Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2025 to Question 94768 on Criminal Proceedings: Evidence, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of lost, missing and damaged evidence collapsed court cases in the context of steps taken to reduce the court backlog and deliver successful trials; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of collating adequate data.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice does not collate data on cases that are not progressed due to lost, missing or damaged evidence. We keep our data gathering processes under constant review and will need to consider whether the areas identified in the question can feasibly be collected.
Reducing the number of cases which are either delayed or collapse all together due to lost or missing evidence or mislaying of documents is important. As part of our ongoing efforts to improve timeliness and efficiency in our criminal courts, we asked Sir Brian Leveson to undertake a review of the court operations and make recommendations designed to boost court efficiency in Part 2 of his review. We are awaiting that report in the New Year and will look to act on its recommendations. It is vital that all partners, across the justice system, work together to create a sustainable justice system, including through the Criminal Justice Board, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the policy papers entitled Spending Review 2025, published on 30 June 2025, and Budget 2025, published on 28 November 2025, what their Department’s capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) will be in each year of the Spending Review period; how much capital funding has been allocated to each of their Department’s programmes; and how much and what proportion of the capital DEL allocation remains unallocated in each year.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Budget 2025 was announced on 26 November 2025 and table C.2 confirms our Spending Review settlement of £2.3bn for 2026-2027, £2.3bn for 2027-2028, £2.3bn for 2028-2029 and £2.0bn for 2029-2030.
Of which we must spend the following split to complete the 14,000 prison place programme: £1.2bn for 2026-2027, £1.2bn for 2027-2028, £1,2bn for 2028-2029 and £1.14bn for 2029-2030. This is a total investment of £4.7bn over this period.
All other areas of spend will be subject to future allocations discussions in the usual way.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for the total spend on (i) LinkedIn membership fees (ii) other subscriptions by his Department in the last financial year.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice does not hold a specific membership with LinkedIn. However, our spend on LinkedIn for the financial year 2024/2025 was £155,247.65.
Please note this cost covers multiple recruitment services and advertising that span across all our operationally critical frontline roles. For example, those in HMPPS and HMCTS. All our campaign activity is data driven to maximise our reach to our target audiences.
The Department’s spend for other subscriptions in 2024/2025 is £628,213.00. These subscriptions/memberships cover things such as The Solicitors Regulation Authority, The Bar Council, and the Office for National Statistics and ensure we are able to operate compliantly and effectively.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of reforms to jury trials on minority ethnic groups.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
A full Equalities Impact Assessment will be published alongside legislation as is usual practice. This will include an assessment of the potential impact of these reforms on minority ethnic groups. The criminal court reforms are not expected to impact trial outcomes, only how trials are heard.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the agreed level of tuition to be provided by Shaw Trust in the contract they signed with the trust for young offender institutions.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Youth Education Service contract requires Shaw Trust to deliver education to each learner for at least 15 hours each week. This is in addition to the wider curriculum offer, which includes library access, gym, youth work sessions and other activities that support children’s learning and development.
Every child is assessed to determine the grade or level of tuition they should be working at or towards, from Entry Level 1 in subjects such as Mathematics and English, through to A level.
The table below shows the number of hours planned per child by education providers, and the number of hours delivered.
HMP/YOI Feltham | Average planned weekly hours | Average hours delivered |
August | 15.78 | 6.34 |
September | 15.81 | 6.71 |
October | 16.32 | 4.87 |
HMP/YOI Wetherby | Average planned weekly hours | Average hours delivered |
August | 19.97 | 10.2 |
September | 18.46 | 10.96 |
October | 20.29 | 11.1 |
HMP/YOI Werrington | Average planned weekly hours | Average hours delivered |
August | 15.09 | 8.17 |
September | 15.55 | 7.64 |
October | 15.94 | 9.18 |
HMP/YOI Parc | Average planned weekly hours | Average hours delivered |
August | 23.60 | 19.20 |
September | 23.40 | 14.50 |
October | 25.00 | 20.00 |
Planned learning sessions may not take place for a variety of reasons, including court appearances, legal visits, sickness and medical treatment. Absence of provider staff is a further cause of cancellation.
The Youth Custody Service (YCS) has developed a comprehensive improvement plan for the next three years, which aims to increase time spent out of room in purposeful activity. It is also overhauling the incentives systems to ensure it focuses on values-led behaviour. The YCS has seconded staff from HMYOI Parc to develop systems across the other YOIs and share learning from their success. We are already seeing a gradual increase in time out of room in all sites, work which the YCS will continue to build on.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what level of tuition has been provided in each young offender institution in England and Wales since August.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Youth Education Service contract requires Shaw Trust to deliver education to each learner for at least 15 hours each week. This is in addition to the wider curriculum offer, which includes library access, gym, youth work sessions and other activities that support children’s learning and development.
Every child is assessed to determine the grade or level of tuition they should be working at or towards, from Entry Level 1 in subjects such as Mathematics and English, through to A level.
The table below shows the number of hours planned per child by education providers, and the number of hours delivered.
HMP/YOI Feltham | Average planned weekly hours | Average hours delivered |
August | 15.78 | 6.34 |
September | 15.81 | 6.71 |
October | 16.32 | 4.87 |
HMP/YOI Wetherby | Average planned weekly hours | Average hours delivered |
August | 19.97 | 10.2 |
September | 18.46 | 10.96 |
October | 20.29 | 11.1 |
HMP/YOI Werrington | Average planned weekly hours | Average hours delivered |
August | 15.09 | 8.17 |
September | 15.55 | 7.64 |
October | 15.94 | 9.18 |
HMP/YOI Parc | Average planned weekly hours | Average hours delivered |
August | 23.60 | 19.20 |
September | 23.40 | 14.50 |
October | 25.00 | 20.00 |
Planned learning sessions may not take place for a variety of reasons, including court appearances, legal visits, sickness and medical treatment. Absence of provider staff is a further cause of cancellation.
The Youth Custody Service (YCS) has developed a comprehensive improvement plan for the next three years, which aims to increase time spent out of room in purposeful activity. It is also overhauling the incentives systems to ensure it focuses on values-led behaviour. The YCS has seconded staff from HMYOI Parc to develop systems across the other YOIs and share learning from their success. We are already seeing a gradual increase in time out of room in all sites, work which the YCS will continue to build on.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much they have spent on each young offender institution in England and Wales in each year since October 2022.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The following table shows total resource expenditure at each public sector young offender institution (YOI), in the Children and Young People Estate for the three years 2022-23 to 2024-25. The figures do not include expenditure on education, as this is managed collectively across establishments, and it is not therefore possible to apportion it to individual YOIs.
YOI(1) | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 |
Cookham Wood(2) | 15,120,726 | 16,205,614 | 6,854,616 |
Feltham | 16,472,102 | 17,695,172 | 20,121,355 |
Werrington | 14,135,716 | 14,517,650 | 16,897,088 |
Wetherby | 24,491,671 | 26,969,686 | 31,683,400 |
Notes:
HMYOI Parc is not included. This is because it is managed under a single contract together with HMP Parc and it is not possible to disaggregate spending between the two establishments.
Cookham Wood closed as a YOI in August 2024.
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 plans he has to publish detailed data on reoffending outcomes by (a) sentence type, (b) offence type, and (c) offender characteristics.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We publish proven reoffending statistics quarterly, including detailed data by sentence type, offence type, and offender characteristics. The next publication is due at the end of January 2026 (Proven reoffending statistics - GOV.UK).
We are tackling the root causes of reoffending by investing in a range of services which address offenders’ underlying criminogenic needs and support their rehabilitation journey. This includes education, employment, accommodation and access to substance misuse treatment.
For example, to support employment, 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.
Reoffending rates for adults sentenced to less than 12 months in custody remain high – in the latest data, just over 60% reoffended within a year. Ministry of Justice research shows that community orders and suspended sentences are up to 4 percentage points more effective at reducing reoffending than short custodial sentences. That is why we are introducing a presumption to suspend custodial sentences of 12 months or less via the Sentencing Bill, and expanding Intensive Supervision Courts (ISCs), which aim to reduce reoffending by diverting individuals from short custodial sentences into enhanced community-based orders.
We are not, however, abolishing short sentences. Judges will always have the power to send offenders to prison where they have breached a court order, where there is a significant risk of physical or psychological harm to a particular individual, or in exceptional circumstances.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to visit HMP Wandsworth.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Ministers regularly visit prisons across the country. Any plans to visit specific prisons will be notified to the relevant Members of Parliament in advance.
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 reoffending outcomes for adults released from short custodial sentences; and what steps he is taking to improve those outcomes.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We publish proven reoffending statistics quarterly, including detailed data by sentence type, offence type, and offender characteristics. The next publication is due at the end of January 2026 (Proven reoffending statistics - GOV.UK).
We are tackling the root causes of reoffending by investing in a range of services which address offenders’ underlying criminogenic needs and support their rehabilitation journey. This includes education, employment, accommodation and access to substance misuse treatment.
For example, to support employment, 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.
Reoffending rates for adults sentenced to less than 12 months in custody remain high – in the latest data, just over 60% reoffended within a year. Ministry of Justice research shows that community orders and suspended sentences are up to 4 percentage points more effective at reducing reoffending than short custodial sentences. That is why we are introducing a presumption to suspend custodial sentences of 12 months or less via the Sentencing Bill, and expanding Intensive Supervision Courts (ISCs), which aim to reduce reoffending by diverting individuals from short custodial sentences into enhanced community-based orders.
We are not, however, abolishing short sentences. Judges will always have the power to send offenders to prison where they have breached a court order, where there is a significant risk of physical or psychological harm to a particular individual, or in exceptional circumstances.