Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) performance standards and (b) key performance indicators on the timeliness of prisoner arrivals at court are set out within the contract for Prisoner Escort and Custody Services.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Prisoner Escort and Custody Services (PECS) contracts specify that the contractor shall deliver prisoners to court by the required times to ensure the efficient and effective running of courts without delay. The key performance indicator relating to the timeliness of prisoner arrivals in court is Contract Delivery Indicator 15, at Annex 1 to Schedule 5 of the contract.
The PECS contracts can be found in the Contracts Finder on the GOV.UK website:
Prisoner Escort and Custody Services (Generation 4) - Lot North - Contracts Finder.
Prisoner Escort and Custody Services (Generation 4) - Lot South - Contracts Finder.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether any civil servants hired by his Department were recruited over another person on the basis of a protected characteristic in each of the last three years.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from everyone irrespective of background, identity, experience, or circumstance, and particularly those underrepresented in our workforce. The Department does not appoint candidates on the basis of protected characteristics. Appointments are made in merit order, in line with the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 88 of the policy paper entitled UK Government Resilience Action Plan, published on 14 July 2025, how many meetings have been attended by civil servants within their Department in relation to the Home Defence Programme; which directorate in the Department owns the Departmental contribution to the Home Defence Programme; and what the job title is of the civil servant leading and cohering the Departmental contribution to the Home Defence Programme.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Resilience Action Plan sets out the Government’s strategic approach to how we will strengthen our domestic resilience and invest to protect the nation. A range of senior officials from across the Ministry of Justice, including the Permanent Secretary, regularly attend meetings to discuss the implementation of the Resilience Action Plan as well as matters of national security and defence.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 11 February 2026, to Question 110483, on Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders, what assessment he has made of the validity of Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders from Poland when IPCA return orders are not enforced by the Polish authorities.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
International parental child abduction cases involving Poland are dealt with under an international and domestic law framework which is entirely separate from the framework for reciprocal enforcement of maintenance orders. When a court is dealing with a case under a particular framework, only those matters which fall to be considered under the relevant framework are applicable.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2026 to Question 110482, on Poland: Children, what steps his Department has taken to ensure enforcement of return orders in cases of international parental child abduction in Poland.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice does not play a direct role in individual international child abduction cases in Poland. Whether a return order is made in Poland in respect of a child who has been taken to Poland, or what action should be taken in Poland in relation to enforcement of a return order, are matters for Polish courts and the relevant authorities to determine.
However, my officials regularly engage on international child abduction with other States, including discussions with Polish authorities on the subject of enforcement procedures. This has included a Workshop hosted by the Ministry of Justice in April 2025, together with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and other key authorities in England and Wales, to discuss international child abduction with Polish officials and enhance cooperation in this area.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2026 to Question 110482 on Poland: Children, what role his Department plays in international parental child abduction cases in Poland.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice does not play a direct role in individual international child abduction cases in Poland. Whether a return order is made in Poland in respect of a child who has been taken to Poland, or what action should be taken in Poland in relation to enforcement of a return order, are matters for Polish courts and the relevant authorities to determine.
However, my officials regularly engage on international child abduction with other States, including discussions with Polish authorities on the subject of enforcement procedures. This has included a Workshop hosted by the Ministry of Justice in April 2025, together with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and other key authorities in England and Wales, to discuss international child abduction with Polish officials and enhance cooperation in this area.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of gender on (a) custodial sentence length and (b) rates of reoffending.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Sentencing decisions are a matter for the courts, which must follow statutory sentencing guidelines, developed by the Sentencing Council, unless it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.
Those guidelines are gender‑neutral, requiring courts to assess culpability, harm, and all relevant aggravating and mitigating factors in each individual case. The law and guidelines allow sentencers to take account of an offender’s personal circumstances where relevant, such as primary caring responsibilities, pregnancy, mental health needs, or experiences of abuse, which may arise more frequently among female offenders.
The Independent Sentencing Review recognised that women in the criminal justice system often present with complex vulnerabilities and are typically lower risk to the public, and that short custodial sentences can be less effective for many women than robust community‑based alternatives. In response, the Government has taken forward reforms through the Sentencing Act 2026 to reduce the unnecessary use of short custodial sentences and expand the use of community‑based disposals where appropriate. These reforms apply to all offenders.
The Government is committed to ensuring sentencing is fair, proportionate, and equitable. Consistency is promoted through statutory guidelines and judicial training. Alongside this, in 2024, the Government has established a Women’s Justice Board to advise on reducing the number of women going to prison with more managed in the community. Community supervision can often be more effective than custody in addressing the root causes of offending, helping women rebuild their lives and reduce reoffending.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what comparative assessment he has made of custodial sentencing rates between male and female offenders for comparable offences.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Sentencing decisions are a matter for the courts, which must follow statutory sentencing guidelines, developed by the Sentencing Council, unless it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.
Those guidelines are gender‑neutral, requiring courts to assess culpability, harm, and all relevant aggravating and mitigating factors in each individual case. The law and guidelines allow sentencers to take account of an offender’s personal circumstances where relevant, such as primary caring responsibilities, pregnancy, mental health needs, or experiences of abuse, which may arise more frequently among female offenders.
The Independent Sentencing Review recognised that women in the criminal justice system often present with complex vulnerabilities and are typically lower risk to the public, and that short custodial sentences can be less effective for many women than robust community‑based alternatives. In response, the Government has taken forward reforms through the Sentencing Act 2026 to reduce the unnecessary use of short custodial sentences and expand the use of community‑based disposals where appropriate. These reforms apply to all offenders.
The Government is committed to ensuring sentencing is fair, proportionate, and equitable. Consistency is promoted through statutory guidelines and judicial training. Alongside this, in 2024, the Government has established a Women’s Justice Board to advise on reducing the number of women going to prison with more managed in the community. Community supervision can often be more effective than custody in addressing the root causes of offending, helping women rebuild their lives and reduce reoffending.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure sentencing is equitable across genders.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Sentencing decisions are a matter for the courts, which must follow statutory sentencing guidelines, developed by the Sentencing Council, unless it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.
Those guidelines are gender‑neutral, requiring courts to assess culpability, harm, and all relevant aggravating and mitigating factors in each individual case. The law and guidelines allow sentencers to take account of an offender’s personal circumstances where relevant, such as primary caring responsibilities, pregnancy, mental health needs, or experiences of abuse, which may arise more frequently among female offenders.
The Independent Sentencing Review recognised that women in the criminal justice system often present with complex vulnerabilities and are typically lower risk to the public, and that short custodial sentences can be less effective for many women than robust community‑based alternatives. In response, the Government has taken forward reforms through the Sentencing Act 2026 to reduce the unnecessary use of short custodial sentences and expand the use of community‑based disposals where appropriate. These reforms apply to all offenders.
The Government is committed to ensuring sentencing is fair, proportionate, and equitable. Consistency is promoted through statutory guidelines and judicial training. Alongside this, in 2024, the Government has established a Women’s Justice Board to advise on reducing the number of women going to prison with more managed in the community. Community supervision can often be more effective than custody in addressing the root causes of offending, helping women rebuild their lives and reduce reoffending.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
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 compensating firms for unpaid labour resulting from the Legal Aid Agency data breach.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We appreciate the constructive way in which legal aid providers have worked with us following the serious criminal attack on the Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) digital systems. They have continued to do vital work in challenging circumstances.
Since systems were restored in December 2025, the LAA has processed civil casework, both applications and bills, for the work undertaken by providers during the system outage. Where individual providers believe they have incurred additional billable costs, these can be claimed through the normal billing processes set out in the Costs Assessment Guidance.
We appreciate that some providers have raised concerns regarding additional administrative burdens related to contingency operations. We have worked with stakeholders to simplify processes wherever possible. This has included testing new service functionality with providers before launch and refining services based on the feedback received. For example, we extended the Average Payment Scheme for civil certificated work and temporarily suspended activities such as audits to ease administrative pressures. We have also continued to update guidance and FAQs in direct response to stakeholder input to provide clearer, more streamlined support for providers. Our priority now is working through the backlog of cases which is currently progressing well. All providers will be paid for the legal services provided under their legal aid contracts. We have no plans to set up a compensation scheme.