Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of his Department's progress on increasing the processing capacity of the court system.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has made significant progress in increasing the processing capacity of the courts and tribunals system and remains committed to reducing backlog.
In the Crown Court for this financial year, we have allocated 111,250 sitting days - the highest number of sitting days on record and over 5,000 more than the previous Government funded for the last financial year.
In the Family Courts, reforms are already delivering results. Courts operating under the private law Pathfinder model are achieving some of the lowest case durations nationally, in South East Wales, for example, average duration fell from 37 weeks to 12 weeks on average. In addition, the Department for Education invested £10 million in 2024/25 to fund pilots aimed at reducing delays in family proceedings, with evaluation due to conclude in 2026.
Across the tribunals system, we are taking a comprehensive approach to improve productivity. Sitting day capacity has been set at or close to the maximum deliverable level. We are also promoting early dispute resolution to reduce unnecessary demand, including judicial Alternative Dispute Resolution pilots in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Lady Chief Justice continue discussions on allocation for 2025-26 and we will say more in due course.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to consider increasing the number of sitting days at [a] Leicester Crown Court [b] Coventry Combined Court Centre and [c] Warwick Crown Court.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is committed to bearing down on the backlog. In the Crown Court for this financial year, we have allocated 111,250 sitting days - the highest number of sitting days on record and over 5,000 more than the previous Government funded for the last financial year.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Lady Chief Justice continue discussions on the allocation for 2025-26 as part of the Concordat process and we will say more in due course.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they consider (1) the European Court of Human Rights, and (2) the International Criminal Court, to be foreign courts.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and International Criminal Court (ICC) are international courts based respectively in France and the Netherlands. The UK is a State Party to both the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Rome Statute, the international treaties which established the ECtHR and ICC respectively. It is also a founding member of both instruments.
The Human Rights Act 1998 and the ICC Act 2001 give effect to the UK's obligations under the ECHR and Rome Statute. We respect the independence of both courts.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many and what proportion of people arriving into custody were assessed for additional support due to neurodiversity in each prison and Young Offender Institution in England over each of the last two years.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
On 01 October 2025 we introduced a requirement and new tool for Governors to ensure all prisoners receive a screening for additional learning needs within 30 days of reception into custody. Young people entering the youth estate are screened within 10 days of arrival.
The new screening requirement built on an earlier process (since 2023) of carrying out an initial rapid screening for learning difficulties and/or disabilities and more in-depth screening which formed part of the initial education induction.
Data is collected and used locally, however, there is no routine centralised collection of validated data in relation to the numbers undertaking screening and assessment in either the adult estate or in Young Offender Institutions.
Asked by: Lord Carter of Haslemere (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prisoners sentenced to Imprisonment for Public Protection who have been recalled to prison have been released by the Secretary of State under section 32ZZA of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
29 prisoners serving a sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection were released by the Secretary of State under section 32ZZA of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 between 1 November 2024 (when the power became available) and 1 June 2025. We are determined to make progress towards safe and sustainable releases for those in prison, but not in a way that undermines public protection.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when her department plans to confirm allocations for the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund for 2026/27.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
My Department is committed to the Government’s pledge to halve Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in a decade. We have committed £550 million to victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date.
On 1 December 2025, all recipients of the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund (RASASF) received confirmation that their Ministry of Justice grants will be extended for two years until March 2028, with a 2% year-on-year uplift. Given this, there will be no impacts on waiting lists as funding has not been discontinued or frozen.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of spiking in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Incidents of spiking may be prosecuted under various criminal offences. These offences encompass a broad spectrum of criminal behaviours, not all of which constitute spiking.
The Ministry of Justice does not currently collate statistics which show the number of individuals who are charged and subsequently prosecuted and convicted of offences which relate to incidents of spiking. The Government is, however, considering options to improve the way spiking crimes are recorded and collated with the aim of capturing better data to help advise preventative strategies for spiking where needed.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment has been made of the potential impact on victim support arising from the announced reduction, by nearly half, in funding for the West Mercia Police Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre; and in light of these funding cuts, how will the Department ensure that all survivors of sexual violence referred to this centre continue to receive the timely and high‑quality support they deserve.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
My Department is committed to the Government’s pledge to halve Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in a decade. We have committed £550 million to victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date.
On 1 December 2025, all Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and recipients of the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund (RASASF) received confirmation that their Ministry of Justice grants will be extended for two years until March 2028, with a 2% year-on-year uplift. This includes the grants the Ministry of Justice holds with West Mercia Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (WMRSASC) and with West Mercia PCC, who will make decisions on which organisations to fund locally, based on their assessment of need.
The grant the Department holds with WMRSASC has been unchanged since August 2023 when the RASASF was recompeted via an open competition.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing long-term funding for specialist sexual violence and abuse services.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
My Department is committed to the Government’s pledge to halve Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in a decade. We have committed £550 million to victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date.
The 42 Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales receive annual grant funding from the Department’s victim and witness budget to commission local practical, emotional, and therapeutic support services for victims of all crime types. This includes services for victims of sexual abuse. In addition, MoJ provides funding through the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund to over 60 specialist organisations, supporting victims of all ages to cope with their experiences and move forward with their lives.
On 1 December 2025, all PCCs and RASASF recipients received confirmation that their grants will be extended for two years until March 2028, with a 2% year-on-year uplift.
In light of the announcement to abolish the PCC function in May 2028, we have held back confirmation of year three funding. This enables us to explore changes to the longer-term delivery of victims funding to ensure this is delivered in the best way in the future. This will include extensive engagement with partners, including PCCs and RASASF recipients, to ensure we can continue to provide the right support to victims.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has received representations concerning allegations of misleading or inaccurate citation of case law in a recent Employment Tribunal judgment; and what processes exist for referring such allegations to the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In the event that the Ministry of Justice receives a complaint about the handling or outcome of a particular case the correspondent would be advised to seek advice regarding any right of appeal and, if the complaint is about the conduct of a member of the judiciary, provided with information about the relevant complaints process. This is because the judiciary are entirely independent and must be free to decide the outcome of cases without fear of interference from Government or its administration.
Decisions of the Employment Tribunal can be appealed on a point of law to the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
Complaints about the conduct of an Employment Judge sitting in England must be made to the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office: https://www.complaints.judicialconduct.gov.uk/
For an Employment Judge sitting wholly or mainly in Scotland, complaints must be made to the President of the Employment Tribunal (Scotland): https://www.complaints.judicialconduct.gov.uk/rulesandregulations/Employment%20Tribunal%20(Scotland)%20%E2%80%93%20Making%20a%20complaint%20of%20Judicial%20Misconduct%20about%20an%20Employment%20Judge