with a parent in prison are identified so that they get the support they need. This is why the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Education are working together to determine the best mechanism to identify these children.
We will continue to engage with those with those who have direct experience of having a parent in prison and with the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector to inform our approach. For example, 25 November marked the first-ever National Day to recognise children with a parent in prison. This provided a powerful opportunity for Ministers and officials from both Departments to attend a conference hosted by the charity Children Heard and Seen to hear directly from children and young people with lived experience of parental imprisonment. This demonstrates our commitment to putting children’s voices at the heart of our policymaking.
HMPPS has a statutory duty under section 11 of the Children Act (2004) to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. HMPPS staff are required to check if prisoners received into custody have caring responsibilities for any children, to make enquiries with children’s services and record known safeguarding concerns. HMPPS works in partnership with police forces, children’s services and other relevant agencies to fulfil its safeguarding responsibilities. Where HMPPS professionals are concerned about the welfare of a child of a prisoner, they must consider whether a referral to local authority children’s social care is required and should always refer immediately if there is a concern that the child is suffering, or likely to, suffer significant harm. Additionally, HMPPS provides a comprehensive range of staff training and learning opportunities for staff, including an annual “Think Child” campaign, aimed at promoting children’s safety.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many criminal prosecutions in England and Wales collapsed due to (a) lost (b) missing and (c) damaged evidence for each year from 2015 to date.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on criminal court prosecutions that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics quarterly - GOV.UK.
The Ministry of Justice cannot provide data on cases that are not progressed due to lost, missing or damaged of evidence. This information would only be held in the individual court records and examination of these records would be of disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that tenants and leaseholders have access to legal remedies if housing management companies fail to act on antisocial behaviour complaints.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
When tenants commit anti-social behaviour (ASB) it can cause misery for housemates, neighbours, and the wider community. The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 introduced specific measures designed to give victims and communities a say in the way that complaints of ASB are dealt with. As well as trying to resolve issues through housing management companies, depending on circumstances, tenants are able to contact their local authority or the police for support. It is also open for individuals to take legal action against the people behaving anti-socially and for an individual, or a freeholder to apply to the First-tier Residential Property Tribunal for forfeiture of the lease.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of the time taken for court hearings.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice published data concerning the average length of hearings in complete cases at the Crown Court as part of the Criminal Court Statistics series which is available at the following link: Criminal court statistics - GOV.UK
The average hearing time for cases completed at the Crown Court in England and Wales has fallen 14% compared to the previous year.
The Ministry of Justice does not collate hearing time information for the magistrates’ court or other jurisdictions.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the anticipated commencement dates for each of the provisions in the Public Office (Accountability) Bill.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government will not delay bringing the measures in the Public Office (Accountability) Bill into force.
We are urgently looking at what is required effectively to implement each of the measures.
We will update the House in due course on the planned timeline for implementation and commencement.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to introduce legislation to remedy the impact of the judgment in R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) (Appellants) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and others (Respondents) UKSC/2021/0078.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government recognises the critical role third-party litigation funding plays in access to justice and is committed to ensuring it works fairly for all.
The Government welcomes the Civil Justice Council review of litigation funding, which will help inform the approach to potential reforms. We are considering the report carefully and will outline next steps in due course.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to support the funding of third-party litigation in London.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government recognises the critical role third-party litigation funding plays in access to justice and is committed to ensuring it works fairly for all.
The Government welcomes the Civil Justice Council review of litigation funding, which will help inform the approach to potential reforms. We are considering the report carefully and will outline next steps in due course.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prisoners recorded as transgender women are currently serving their sentence in a male prison.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The latest available figures for transgender prisoners are set out in the table below:
| 31 March 2025 |
All reported transgender prisoners with a GRC | 9 |
(no further breakdowns provided) |
|
All reported transgender prisoners without a GRC | 339 |
(further breakdowns provided below) |
|
|
|
Biological sex |
|
Biological sex female | 63 |
Biological sex male | 276 |
|
|
Self-identified gender identity |
|
Female | 247 |
Male | 64 |
Non-binary | 18 |
Other (one of identifying in a different way, not recorded/not stated) | 10 |
|
|
Women's establishments |
|
Number of transgender prisoners in women's estates | 64 |
Transgender women (biological sex male, self-identifies as female) | ~ |
Transgender men (biological sex female, self-identifies as male) | 61 |
Other (one of non-binary, identifying in a different way, or not stated/not known) | ~ |
|
|
Men's establishments |
|
Number of transgender prisoners in men's estates | 275 |
Transgender women (biological sex male, self-identifies as female) | 245 |
Transgender men (biological sex female, self-identifies as male) | ~ |
Other (one of non-binary, identifying in a different way, or not stated/not known) | ~ |
The Ministerial exemption process only applies to the placement of transgender women (defined in HMPPS as biological males who identify as females) in women's prisons. Transgender women with birth genitalia and/or any history of violent or sexual offending can only be placed in the general women's estate in exceptional circumstances and where an exemption has been granted by Ministers. No transgender women have received such an exemption under this Government.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many transgender women are currently serving a prison sentence.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The latest available figures for transgender prisoners are set out in the table below:
| 31 March 2025 |
All reported transgender prisoners with a GRC | 9 |
(no further breakdowns provided) |
|
All reported transgender prisoners without a GRC | 339 |
(further breakdowns provided below) |
|
|
|
Biological sex |
|
Biological sex female | 63 |
Biological sex male | 276 |
|
|
Self-identified gender identity |
|
Female | 247 |
Male | 64 |
Non-binary | 18 |
Other (one of identifying in a different way, not recorded/not stated) | 10 |
|
|
Women's establishments |
|
Number of transgender prisoners in women's estates | 64 |
Transgender women (biological sex male, self-identifies as female) | ~ |
Transgender men (biological sex female, self-identifies as male) | 61 |
Other (one of non-binary, identifying in a different way, or not stated/not known) | ~ |
|
|
Men's establishments |
|
Number of transgender prisoners in men's estates | 275 |
Transgender women (biological sex male, self-identifies as female) | 245 |
Transgender men (biological sex female, self-identifies as male) | ~ |
Other (one of non-binary, identifying in a different way, or not stated/not known) | ~ |
The Ministerial exemption process only applies to the placement of transgender women (defined in HMPPS as biological males who identify as females) in women's prisons. Transgender women with birth genitalia and/or any history of violent or sexual offending can only be placed in the general women's estate in exceptional circumstances and where an exemption has been granted by Ministers. No transgender women have received such an exemption under this Government.