Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the 12-week Prison Office Entry Level Training in teaching new prison officers security procedures and de-escalation and rehabilitation techniques to deal with complex environments in our prison system.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Foundation Prison Officer training is designed to ensure that all new prison officers are supported and feel competent in their roles. All new entrants undertake a minimum of ten weeks of training, beginning with a ten-day induction process to familiarise them with the prison environment, including meeting line managers and colleagues and learning key security procedures. This is followed by either seven weeks in the male estate, eight weeks in the female estate, or nine weeks in the Youth Custody Service, delivered through face-to-face training at a central or local learning venue. Officers then return to their establishment for a final week of consolidation and shadowing.
The foundation training package develops verbal communication and interpersonal skills, ensuring new officers are able to identify vulnerable prisoners, support them appropriately, and defuse potential conflict. This includes training in de-escalation techniques and, where the use of force is necessary, instruction on how to do so in line with organisational procedures and the law.
Foundation training also equips officers with the skills required to maintain and update documentation, records and supporting systems, alongside the knowledge of security procedures, including searching techniques and the management and use of keys.
Additionally, the Enable Programme is redeveloping the current foundation training for new entry prison officers into a 12-month modular package, reinforcing the principle of continuous professional development. It positions training as an evolving journey rather than a discrete, front-loaded phase at the start of a career, building on knowledge and application of that through their probationary period.
The revised training aims to support the development of compassionate, competent and confident prison officers, able to deliver a wide range of operational and interpersonal skills underpinned by relational practice and rehabilitative working. The work is strongly aligned with that of Lord Timpson’s Review of Foundation Training Delivery for Prison Officers which focused on improving the learner experience with enhanced support, pride and greater rigour being applied; establishing an operating model with the right people, venues, curriculum, and standards in place; and encouraging a continuous learning environment with clear channels of accountability.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has he made with the Secretary of State for the Home Department in apprehending Daniel Boakye following his abscondment.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
A formal investigation has been commissioned into the circumstances surrounding the escape from custody. Additional management checks are also being undertaken in relation to all operational staff who may be called upon to undertake escort duty.
Public safety is the Government’s priority. Following a joint operation by the Metropolitan Police, the National Crime Agency and the French authorities, we have received confirmation that Daniel Boakye has now been detained in France. Arrangements are being made to secure his return to the UK.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the factors that led to the abscondment of Daniel Boakye.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
A formal investigation has been commissioned into the circumstances surrounding the escape from custody. Additional management checks are also being undertaken in relation to all operational staff who may be called upon to undertake escort duty.
Public safety is the Government’s priority. Following a joint operation by the Metropolitan Police, the National Crime Agency and the French authorities, we have received confirmation that Daniel Boakye has now been detained in France. Arrangements are being made to secure his return to the UK.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of whether the use of generative AI tools for drafting by claimants is a contributing factor to the increase in employment tribunal cases; and what steps they are taking to ensure that employment tribunal processes are efficient and resilient.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is aware of the increased use of generative AI. Some stakeholders have reported that some potential Employment Tribunal claimants are using generative AI to provide a view on the strengths of their potential claim or to help with drafting elements of their claim. While no formal assessment has been made of the impact of generative AI on the caseload, to acknowledge changing behaviour, HMCTS has developed its own ‘Responsible AI Principles’ guidance to ensure use of AI in the courts and tribunals is appropriate, safe and controlled.
The Government is taking steps to increase the efficiency and resilience of the Employment Tribunal through the recruitment of additional judges, deploying Legal Officers actively to manage cases, the development of modern case management systems and the use of remote hearing technology. We continue to monitor demand in the Employment Tribunal and will consider any further actions needed to manage this.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the use of transparency orders in the Court of Protection to ensure that such orders do not prevent families from seeking public accountability in cases where they allege that visiting rights have been disproportionately restricted by local authorities or private providers.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Court of Protection proceedings involve personal, sensitive matters and enable decisions to be made in the best interests of the person, who lacks the mental capacity to make those decisions themselves. The Government has no plans to review the use of transparency orders in the Court of Protection.
A transparency order in the Court of Protection restricts the publication and communication of information from proceedings. They support the principle of open justice by allowing Court of Protection hearings to be heard in public whilst protecting the privacy of vulnerable individuals.
The use of transparency orders is a matter for the judiciary. If the recipient believes an order is unfair, too restrictive, or no longer needed, they can apply to the court to vary it.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average officer to prisoner ratio was across all male prisons as of February 2026.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The number of full-time equivalent band 3-5 prison officers in each public sector prison is published quarterly as part of the “HM Prison and Probation Service workforce statistics” publication. The latest data, for staff in post on 31st December 2025, is available in Table 15 of this spreadsheet: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/699d794d07d7bff3604d6be2/hmpps-workforce-statistics-tables-dec-2025_final_file.ods.
The number of prisoners in each prison is published as part of the “Offender management statistics quarterly” publication. The latest data, also for 31st December 2025, is available in Table 1_Q_13: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6978d8c475d4437096552064/prison-population-31-Dec-2025.ods.
The list of each prison, their function and whether they are male only is available at this link: Prisons in England and Wales - GOV.UK.
These publicly available resources can be used to calculate the average prison officer to prisoner ratio for male prisons.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Tech challenge launched to counter drone threats in prisons, published on 4 November 2025, on what date is the 12-week Counter-Drone Challenge due to end.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We have recently launched a new innovation challenge with His Majesty’s Government Communications Centre (HMGCC) Co-Creation aimed at combatting the growing threat of drones around prisons.
The Counter-Drone Challenge competition closed on 4 December 2025. Selected industry partners will receive up to £60,000 funding to develop proof-of-concept systems over a 12-week period.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance is provided to the Chief Executive of HMPPS regarding assessing the potential impact on public confidence in the Early Removal Scheme or the criminal justice system of a decision to authorise removal of a foreign national offender.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We do not collate information on how many cases are referred to the Chief Executive of HMPPS under the Early Removal Scheme or the outcome of such referrals.
Guidance to Prison Governors, and all those involved in administering the scheme including the Chief Executive, is contained in the Prison Service Instruction: The Early Removal Scheme and Release of Foreign National Prisoners (PSI 04/2013) which was last updated on 23 September 2025 and is available at the following link: Early removal scheme and release of foreign national prisoners.
This gives information on the circumstances where removal might undermine the Scheme or public confidence in the criminal justice system.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases under the Early Removal Scheme where the removal may undermine confidence in the scheme or criminal justice system were referred to the Chief Executive of HMPPS for decision in each of the last five years; and what was the outcome in each case.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We do not collate information on how many cases are referred to the Chief Executive of HMPPS under the Early Removal Scheme or the outcome of such referrals.
Guidance to Prison Governors, and all those involved in administering the scheme including the Chief Executive, is contained in the Prison Service Instruction: The Early Removal Scheme and Release of Foreign National Prisoners (PSI 04/2013) which was last updated on 23 September 2025 and is available at the following link: Early removal scheme and release of foreign national prisoners.
This gives information on the circumstances where removal might undermine the Scheme or public confidence in the criminal justice system.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign national offenders in UK prisons have been sentenced for causing the death of one or more people.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
As of 30 June 2025, there were 989 Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) in prison in England and Wales serving a sentence for a principal offence involving ‘causing death’.
All FNOs who receive a prison sentence in the UK are referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity including via the Early Removal Scheme for eligible determinate sentenced prisoners, Tariff Expired Removal Scheme for those serving indeterminate sentences, or via Prisoner Transfer Agreement where one is in place and the offender meets the relevant requirements. In all cases they will be barred from ever returning to the UK.
Deportations of FNOs, including murderers and rapists, are up 32%, with more than 8,700 deported since this Government came into power.
Returns of FNOs in the year-ending December 2025 are higher than any levels of returns observed since 2018.