Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposed amendments to the ECHR on the protection of individual rights.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
This Government is committed to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). However, commitment does not mean complacency, and we need to make sure the Convention evolves to face modern challenges.
We are bringing forward legislation to clarify how Article 8 ECHR (right to a private life) operates domestically in relation to immigration rules to ensure an appropriate balance between the rights of individuals and the national interest. We are also looking at the interpretation of Article 3 ECHR (prohibition against torture and inhuman and degrading treatment) so that varied prison conditions or access to healthcare are not a bar to extradition or deportation.
Our proposals are designed to strike a fair and proportionate balance between individual rights and the national interest. These changes will not weaken protections, but rather ensure that our legal framework remains robust, relevant, and trusted.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of people convicted of causing death by dangerous driving who have been charged with subsequent motoring offences.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions for a wide range of offences, including death by dangerous driving in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: December 2024 - GOV.UK.
It is not possible to identify those convicted of dangerous driving who go on to be charged with a subsequent motoring offence without exceeding the disproportionate cost limit. This is because we would need to examine the court records for all those convicted of dangerous driving.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 22 September 2025 to Question 73115 on HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Data Protection, whether her Department will commission an independent review to verify that there has been no impact on case outcomes to date.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has expanded its checks using new digital tools to analyse the full period affected – covering around 700,000 cases – to determine whether any were impacted and to what extent. Based on the first phase of this additional assurance work, which reviewed a sample of 455 potentially affected cases, one has been found to be missing a document where the judge has confirmed it could have affected the case outcome. The parties involved have been contacted directly and offered the opportunity to request that the decision be set aside and the case reheard. As the assurance work continues, HMCTS will contact any additional parties whose case outcomes may have been affected.
The CEO of HMCTS will write to the Justice Select Committee once the assurance process concludes, setting out the total number of affected cases, parties contacted, and outcome of any follow-up action.
The Department remains committed to transparency and to safeguarding the integrity of judicial decision-making. Since the response provided on 22 September 2025, the Ministry of Justice has been conducting an internal assessment of the HMCTS Core Case Data issue.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 22 September 2025 to Question 73118 on Social Security and Child Support Tribunal: ICT, whether her Department has undertaken retrospective sampling of closed cases to assess for undetected outcome-affecting errors arising from the IT failure.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has expanded its checks using new digital tools to analyse the full period affected – covering around 700,000 cases – to determine whether any were impacted and to what extent. Based on the first phase of this additional assurance work, which reviewed a sample of 455 potentially affected cases, one has been found to be missing a document where the judge has confirmed it could have affected the case outcome. The parties involved have been contacted directly and offered the opportunity to request that the decision be set aside and the case reheard. As the assurance work continues, HMCTS will contact any additional parties whose case outcomes may have been affected.
The CEO of HMCTS will write to the Justice Select Committee once the assurance process concludes, setting out the total number of affected cases, parties contacted, and outcome of any follow-up action.
The Department remains committed to transparency and to safeguarding the integrity of judicial decision-making. Since the response provided on 22 September 2025, the Ministry of Justice has been conducting an internal assessment of the HMCTS Core Case Data issue.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 22 September 2025 to Question 73120 on HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Data Protection, how many people whose cases may have been affected have (a) been identified and (b) been notified and (c) have yet to be contacted.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has expanded its checks using new digital tools to analyse the full period affected – covering around 700,000 cases – to determine whether any were impacted and to what extent. Based on the first phase of this additional assurance work, which reviewed a sample of 455 potentially affected cases, one has been found to be missing a document where the judge has confirmed it could have affected the case outcome. The parties involved have been contacted directly and offered the opportunity to request that the decision be set aside and the case reheard. As the assurance work continues, HMCTS will contact any additional parties whose case outcomes may have been affected.
The CEO of HMCTS will write to the Justice Select Committee once the assurance process concludes, setting out the total number of affected cases, parties contacted, and outcome of any follow-up action.
The Department remains committed to transparency and to safeguarding the integrity of judicial decision-making. Since the response provided on 22 September 2025, the Ministry of Justice has been conducting an internal assessment of the HMCTS Core Case Data issue.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department plans to take to improve the employment tribunal process.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We recognise that there remain significant challenges for the performance of the Employment Tribunals. We are working with the judiciary and across Government with
His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), Acas and the Department of Business and Trade on actions to improve performance in the Employment Tribunals.
HMCTS continues to invest in improving Employment Tribunal processes through the recruitment of additional judges, deployment of Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of modern case management systems, and the use of remote hearing technology. A ‘Virtual Region’ of judges has delivered over 1,500 extra sitting days. We are encouraging the uptake of mediation to help individuals resolve their employment issues at the earliest opportunity.
Following recruitment, in 2024 we had 21 more salaried judges in the Employment Tribunals than in 2023, and further recruitment for up to 36 salaried Employment Judges commenced in March 2025. 50 fee paid employment judges were appointed in 2024 and recruitment will commence for another 50 in early 2026. As a result, the Lord Chancellor was able to announce on 5 March a sitting day allocation for the Employment Tribunals of 33,900 in 2025/26, the maximum allocation they are able to sit.
The Government is clear that everyone should have access to Employment Tribunals, to challenge unfair behaviour at work. We recently reiterated this commitment, by announcing that bringing forward a case to an Employment Tribunal will remain free, to ensure that everyone can stand up for their rights at work, no matter their means.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that reforms to judicial review do not adversely impact access to justice for local communities challenging Government decisions on infrastructure projects.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The ability to challenge the lawfulness of Government decisions and those of other public bodies is fundamental to the rule of law. The Government remains committed to this principle.
Under the changes being taken forward in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) judicial reviews, only claimants whose cases are deemed ‘totally without merit’ at the oral permission stage in the High Court will be prevented from appealing to the Court of Appeal. In other cases, the claimant can appeal the refusal of permission.
The Government is also working with the judiciary to take forward a number of other procedural changes to speed up the process for NSIP judicial reviews, such as target timescales, to ensure such cases are dealt with promptly. This can benefit all parties, including claimants.
These reforms are about ensuring cases move through the courts more quickly and efficiently, not about limiting the ability for the public to challenge decisions.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to bring the financial threshold for electing for trial by jury for theft in line with that for charges of criminal damage.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In Part I of the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, published July 9, Sir Brian Leveson recommends reclassifying certain triable either-way offences, including theft offences. We will set out our response to this and other aspects of his report in due course.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance he has issued to sexual assault survivors on the utility of self-swab rape kits in the criminal justice process.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Victims of sexual violence are encouraged to attend a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), where trained professionals can provide holistic care and collect forensic evidence in line with established standards. SARCs operate within the framework of the criminal justice system and are equipped to support victims in preserving evidence and accessing justice.
The Ministry of Justice is aware that self-swab kits are being marketed to the public as a means of collecting DNA following sexual violence. These kits are in no way associated with any government department or criminal justice agency, and there is no government guidance about their usage.
We are aware of concerns raised about the promotion of self-swab kits, including those outlined in position statements by the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine and Rape Crisis England & Wales. Support is available for victims of rape through SARCs and the 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line.
We remain committed to tackling sexual violence and achieving the best outcomes for victims, in line with our goal to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to increase the number of RASSO trained judges and advocates in the West Mercia region.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to propose bold and ambitious measures to deliver swifter justice for victims, including for victims of sexual violence, in his Independent Review of Criminal Courts. This Review will make recommendations to ensure there is sufficient capacity within the courts to address the record Crown Court caseload, which this Government inherited, across all case types - including rape and other sexual offences. Work on Part 2 of the report, which is looking at how the criminal courts can operate as efficiently as possible, is underway. We expect it to be finalised this year.
Statutory responsibility for judicial training in the courts is held by the Lady Chief Justice. This responsibility is fulfilled by the Judicial College. All judges authorised to hear serious sexual offence (SSO) cases must complete the relevant induction training course before starting to sit and regular continuation training every three years. Presiding judges undertake an annual assessment of the business need for authorised SSO ticketed judges within their respective circuits and new approvals are decided by the senior judiciary.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Advocate Panel is a time limited list of quality assured advocates to undertake criminal prosecution advocacy for CPS. Positive changes made by the CPS to the application process in May 2024 have seen rape and serious sexual offence (RASSO) advocate Panel membership increase by 51%. This includes a 38% increase in advocates prosecuting on the Midlands Circuit. These advocates have received CPS accredited RASSO training within the last 3 years and can demonstrate the experience and ability to undertake RASSO cases.