Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many employment tribunal claims have been lodged against his Department in each of the last five years by (a) unfair dismissal and (b) claims under the Equality Act 2010.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The proportion of Employment Tribunals claims which include Unfair Dismissal as a reason for the claim is 25.1%, and 62.5% of Employment Tribunals lodged against the Department are brought under the Equality Act 2010. 3.9% of cases lodged against the Department cite both Unfair Dismissal and claims under the Equality Act 2010.
Employment Tribunals lodged against the Department for Unfair Dismissal
01 Oct – 31 Dec 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 02 Jan – 28 Oct 2025 | Total |
0 | 17 | 44 | 66 | 56 | 61 | 244 |
Employment Tribunals lodged against the Department under the Equality Act 2010
*A breakdown of protected characteristics where Employment Tribunals have been brought has been included. Please note, Employment Tribunal claims often include multiple reasons when lodging a claim e.g. race discrimination and disability discrimination etc. This means that, total Employment Tribunals lodged against the department under the Equality Act 2010 will not reflect the total claims under the different protected characteristics.
| 01 Oct – 31 Dec 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 01 Jan – 28 Oct 2025 | Total |
Age | 3 | 13 | 10 | 26 | 17 | 20 | 89 |
Disability | 4 | 78 | 85 | 110 | 104 | 103 | 484 |
Gender Reassignment | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Marriage & Civil Partnership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Pregnancy & Maternity | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 19 |
Sex | 1 | 10 | 20 | 18 | 13 | 23 | 85 |
Sexual Orientation | 1 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 27 |
Total Employment Tribunals Brought Under the Equality Act 2010 | 9 | 18 | 127 | 145 | 153 | 155 | 607 |
Employment Tribunals lodged under both Unfair Dismissal and a claim under the Equality Act 2010 against the Department
*Figures below are included in the previous tables.
01 Oct – 31 Dec 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 01 Jan – 28 Oct 2025 |
0 | 7 | 25 | 45 | 33 | 38 |
The Ministry of Justice headcount is circa 82,000 in total.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will review the current eligibility criteria for legal aid in private family law proceedings to allow applicants on low incomes to qualify for support even where there is no evidence of domestic abuse or risk to a child.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This Government recognises that legal aid – a vital part of the justice system – supports the ability of individuals, who need it most, to have access to publicly funded legal assistance in order to uphold their legal rights.
Legal aid is available for some private family matters such as child arrangement orders, if an individual is a victim of domestic abuse or at risk of being abused, or if the child who is the subject of the order is a victim of child abuse or at risk of abuse. Funding is subject to providing the required evidence of domestic abuse or child abuse and passing the means and merits tests.
The Government keeps legal aid policy under continuous review.
For cases which do not qualify for legal aid, individuals may seek free, independent advice from legal support and advice organisations.
The Ministry of Justice is providing funding to support litigants in person, to help them navigate the civil justice system effectively, including preparation for court and support at court. In 2025/26, we are providing over £6 million of funding to 60 organisations to support the delivery of free legal support and information, both in-person and online. This includes some Citizens Advice and Law Centres, Rights of Women and Advice Now.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps have been taken at HMP Garth to help prevent drones bringing drugs into the prison.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) is working hard to deter, detect and disrupt the use of drones that deliver contraband into prisons.
Owing to operational sensitives, we are not able to discuss the measures used by HMP Garth to disrupt drones, as that would aid serious and organised criminals. However, HMPPS uses a multi-faceted approach to tackle this threat which includes a variety of physical security countermeasures, intelligence led operations and legislation. As part of this work, we conduct drone vulnerability assessments to understand and mitigate risk and we are investing £40 million in new security measures to clamp down on the contraband that fuels violence behind bars, including £10 million on anti-drone measures such as exterior netting and reinforced windows.
HMPPS is also working with UK and global partners to understand the tactics used abroad and identify opportunities to strengthen our response to illicit drone activity.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many performance reviews were undertaken for staff in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies in each of the last five years; in how many cases performance was rated as unsatisfactory or below; how many staff left as a result of such a rating; and what proportion of full-time equivalent staff this represented.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice operates a continuous performance management approach based on a rolling cycle of regular performance conversations between line managers and staff members. The Department does not operate a set reporting year for performance reviews and does not use performance ratings or box markings. As such, the Ministry of Justice does not hold the data requested.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2025 to Question 83161 on Prisoners’ Release: Reoffenders, when this data will be included in statistical releases
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The next proven reoffending statistics publication where SDS40 releases will fall within the overall cohort is currently scheduled for 30 July 2026. The content of this release, as with all future statistical releases, remains under review.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the value is of Prison Education Service Core Education contracts between 1 October 2025 and 31 March 2026.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The value of the Prisoner Education Service Core Education contracts between 1 October 2025 and 31 March 2026 is £51 million. This figure excludes Lot 10 (West Midlands prisons), where existing contracts under the Prison Education Framework have been extended while a re-procurement process is ongoing.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of prisoners detained beyond their release date in 2024-25.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Release inaccuracy is yet another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government. While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are clamping down on those errors that do occur, and this includes unlawful detentions. As the Deputy Prime Minister set out to the House, immediate measures have been introduced to strengthen release checks across prisons – making them the strongest release checks to ever be in place and an independent inquiry will report its recommendations to prevent further inaccuracies.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's webpage entitled Prisons data, Additional data, how many of the 262 prisoners released in error in 2024-5 were returned to custody.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government.
While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are clamping down on those releases in error that do occur – including through improved staff training and establishing a new specialist unit. A joint protocol between HMPPS and NPCC is in place, to ensure effective and timely communication between partner agencies when an individual is released in error to rearrest them as quickly as possible.
We have gripped this chaos – by building more prison places, ending the last Government’s early release scheme, being transparent with the public, immediately making changes to sentences to ease pressure on the system and now, taking landmark reforms through our Sentencing Bill to make sure that prisons never run out of places again.
Annual totals for releases in error are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via Prison and Probation Performance Statistics - GOV.UK, and provide data up to March 2025.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the period of time within which a victims' family can appeal a sentence.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Through the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme, a victims’ family (and members of the public) can request that the Attorney General refers a sentence to the Court of Appeal for review. Parliament intended the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme to be an exceptional power, and any expansion of the scheme must be carefully considered. While we understand calls for expansion, it is important for both victims and offenders that there is finality in sentencing.
The Law Commission is undertaking a review of the law governing criminal appeals. They launched a public consultation which invited views on a range of reforms to criminal appeals, including the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme. They are now reviewing those responses and expect to publish their findings and recommendations in 2026.
The Government will carefully and holistically consider the Law Commission review’s final recommendations.
Asked by: Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice - North Antrim)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the (a) number of convictions for crimes committed against (i) churches and (ii) other Christian places of worship in Northern Ireland since 2010 and (b) proportion of religious premises offences that represents.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Data centrally held by the Ministry of Justice covers convictions in England and Wales and does not contain any information regarding Northern Ireland. Offences committed against places of worship in Northern Ireland is a devolved issue for the Executive in Northern Ireland.