Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the announcement by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice about prison staff safety on 21 September 2025, how many of the 5,000 stab proof vests for staff working in high security prisons have been issued.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The volume of body armour required for all prison officers in the Long-Term and High-Security Estate represents a significant undertaking. Our priority is to ensure that we continue to provide the most appropriate and effective protective equipment as swiftly as possible. We are currently preparing for further procurement and delivery. This work is progressing at pace, and we expect to begin implementation across the estate during 2026.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the announcement by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice about prison staff safety on 21 September 2025, how many prison officers are trained to use tasers.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
On 21 September, the Deputy Prime Minister announced that 500 prison-based staff would be trained and equipped to use Taser devices as part of a wider effort to enhance safety across the prison estate. We currently have 25 specially trained officers who work within the Operational Response and Resilience Teams. At present, no frontline officers are trained in the use of Tasers.
Delivering this capability is a significant undertaking: work to train and equip additional officers is in progress.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, how many stab proof vests have been issued to frontline officers following the announcement by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice about prison staff safety on 21 September 2025.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The volume of body armour required for all prison officers in the Long-Term and High-Security Estate represents a significant undertaking. Our priority is to ensure that we continue to provide the most appropriate and effective protective equipment as swiftly as possible. We are currently preparing for further procurement and delivery. This work is progressing at pace, and we expect to begin implementation across the estate during 2026.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with the Attorney General’s Office on ending the presumption of parental contact in family court cases.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government announced on 22 October 2025 that it will repeal the presumption of parental involvement when Parliamentary time allows.
Prior to this announcement, a Parliamentary write-round was undertaken which included consideration by the Attorney General’s Office.
The repeal will be taken forward once an appropriate legislative vehicle is identified. This remains a Ministerial priority, and we will announce further plans due course.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent comparative assessment he has made of trends in the levels of violence in (a) public and (b) private prisons.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Public and private prisons are subject to the same performance monitoring of safety outcomes. Safety data is used in contract management, including as a contractual lever to address poor performance.
We are committed to a mixed market in custodial services. Private sector companies continue to have an important role to play in the justice system, bringing innovation and expertise.
There is evidence of good performance across the privately-run prison estate, and some outstanding performance in areas such as security, respect and preparation for release. Performance varies by prison and area of assessment.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to maintain the adequacy of prison education provision in the context of changes to staffing levels.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Government is committed to ensuring prisoners can access high-quality education and skills provision that supports rehabilitation and reduces reoffending.
While the national prison education budget has increased by 3% this financial year, this has not kept pace with rising delivery costs across a range of services, leading to a reduction in what can be delivered through the Core Education contracts. Core Education represents only one part of the wider education, skills and work offer available to prisoners. Prison Governors commission education that meets the needs of their population, and providers are responsible for managing the staffing required to deliver the contracted services. HMPPS works closely with providers and governors to monitor delivery and maintain adequate provision.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many life sentences have been handed out to people under the age of 16 in the last five years.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Between year ending September 2021 and year ending September 2025, 10 defendants aged under 16 have been given a life sentence. This is a further breakdown of published sentencing outcomes data released routinely as part of the Accredited Official Statistics series Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly which is available here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to respond to correspondence from the hon. Member for Salford of 30 October 2025 on deaths in custody and prison management at HMP Forest Bank, reference number MC128673.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Department apologises for the delay in responding on this occasion and we regret that this falls short of expected standards. We are prioritising this and a response will be issued within the coming week.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
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 the Public Office (Accountability) Bill on the intelligence services.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Bill will apply to all public authorities, including the intelligence services. At Second Reading of the Bill, the Prime Minister was clear that the duty of candour would need to apply in a particular way to the intelligence services to get the right balance. We are clear that nothing should undermine our national security.
We are continuing to work closely with families, stakeholders and the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee to bring forward amendments that achieve this balance. We will update the House in due course.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to amend the Contempt of Court Act 1981 to reflect public comments about trials on social media platforms.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Rules and restrictions on what can be said during ongoing court proceedings are vital to ensure that trials are fair and justice is delivered. The Government recognises that social media is putting these long-established rules under strain, especially in cases where partial and inaccurate information appears online. The Law Commission is undertaking a review of contempt law which considers whether existing legal frameworks allow us to respond effectively to publications and communications that seriously impede or prejudice the course of justice.
At the Government’s request, the Commission expedited parts of the review relating to our ability to counter misinformation. That report was published in November covering liability and contempt and the role of the Attorney General in contempt proceedings.
We are carefully considering the recommendations and will issue a formal response once both reports have been published.