Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers have been (a) arrested, (b) charged, and (c) prosecuted for having illicit relationships with prison inmates in each year since 2020, broken down by offence group.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The table below shows the number of prison officers at Bands 3-5 convicted in each of the last five years of an offence of misconduct in public office, where the offence related to an inappropriate relationship with a prisoner.
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Misconduct in Public Office | 0 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 6 | 15 |
An inappropriate relationship is defined as any relationship that compromises a staff member’s ability to appropriately perform their duties.
The figures in this table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps he has taken towards beginning the process of ratifying the Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer, including any regulatory blocks that have led to the current delay; and what his planned timetable is for ratification.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The UK was proud to be among the first signatories to the Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer in May 2025, demonstrating our strong and longstanding commitment to the rule of law, the independence of the legal profession, and access to justice.
My Department is considering our next steps to prepare for ratification. This includes ongoing work across Government to assess the steps required to ensure compliance with the Convention’s provisions, including its application across the UK’s jurisdictions as well as any potential extension to the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories, in line with usual treaty practice.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) defendants and (b) witnesses have requested translation services in each year since 2020 broken down by (i) ethnicity and (ii) nationality.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the number of defendants or witnesses that have requested translation services. The booking portal does not collect information on whether the individual making the request is a defendant or witness and also does not collect information on the ethnicity and nationality of the requestor.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Children to get swifter justice as new family court approach expands nationally, published on 17 March 2026, what metrics his Department will use to assess whether the rollout has improved outcomes for children and reduced delays in the family justice system.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Child Focused Courts introduce a streamlined, problem-solving approach in relevant private law proceedings that ensures early identification of needs and risks, enabling the court to make safe decisions without delay. Under the model, the proportion of children seen by social workers more than doubles and parents who are victims of domestic abuse are able to access additional support through Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs). Communication with families can improve their understanding of, and engagement in, the court process and the Child Impact Report provides an opportunity for parents and parties to share their views on the recommendations made to the court.
Key metrics from existing pilot areas show backlogs have reduced by more than fifty percent and cases are being resolved up to seven and a half months faster, thereby reducing delays and improving outcomes for children and families. Nationally, information on open caseload and average case duration is routinely published through Family Court Statistics and HMCTS management information. In addition, we have published additional management information demonstrating the effectiveness of the Child Focused Courts and have also published a process evaluation and a research report exploring the experience of children and families.
Following the announcement of national rollout, a phased approach will see the model operating across the whole of England and Wales by 2029. Launch dates in court areas beyond those already announced will be agreed with operational partners in due course.
The funding announced in the Deputy Prime Minister’s Statement of 17 March includes a permanent increase in social worker capacity for Cafcass and Cafcass Cymru, in recognition of the additional resources required to deliver the model, and for new domestic abuse specialists to work in the family courts.
During the implementation period, we are providing funding for additional court staff to support preparation activity, such as reducing outstanding legacy cases, and to support transition to the new model. The evaluation of the pilot areas shows that cases are being resolved earlier and the number of open cases is decreasing, indicating that the model uses existing court capacity more efficiently and that no additional judicial, magistrates, or court staff will be needed once the model is fully implemented in a court area. Judicial training is the responsibility of the Judicial College, which operates independently from the Government.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Children to get swifter justice as new family court approach expands nationally, published on 17 March 2026, whether he plans to publish regular data on the performance of courts operating under the Pathfinder model.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Child Focused Courts introduce a streamlined, problem-solving approach in relevant private law proceedings that ensures early identification of needs and risks, enabling the court to make safe decisions without delay. Under the model, the proportion of children seen by social workers more than doubles and parents who are victims of domestic abuse are able to access additional support through Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs). Communication with families can improve their understanding of, and engagement in, the court process and the Child Impact Report provides an opportunity for parents and parties to share their views on the recommendations made to the court.
Key metrics from existing pilot areas show backlogs have reduced by more than fifty percent and cases are being resolved up to seven and a half months faster, thereby reducing delays and improving outcomes for children and families. Nationally, information on open caseload and average case duration is routinely published through Family Court Statistics and HMCTS management information. In addition, we have published additional management information demonstrating the effectiveness of the Child Focused Courts and have also published a process evaluation and a research report exploring the experience of children and families.
Following the announcement of national rollout, a phased approach will see the model operating across the whole of England and Wales by 2029. Launch dates in court areas beyond those already announced will be agreed with operational partners in due course.
The funding announced in the Deputy Prime Minister’s Statement of 17 March includes a permanent increase in social worker capacity for Cafcass and Cafcass Cymru, in recognition of the additional resources required to deliver the model, and for new domestic abuse specialists to work in the family courts.
During the implementation period, we are providing funding for additional court staff to support preparation activity, such as reducing outstanding legacy cases, and to support transition to the new model. The evaluation of the pilot areas shows that cases are being resolved earlier and the number of open cases is decreasing, indicating that the model uses existing court capacity more efficiently and that no additional judicial, magistrates, or court staff will be needed once the model is fully implemented in a court area. Judicial training is the responsibility of the Judicial College, which operates independently from the Government.
Asked by: Lord Banner (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Levitt on 26 February (HL14912), whether their answer was informed by statistical data relating to the duration taken to determine cases concerning challenges to planning permissions granted under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 in 2025 and 2026; and if so, what patterns this data showed, (1) compared to the target timescales set out in the Practice Direction, and (2) compared to performance in previous years.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Written Answer of 26 February 2026 (HL14912) was informed, not by statistical data, but by the knowledge of the Planning Liaison Judge, based on his work as judge in charge managing claims in the Planning Court.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been released earlier than originally scheduled as a result of capacity pressures since 2024.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe.
Without the changes this Government made, courts would have had to halt trials and the police cancel arrests, undermining public safety and leading to a disastrous impact on public confidence in the criminal justice system.
We regularly publish data on release from prison, including on forms of early release – for example we publish SDS40 data alongside the quarterly Offender Management statistics: Standard Determinate Sentence (SDS40) release data - GOV.UK.
Whilst measures like the SDS40 change provided the intended medium-term relief to the system, this was only ever a temporary change as a bridge to a more sustainable solution. That is why the Sentencing Act has now been passed, to ensure we never run out of prison space again and to deliver a more sustainable solution to the prison capacity crisis.
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 long-term adequacy of using early release measures to manage prison capacity.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe.
Without the changes this Government made, courts would have had to halt trials and the police cancel arrests, undermining public safety and leading to a disastrous impact on public confidence in the criminal justice system.
We regularly publish data on release from prison, including on forms of early release – for example we publish SDS40 data alongside the quarterly Offender Management statistics: Standard Determinate Sentence (SDS40) release data - GOV.UK.
Whilst measures like the SDS40 change provided the intended medium-term relief to the system, this was only ever a temporary change as a bridge to a more sustainable solution. That is why the Sentencing Act has now been passed, to ensure we never run out of prison space again and to deliver a more sustainable solution to the prison capacity crisis.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Children to get swifter justice as new family court approach expands nationally, published on 17 March 2026, whether the earlier identification of risks to children’s welfare referenced in the press release is due to any additional resources being allocated to courts.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Child Focused Courts introduce a streamlined, problem-solving approach in relevant private law proceedings that ensures early identification of needs and risks, enabling the court to make safe decisions without delay. Under the model, the proportion of children seen by social workers more than doubles and parents who are victims of domestic abuse are able to access additional support through Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs). Communication with families can improve their understanding of, and engagement in, the court process and the Child Impact Report provides an opportunity for parents and parties to share their views on the recommendations made to the court.
Key metrics from existing pilot areas show backlogs have reduced by more than fifty percent and cases are being resolved up to seven and a half months faster, thereby reducing delays and improving outcomes for children and families. Nationally, information on open caseload and average case duration is routinely published through Family Court Statistics and HMCTS management information. In addition, we have published additional management information demonstrating the effectiveness of the Child Focused Courts and have also published a process evaluation and a research report exploring the experience of children and families.
Following the announcement of national rollout, a phased approach will see the model operating across the whole of England and Wales by 2029. Launch dates in court areas beyond those already announced will be agreed with operational partners in due course.
The funding announced in the Deputy Prime Minister’s Statement of 17 March includes a permanent increase in social worker capacity for Cafcass and Cafcass Cymru, in recognition of the additional resources required to deliver the model, and for new domestic abuse specialists to work in the family courts.
During the implementation period, we are providing funding for additional court staff to support preparation activity, such as reducing outstanding legacy cases, and to support transition to the new model. The evaluation of the pilot areas shows that cases are being resolved earlier and the number of open cases is decreasing, indicating that the model uses existing court capacity more efficiently and that no additional judicial, magistrates, or court staff will be needed once the model is fully implemented in a court area. Judicial training is the responsibility of the Judicial College, which operates independently from the Government.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Children to get swifter justice as new family court approach expands nationally, published on 17 March 2026, how many Child Focused Courts are planned to operate in Essex at the completion of the rollout.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Child Focused Courts introduce a streamlined, problem-solving approach in relevant private law proceedings that ensures early identification of needs and risks, enabling the court to make safe decisions without delay. Under the model, the proportion of children seen by social workers more than doubles and parents who are victims of domestic abuse are able to access additional support through Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs). Communication with families can improve their understanding of, and engagement in, the court process and the Child Impact Report provides an opportunity for parents and parties to share their views on the recommendations made to the court.
Key metrics from existing pilot areas show backlogs have reduced by more than fifty percent and cases are being resolved up to seven and a half months faster, thereby reducing delays and improving outcomes for children and families. Nationally, information on open caseload and average case duration is routinely published through Family Court Statistics and HMCTS management information. In addition, we have published additional management information demonstrating the effectiveness of the Child Focused Courts and have also published a process evaluation and a research report exploring the experience of children and families.
Following the announcement of national rollout, a phased approach will see the model operating across the whole of England and Wales by 2029. Launch dates in court areas beyond those already announced will be agreed with operational partners in due course.
The funding announced in the Deputy Prime Minister’s Statement of 17 March includes a permanent increase in social worker capacity for Cafcass and Cafcass Cymru, in recognition of the additional resources required to deliver the model, and for new domestic abuse specialists to work in the family courts.
During the implementation period, we are providing funding for additional court staff to support preparation activity, such as reducing outstanding legacy cases, and to support transition to the new model. The evaluation of the pilot areas shows that cases are being resolved earlier and the number of open cases is decreasing, indicating that the model uses existing court capacity more efficiently and that no additional judicial, magistrates, or court staff will be needed once the model is fully implemented in a court area. Judicial training is the responsibility of the Judicial College, which operates independently from the Government.