Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Crown Court Judges were assigned to Shrewsbury Crown Court on 1 March in each of the last 5 years including 2026.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This question has been interpreted to mean the total number of salaried Crown Court Judges assigned to Shrewsbury Crown Court on 1 March and not the number that actually sat on 1 March each year. 1 March 2025 and 1 March 2026 were on a Saturday and Sunday respectively.
The number of salaried Crown Court Judges assigned to Shrewsbury Crown Court on 1 March for each of the past 5 years are as follows:
1 March 2022: In Post: 3 – Full Time Equivalent: 1.9
1 March 2023: In Post: 3 – Full Time Equivalent: 2.1
1 March 2024: In Post: 3 – Full Time Equivalent: 2.2
1 March 2025: In Post: 4 – Full Time Equivalent: 3.2
1 March 2026: In Post: 3 – Full Time Equivalent: 3
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Women’s Justice Board recommendations for reducing women’s imprisonment, published on 16 March 2026, what steps he is taking to establish a residential women’s centre in Wales.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Women’s Justice Board report, published on 16 March 2026, sets out independent recommendations, which the Government is now carefully considering.
We are continuing to consider how the Residential Women’s Centre in Swansea could be delivered.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2025 to Question 89778 on Prisons: Construction, on what date did ISG Construction Limited cease on-site work at HMP Kirklevington Grange.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
ISG Construction Limited ceased work on all Ministry of Justice sites on the date of their administration, 20 September 2024. This included the expansions at HMP The Verne and HMP Guys Marsh.
Although the sites at HMP Kirklevington Grange, HMP Warren Hill, and the new prison in Buckinghamshire were due to be completed by ISG, the projects were still in their design stage at this time and on-site works had not yet started before the company went into administration.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2025 to Question 89778 on Prisons: Construction, on what date did ISG Construction Limited cease on-site work at HMP Guys Marsh.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
ISG Construction Limited ceased work on all Ministry of Justice sites on the date of their administration, 20 September 2024. This included the expansions at HMP The Verne and HMP Guys Marsh.
Although the sites at HMP Kirklevington Grange, HMP Warren Hill, and the new prison in Buckinghamshire were due to be completed by ISG, the projects were still in their design stage at this time and on-site works had not yet started before the company went into administration.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2025 to Question 89778 on Prisons: Construction, on what date did ISG Construction Limited cease on-site work at HMP Warren Hill.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
ISG Construction Limited ceased work on all Ministry of Justice sites on the date of their administration, 20 September 2024. This included the expansions at HMP The Verne and HMP Guys Marsh.
Although the sites at HMP Kirklevington Grange, HMP Warren Hill, and the new prison in Buckinghamshire were due to be completed by ISG, the projects were still in their design stage at this time and on-site works had not yet started before the company went into administration.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2025 to Question 89778 on Prisons: Construction, on what date did ISG Construction Limited cease on-site work at HMP The Verne.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
ISG Construction Limited ceased work on all Ministry of Justice sites on the date of their administration, 20 September 2024. This included the expansions at HMP The Verne and HMP Guys Marsh.
Although the sites at HMP Kirklevington Grange, HMP Warren Hill, and the new prison in Buckinghamshire were due to be completed by ISG, the projects were still in their design stage at this time and on-site works had not yet started before the company went into administration.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2025 to Question 89778 on Prisons: Construction, on what date did ISG Construction Limited cease on-site work at the planned new prison in Buckinghamshire.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
ISG Construction Limited ceased work on all Ministry of Justice sites on the date of their administration, 20 September 2024. This included the expansions at HMP The Verne and HMP Guys Marsh.
Although the sites at HMP Kirklevington Grange, HMP Warren Hill, and the new prison in Buckinghamshire were due to be completed by ISG, the projects were still in their design stage at this time and on-site works had not yet started before the company went into administration.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Goss Moor (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the median salary for prison governors in England and Wales in each year since 1996–97 in (1) cash terms, and (2) real terms adjusted for inflation; and what was the percentage salary increase in each of those terms between 1996–97 and 2025–26.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested on the median salaries for prison governors in England and Wales from 1996 – 2017 in cash terms is not held on the Department’s payroll system. Likewise, the Department does not hold the median salary during the entire period from 1996 – 2026 in real terms adjusted for inflation.
For the median salary in cash terms for the 2018-19 period and subsequent years up until 2025, please see the following table:
Role | Mar-18 | Mar-19 | Mar-20 | Mar-21 | Mar-22 | Mar-23 | Mar-24 | Mar-25 |
Governor | £82,139 | £85,369 | £90,829 | £95,453 | £92,976 | £98,407 | £102,685 | £111,026 |
Deputy Governor | £57,168 | £60,980 | £64,816 | £69,128 | £68,470 | £70,226 | £75,845 | £84,684 |
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
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 introducing mandatory mediation for tribunals on the tribunals system backlog.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government recognises the value of mediation in helping parties to resolve disputes more swiftly and consensually. Since integrated mediation was introduced for county court small claims under £10,000 in 2024, parties have been required, as part of the litigation process, to attend a free, one-hour appointment with HMCTS’ Small Claims Mediation Service. A formal evaluation of integrated mediation will be published this summer and will inform decisions on any future expansion.
In the tribunals, where disputes are resolved without the need for a full hearing, this can reduce demand and capacity pressures. The Department recognises the potential benefits of mediation and will consider carefully the merits and potential impact of any further reform in tribunals to encourage this, while respecting judicial independence.
Further expansion of the use of mediation, would need to take into account the differing characteristics of individual tribunal jurisdictions and the interests of tribunal users. There are currently no further plans by the Government to assess the merits of making mediation mandatory or extending judicial powers to order mediation in the tribunals or to assess the impact of such measures on tribunal backlogs.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to encourage greater use of mediation in the tribunals system.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government recognises the value of mediation in helping parties to resolve disputes more swiftly and consensually. Since integrated mediation was introduced for county court small claims under £10,000 in 2024, parties have been required, as part of the litigation process, to attend a free, one-hour appointment with HMCTS’ Small Claims Mediation Service. A formal evaluation of integrated mediation will be published this summer and will inform decisions on any future expansion.
In the tribunals, where disputes are resolved without the need for a full hearing, this can reduce demand and capacity pressures. The Department recognises the potential benefits of mediation and will consider carefully the merits and potential impact of any further reform in tribunals to encourage this, while respecting judicial independence.
Further expansion of the use of mediation, would need to take into account the differing characteristics of individual tribunal jurisdictions and the interests of tribunal users. There are currently no further plans by the Government to assess the merits of making mediation mandatory or extending judicial powers to order mediation in the tribunals or to assess the impact of such measures on tribunal backlogs.