Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been released in error from HMP Bure since July 2024.
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. On 11 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a five-point action plan setting out initial steps to address this issue.
Totals for releases in error, including a breakdown by releasing prison (or Prisoner Escort Custody Services), are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2024 to March 2025 - GOV.UK, and provide data up to March 2025.
The Government is determined to fix the issue of mistaken releases and ensure the public is properly protected.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what prison construction projects were due to be completed by ISG Construction.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Construction projects were planned for completion by ISG Construction Limited at the below prisons:
HMP Birmingham
HMP Liverpool
HMP Prescoed
HMP The Verne
HMP Kirklevington Grange
HMP Warren Hill
HMP Guys Marsh
HMP Erlestoke
HMP Leyhill
HMP Ford
HMP Standford Hill
The planned new prison in Buckinghamshire
Work is underway to recommence delivery across these projects. We are committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places and are on track to do so by 2031. We have already delivered c.2,600 of these since taking office.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department has spent on social media influencers since July 2024.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
I refer the honourable Member to the reply I gave on 6 November 2025 to PQ 86469.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve the rehabilitation of prisoners.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We are tackling the root causes of reoffending by investing in a range of interventions which address offenders’ underlying criminogenic needs and support their rehabilitation journey. This includes education, employment, accommodation and access to substance misuse treatment.
We know that education, employment, and accommodation can reduce the chance of reoffending. That is why we are delivering vocational courses, a future skills programme, and expanding the prisoner apprenticeship scheme. All 93 resettlement prisons have key roles in place to prepare prisoners for employment on release, and we have launched regional Employment Councils, which for the first time bring businesses together with prisons, probation, and the Department for Work and Pensions to support prison leavers. We are also expanding our community accommodation service - to support prison leavers at risk of homelessness by providing up to 12 weeks of temporary accommodation for those under probation supervision.
We also know that drug treatment is effective in reducing the risk of reoffending. We work closely with health partners to identify prisoners with a drug need, refer them into treatment, and support recovery. We have funded Incentivised Substance-Free Living units (ISFLs) in 85 prisons, where prisoners sign a behaviour compact, agree to be regularly drug tested and can access enhanced opportunities compared to a standard wing.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when HMP Welland Oaks was first planned to be built.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Plans to build four new prisons, including HMP Welland Oaks, were announced by the Ministry of Justice in June 2020. As set out in the 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy, the four new prisons are part of this Government’s plans to deliver 14,000 additional prison places, with an aim to do so by 2031. We are currently on track to do so, having delivered c.2,600 since taking office, including c.1,500 places through the new prison HMP Millsike, which opened earlier this year.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of his prison capacity strategy on the number of Category A prison places that will be created.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 2 June 2025 to Question 57465.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce repeat offending.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We are tackling the root causes of reoffending by investing in a range of interventions which address offenders’ underlying criminogenic needs and support their rehabilitation journey. This includes education, employment, accommodation and access to substance misuse treatment.
We know that education, employment, and accommodation can reduce the chance of reoffending. That is why we are delivering vocational courses, a future skills programme, and expanding the prisoner apprenticeship scheme. All 93 resettlement prisons have key roles in place to prepare prisoners for employment on release, and we have launched regional Employment Councils, which for the first time bring businesses together with prisons, probation, and the Department for Work and Pensions to support prison leavers. We are also expanding our community accommodation service - to support prison leavers at risk of homelessness by providing up to 12 weeks of temporary accommodation for those under probation supervision.
We also know that drug treatment is effective in reducing the risk of reoffending. We work closely with health partners to identify prisoners with a drug need, refer them into treatment, and support recovery. We have funded Incentivised Substance-Free Living units (ISFLs) in 85 prisons, where prisoners sign a behaviour compact, agree to be regularly drug tested and can access enhanced opportunities compared to a standard wing.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve the quality of video links used for remote court proceedings.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
All prisons in England and Wales now have some modern video provision to support remote court hearings. In 2024/25, prisons facilitated almost 440,000 video links: over 212,000 of these related to remote court hearings, an increase of 17% on the previous year.
The backbone of video delivery in prisons is the high-capacity, high-quality Video Conferencing Centres (VCCs). These purpose-built facilities are designed to improve the quality of defendants’ interactions with courts during remote hearings. To date 18, VCCs are operational in prisons, and they account for almost half of all video links facilitated. We have delivered two VCCs this year, with one more under construction, and the investment case for more is being considered.
While decisions about remote participation for any parties or witnesses in any jurisdiction is ultimately judicial, HMCTS has the digital and audio technology available to facilitate remote links in all criminal court centres. It is currently investing in the upgrade of that technology through its Digital Audio & Visual Evolution project. This is replacing screens, cameras and audio equipment with modernised hardware which improves the experience for participants where a video link is being used.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve data collection on (a) the number of veterans serving custodial sentences and (b) potential disparities in sentencing outcomes.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Sentencing decisions in individual cases are a matter for the independent judiciary, who take into account the circumstances of the offence and any aggravating and mitigating factors, in accordance with the relevant law. Sentencers also have a statutory duty to follow any relevant sentencing guidelines, developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, unless in the interests of justice not to do so. Sentencing guidelines help promote consistency and transparency in sentencing.
Whilst the fact that someone is a veteran is not explicitly listed as a mitigating factor in statute nor in sentencing guidelines, judges have the flexibility to consider relevant factors in an individual case and could, for example, choose to take previous positive good character or exemplary conduct into account when determining a sentence, if considered appropriate to do so based on the full facts of the case.
We do not hold data concerning the previous military service of those sentenced at the criminal courts and so are unable to make an assessment of sentencing outcomes for this cohort relative to non-veterans. More generally, prisoners are asked on entry into custody whether they have served in the armed forces, and responses are then checked against Ministry of Defence records.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made a comparative assessment of the consistency of sentencing outcomes for (a) veterans and (b) non-veterans convicted of similar offences.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Sentencing decisions in individual cases are a matter for the independent judiciary, who take into account the circumstances of the offence and any aggravating and mitigating factors, in accordance with the relevant law. Sentencers also have a statutory duty to follow any relevant sentencing guidelines, developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, unless in the interests of justice not to do so. Sentencing guidelines help promote consistency and transparency in sentencing.
Whilst the fact that someone is a veteran is not explicitly listed as a mitigating factor in statute nor in sentencing guidelines, judges have the flexibility to consider relevant factors in an individual case and could, for example, choose to take previous positive good character or exemplary conduct into account when determining a sentence, if considered appropriate to do so based on the full facts of the case.
We do not hold data concerning the previous military service of those sentenced at the criminal courts and so are unable to make an assessment of sentencing outcomes for this cohort relative to non-veterans. More generally, prisoners are asked on entry into custody whether they have served in the armed forces, and responses are then checked against Ministry of Defence records.