Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many children aged 10 to 13 have been convicted of (1) common assault, (2) actual bodily harm, (3) inflicting grievous bodily harm, and (4) causing grievous bodily harm with intent, in each of the past five years.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences by age in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
The requested information is provided in the below tables.
Total number of 10 to 13 year olds convicted of certain offences at criminal courts, England and Wales, 2021 to 2025 [note 1][note 2][note 3]
Source: Court Proceedings Database
Offence | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Rape | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Sexual Assault (includes penetration and non penetration) | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
Sexual Assault With Penetration | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Exposure | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Offence | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Grievous Bodily Harm | 5 | 11 | 20 | 18 | 11 |
Actual Bodily Harm | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 11 |
Common Assault | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 11 |
Notes
Note 1
Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
Note 2
These figures are presented on a principal offence basis - i.e. reporting information relating to the most serious offence that a defendant was dealt with for. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
Note 3
Only rows with non-zero values within the specified time period will appear in the table.
Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many children aged 10 to 13 have been convicted of (1) rape, (2) sexual assault, (3) assault by penetration, and (4) exposure, in each of the past five years.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences by age in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
The requested information is provided in the below tables.
Total number of 10 to 13 year olds convicted of certain offences at criminal courts, England and Wales, 2021 to 2025 [note 1][note 2][note 3]
Source: Court Proceedings Database
Offence | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Rape | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Sexual Assault (includes penetration and non penetration) | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
Sexual Assault With Penetration | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Exposure | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Offence | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Grievous Bodily Harm | 5 | 11 | 20 | 18 | 11 |
Actual Bodily Harm | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 11 |
Common Assault | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 11 |
Notes
Note 1
Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
Note 2
These figures are presented on a principal offence basis - i.e. reporting information relating to the most serious offence that a defendant was dealt with for. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
Note 3
Only rows with non-zero values within the specified time period will appear in the table.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the legal statement on liability for AI harms by the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce made in July, what assessment they have made of expectations that legal professionals use artificial intelligence as part of competent legal practice.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government welcomes the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce's Legal Statement on Liability for AI Harms, which provides helpful analysis of how existing principles of English law may apply to liability arising from the use of AI.
Decisions about the professional standards expected of legal practitioners, including the competent use of AI and other technologies, are matters for the independent legal services regulators. In 2024, the Legal Services Board issued statutory guidance encouraging regulators to support the responsible adoption of technology by improving access to legal services, balancing the benefits and risks of innovation and fostering a regulatory environment that provides greater clarity for technology providers and innovators.
Building on this, the Ministry of Justice has worked with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Legal Services Board, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers and the Information Commissioner's Office to establish the Advisory AI Growth Lab for legal services, launched in June 2026. The Growth Lab brings together Government and regulators to provide coordinated, non-binding advice on how existing regulatory frameworks apply to AI-enabled products and services, giving organisations greater confidence to innovate responsibly while ensuring legal professionals continue to meet their existing regulatory obligations.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, for each of the last five calendar years, how many appeals have been made against magistrates' court decisions which have rejected defendants' claims of exceptional hardship in proceedings concerning drivers liable to disqualification under the totting-up provisions; and how many of those appeals were successful.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly data on appeals against magistrates’ court decisions heard in the Crown Court in the Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly release which can be downloaded from the Criminal Court Statistics landing page here: Criminal court statistics - GOV.UK. Table C11 provides details of appeals heard at the Crown Court.
However, data is not centrally recorded on the specific grounds of appeal, including whether an appeal relates to the rejection of an exceptional hardship argument in proceedings concerning drivers liable to disqualification under the totting-up provisions.
This information may be contained within individual court records. However, identifying and reviewing relevant cases would require a manual examination of those records and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to fast-track immigration and deportation cases in which offenders have prolonged proceedings through appeals lasting more than three years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice is only able to collect data on the timeliness of appeals; it does not record or hold information related to an appellant’s previous convictions or offending, or how long the overall deportation process takes.
We have taken steps to speed up appeals brought by Foreign National Offenders (FNOs). The latest figures show that, in 2025/26, the average time taken from receipt to disposal was 36 weeks for Detained HM Prison appeals and 16 weeks for Detained Immigration Removal Centre appeals, compared with 43 weeks and 20 weeks respectively in 2023/24 (Source: DIA_dataset_2025-26_Q4.ods). Further, we will shortly commence the 24-week statutory timeframe for appeals from those in supported accommodation and non-detained FNOs liable to deportation, as legislated in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025.
Since the July 2024 election, there have been 9,805 removals of FNOs, to end of March 2026. This is 36% up on the 7,185 returns from the previous 21 months from October 2022 to June 2024.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average tribunal waiting time is for the deportation of foreign national child sex offenders whose criminal sentences have fully expired.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice is only able to collect data on the timeliness of appeals; it does not record or hold information related to an appellant’s previous convictions or offending, or how long the overall deportation process takes.
We have taken steps to speed up appeals brought by Foreign National Offenders (FNOs). The latest figures show that, in 2025/26, the average time taken from receipt to disposal was 36 weeks for Detained HM Prison appeals and 16 weeks for Detained Immigration Removal Centre appeals, compared with 43 weeks and 20 weeks respectively in 2023/24 (Source: DIA_dataset_2025-26_Q4.ods). Further, we will shortly commence the 24-week statutory timeframe for appeals from those in supported accommodation and non-detained FNOs liable to deportation, as legislated in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025.
Since the July 2024 election, there have been 9,805 removals of FNOs, to end of March 2026. This is 36% up on the 7,185 returns from the previous 21 months from October 2022 to June 2024.
Asked by: Lord Pickles (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of appeals against education, health and care plan decisions were successful in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Year | Decisions Heard | In Favour | Upheld | %age | |||
2021 | 3662 | 3597 | 65 | 98.23 | |||
2022 | 4112 | 4041 | 71 | 98.27 | |||
2023 | 5696 | 5626 | 70 | 98.77 | |||
2024 | 8451 | 8383 | 68 | 99.20 | |||
2025 | 9942 | 9883 | 59 | 99.41 | |||
The data has been taken from the local management information system with financial year set as April to March. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and is the best data that are available. For this reason, the appeals shown in the above table may not match published totals. Data does not include refusals to make a plan, as that is the step before deciding the content of a plan.
Asked by: Lord Garnier (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of changes to jury trials in the Courts and Tribunals Bill on (1) the Crown Court backlog, and (2) the rule of law.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Impact Assessment for the Courts and Tribunals Bill shows that the structural reform package in the Bill is expected to reduce incoming demand on the Crown Court by almost 20%. It also shows that reforms will support the rule of law by improving access to justice through increased case disposals, strengthening confidence in legal institutions, and supporting a more effective and resilient justice system.
The Impact Assessment can be found, attached.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what engagement his department has undertaken with survivors of sexual violence, during the formulation of the early release scheme as part of the Sentencing Act 2026.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
First, I would like to express my sincere sympathy with all victims of these appalling crimes. This Government inherited a prisons system days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. Alongside our record prison building programme, our landmark Sentencing Act 2026 will help prevent the catastrophic consequences of prisons running out of space. Without intervention, police could be forced to halt arrests, placing unacceptable pressures on the criminal justice system. Keeping prison capacity available for arrests, prosecutions and imprisonment is essential to protecting the public and the progression model which will help ensure there are always enough places for the courts to be able to send offenders to custody. The worst thing for victims would be running out of prison space and not being able to lock up dangerous offenders.
The progression model amends release points for offenders on Standard Determinate Sentences. Over 18,000 offenders serving more serious sentences like Extended Determinate Sentences or life sentences will be unaffected by these reforms and will be kept in prison for as long as they are now. Once released, offenders will be managed under strict licence conditions in the community. Offenders released on licence can be recalled if they breach their conditions or if they cannot be safely managed in the community.
The Government recognises the devastating impact of sexual offending on victims and survivors. Ministers regularly engage with victims and the victims’ sector to inform relevant areas of policy. During the development of the reforms in the Sentencing Act 2026, Ministers and policy officials met with victims’ stakeholders through a range of individual meetings, roundtables and sector-wide engagement groups. We remain committed to continuing to engage with the victim sector to monitor the impact of these changes.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what consideration has been made to exempt sexual offenders from eligibility for early release.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
First, I would like to express my sincere sympathy with all victims of these appalling crimes. This Government inherited a prisons system days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. Alongside our record prison building programme, our landmark Sentencing Act 2026 will help prevent the catastrophic consequences of prisons running out of space. Without intervention, police could be forced to halt arrests, placing unacceptable pressures on the criminal justice system. Keeping prison capacity available for arrests, prosecutions and imprisonment is essential to protecting the public and the progression model which will help ensure there are always enough places for the courts to be able to send offenders to custody. The worst thing for victims would be running out of prison space and not being able to lock up dangerous offenders.
The progression model amends release points for offenders on Standard Determinate Sentences. Over 18,000 offenders serving more serious sentences like Extended Determinate Sentences or life sentences will be unaffected by these reforms and will be kept in prison for as long as they are now. Once released, offenders will be managed under strict licence conditions in the community. Offenders released on licence can be recalled if they breach their conditions or if they cannot be safely managed in the community.
The Government recognises the devastating impact of sexual offending on victims and survivors. Ministers regularly engage with victims and the victims’ sector to inform relevant areas of policy. During the development of the reforms in the Sentencing Act 2026, Ministers and policy officials met with victims’ stakeholders through a range of individual meetings, roundtables and sector-wide engagement groups. We remain committed to continuing to engage with the victim sector to monitor the impact of these changes.