Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of introducing a statutory duty of candour on (a) military intelligence and (b) Special Forces.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Bill will apply to all public authorities, including military intelligence and the Special Forces.
We have worked closely with representatives across Government on the policy in this Bill – including the impact that a duty of candour would have on military intelligence and Special Forces.
We are clear that the duty of candour applies to all public authorities, including intelligence services, however, the duty of candour and processes for disclosure may need to apply in a different way to ensure that secure information is handled correctly.
We are clear that nothing should undermine our national security.
We are continuing to work closely across government with families, stakeholders and the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee to bring forward amendments that meet those aims. We will update the House in due course.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what representations he has received from counterparts in Five Eyes countries that do not have a statutory duty of candour.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The sovereign capabilities of our security and intelligence agencies, underpinned by appropriate safeguards and oversight, enable us to keep ahead of our adversaries and provide the lynchpin for our collaboration with our Five Eyes partners.
We work incredibly closely with our allies, particularly our Five Eyes partners, to ensure our collective national security.
We are clear that the duty of candour must not undermine national security.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many nights were spent in hotels by Departmental staff in financial year 2024-25 by the star rating of the hotel.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
This information is not held centrally.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of trends in the number of court sitting days on the Crown Court backlog.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We have funded 112,250 Crown Court sitting days this financial year – 5,000 more than the previous Government and a record number. The Deputy Prime Minister has made clear that sitting days will continue to increase in both the Crown and magistrates’ courts.
As our latest published projections show, demand by 2030 is forecast to be 7% higher in the Crown Court than current levels. This means the courts would need to sit 139,000 days just to keep up with demand and even that would not enable us to reduce the backlog. The system is not able to deliver that number – there are insufficient prosecutors, defence barristers and judges to keep up with the demand. As a benchmark, the Lady Chief Justice has said that the maximum the judiciary could presently sit is around 113,000 sitting days.
Therefore, even with record-breaking investment in sitting days, the Crown Court backlog will continue to grow, leaving people waiting for longer and longer for justice. That is why we are pulling every lever we have – investment, reform and efficiency – to turn the tide on the backlog and begin to deliver justice for victims.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring organisations to contribute to legal fees when (a) an unfair dismissal and (b) a discriminatory employment practice has occurred.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Organisations can already be asked to contribute to the cost of legal fees where vexatious or unreasonable behaviour has occurred. The Employment Tribunals (ET) can issue cost orders where one side is ordered to pay the other’s legal costs. For unfair dismissal cases, if the tribunal decides a claimant has been unfairly dismissed, they can receive compensation. Compensation awards can be ‘basic’ (based on age, length of service and average weekly wage) and ‘compensatory’ (based on loss of earnings).
The Ministry of Justice has not carried out an assessment of the merits of introducing more widespread use of cost orders. This is because the Tribunal Procedure Committee (TPC) is responsible for making procedure rules in the ET that includes the rules regarding cost orders. The Lord Chancellor can consider impacts of the changes the TPC recommend before deciding whether to implement them.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of current notification procedures for County Court Judgments; and whether he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring that all notifications of impending County Court Judgments be sent by recorded and tracked delivery to ensure defendants receive proper notice of court proceedings.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Civil Procedure Rule Committee is responsible for the rules that govern the procedure for notifying people of court proceedings, known as the rules of service. In July 2025 it consulted on changes to the service rules including to permit electronic service on parties with whom there has already been electronic communication pre-action. The work to review responses to the consultation and any subsequent Civil Procedure Rules amendments is ongoing. The consultation can be found at - Civil Procedure Rule Committee - service consultation
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to Answer of 22 December 2025 to Question 100065 on Legal Aid Scheme, how many legal aid providers have left the market in total since 23 April 2025.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Since April 2025 there has been a net increase to the number of providers contracted to deliver legal aid services. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) publishes data about provider numbers as part of its official statistics (table 9.6). Data for the period April to December 2025 is scheduled for release on 26 March 2026.
The LAA also routinely publishes data about the volume and value of legal aid cases across all legal aid schemes as part of its official statistics. As above, data for the period April to December 2025 is scheduled for release on 26 March 2026.
As set out in my response to PQ 98862, since the serious criminal attack on the LAA’s digital services was identified we have worked closely with relevant law enforcement agencies and Police. As sensitive investigations remain ongoing it would not be appropriate to comment on the nature or detail of this engagement.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to reform powers in relation to Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation cases.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government implemented the Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) measures in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) in June 2025, which provides protection against SLAPPs relating to economic crime. While this was a positive first step, we are considering all options for reform to ensure that all types of SLAPPs are addressed comprehensively.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Government action to avert summer prison disaster, published on 29 January 2026, on what date the 2,900 prison spaces were approved for construction.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
This Government has delivered c.2,900 additional prison places and construction on these began between 2022 and 2024. We have invested £4.7 billion over the spending review period to enable the delivery of these additional prison places at pace and have maintained our target to deliver a total of 14,000 by 2031. The places delivered by this Government so far were approved for construction between 2020 and 2024.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Government action to avert summer prison disaster, published on 29 January 2026, when the 2,900 prison spaces began construction.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
This Government has delivered c.2,900 additional prison places and construction on these began between 2022 and 2024. We have invested £4.7 billion over the spending review period to enable the delivery of these additional prison places at pace and have maintained our target to deliver a total of 14,000 by 2031. The places delivered by this Government so far were approved for construction between 2020 and 2024.