Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the accessibility of Child Trust Funds and Junior ISAs for young people who lack mental capacity.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Where a young adult lacks mental capacity, the law requires parents or guardians to have legal authority to make decisions on their behalf about their financial assets or property. This longstanding safeguard helps protect vulnerable people from potential financial abuse, and applies to funds held in a Child Trust Fund or Junior ISA.
On 9 June 2023, the Ministry of Justice published the “Making Financial Decisions For Young People: Parent and Carer Toolkit”. This explains how parents and guardians of disabled children who lack capacity can obtain legal authority where none is in place, including applying to the Court of Protection to access funds in a Child Trust Fund or Junior ISA. The toolkit is available on GOV.UK, along with guidance on completing the necessary court forms: How to apply to make property and finance decisions on someone’s behalf (including Child Trust Funds) - GOV.UK
We understand that concerns remain. The Ministry of Justice continues to engage with key stakeholders to better understand the challenges and identify potential improvements in a way that balances access with safeguards.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the time taken for family court cases.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government is committed to improving the performance of the Family Courts, and the Family Justice Board has agreed system-wide priorities and targets for reducing delay across England and Wales. The latest published data shows a reduction in the national average case duration for both public and private law cases.
In London, which has particular challenges around Family Court delays, a dedicated Family Justice Strategy has been implemented, bringing together key partners and the judiciary. This work has included targeted investment over 2025/26 to tackle the outstanding private law caseload by providing additional court capacity and a focus on ensuring that courts follow the Public Law Outline, with clear arrangements for overseeing performance. These measures have already delivered a reduction in delays.
Child Focused Courts for private law now operate in 10 of 43 family court areas and seek to enhance the experience of children and families. They have additionally demonstrated significant impact on timeliness. Cases are concluding between 11-30 weeks quicker on average under the model and outstanding caseloads have been reduced by up to 50%. The Government announced on 17 March its intention to roll this model out nationally by the end of this Parliament.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Public Office (Accountability) Bill will explicitly apply to all universities.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The duty of candour and assistance will apply to any body when exercising public functions. This would capture some aspects of the work of universities and other Higher Education Institutions. The duty also extends to those with a relevant health and safety responsibility; as well as relevant public sector contractors.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of court cases delayed in 2025 as a result of the failure of custody transport services to deliver the defendant at the correct time.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Data on the number of trials declared ineffective due to the non-production of defendants can be found here: Criminal court statistics - GOV.UK (trial effectiveness at the criminal courts tool).
In 2025, the non-production of defendants by the Prisoner Escort Custody Service (PECS) accounted for 176 (2%) of ineffective trials in the Crown Court and 885 (4%) of ineffective trials in the magistrates’ courts.
Sir Brian Leveson made a number of recommendations to address the late arrivals of prisoners to court in his Independent Review of the Criminal Courts. We recognise the problems we inherited in prisoner transfer with delays occurring at prisons, en route between prison and court, and at courts themselves in bringing prisoners to the dock. We are gripping this – along with the Minister for Prisons, I am establishing an oversight body to review prisoner transfer from end to end. This will monitor and drive performance improvements in prisoner transfer across the country.
We are also working with the Department for Transport and local authorities to expand the number of areas where PECS vans can use bus lanes to reduce traffic delays, and in London we are working with Transport for London to retime the traffic signals to prioritise PECS vans so they are more likely to receive a green light.
Asked by: Julie Minns (Labour - Carlisle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many interventions have there been by the Solicitors Regulation Authority into law firms involving (a) the sudden or disorderly closure of a firm, (b) the loss or misappropriation of client funds and (c) the interruption of active client casework in each of the last five years; and whether his Department has made an assessment of (a) the trends in the number of in such cases and (b) the potential merits of strengthened regulation and legislative reform.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government recognises the disruption and difficulty that the collapse of a law firm has both for employees and its clients. The legal profession in England and Wales, together with its regulators, operates independently of government. The Solicitor Regulation Authority (SRA) is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of solicitors and law firms in England and Wales, including the management of law firm closures.
With regards to the number of interventions the SRA has made into law firms in the last five years, the Ministry of Justice does not hold this information as this is an operational matter for the independent regulator. The SRA has advised that it publishes intervention statistics primarily through its Client Protection Annual Reports and Corporate Reports. These set out year- end figures for interventions, including numbers for the last five years. Details of firm closures (interventions) can be found by searching on the SRA’s Solicitors Register, which records regulatory actions taken against firms and individuals.
In relation to the assessment of trends of law firm collapses, this is a matter for the SRA, and work has been underway to improve how risks to consumers are handled. The SRA has been strengthening its use of data and intelligence to detect emerging risks so that it can intervene more quickly to protect consumers. Its consultation on holding client money, which closed in February 2026, will look at how to safeguard client money more effectively. The SRA is also taking forward actions in response to the LSB’s independent reviews of its regulation of Axiom Ince LTD and SSB Group LTD, and will apply any relevant lessons learned in relation to the closure of PM Law.
The Ministry of Justice continues to keep the statutory regulatory framework under review to ensure that it is working effectively. While there are no current plans to review the legislation, my officials and I will continue to engage with the regulators to ensure that actions are implemented, any other learnings are identified, and consumers are protected.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of trends in SEND Tribunal outcomes since December 2024; and whether any changes in guidance or instructions have been issued to Tribunal judges regarding the consideration of appeals.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes trends in SEND Tribunal outcomes through quarterly published tribunal statistics. A link to the statistics can be found here: Tribunal Statistics Quarterly: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK
The Department and Ministers do not issue guidance or instructions to judges on how to determine appeals. Judicial office holders are independent. Since December 2024, the Chamber President of the First-tier Tribunal, Health, Education and Social Care Chamber has issued Presidential Practice Guidance No. 1 of 2025 on procedure for the preparation of appeals and claims in the Special Educational Needs and Disability, and Disability Discrimination in Schools jurisdictions. Further, the Senior President of Tribunals, with the approval of the Lord Chancellor, has issued a Practice Direction on the preparation of hearing bundles in those jurisdictions. These concern procedure and case preparation rather than the substantive consideration of appeals.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his answer of 18 March to question 120027, whether he will publish the results of his department's engagement with the judiciary about their personal safety and security associated with the Courts and Tribunals Bill.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We engage regularly with judicial leaders on all matters including security. It is standard practice not to publish or comment on the specifics of discussions between Ministers and the judiciary.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Legal Aid Agency in ensuring solicitors use qualified and security‑vetted interpreters in legally‑aided family proceedings.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Interpreters play a crucial role in family court proceedings, ensuring that individuals who do not speak English or have hearing impairments can fully participate and understand the legal process.
For most family court proceedings, His Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Services is responsible for securing interpreters for use during hearings. Neither legal aid providers nor the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) are involved in this process.
A legal aid solicitor may instruct an interpreter for use outside of hearings. All providers who undertake legal aid work are independent providers of legal aid services and are subject to oversight and regulation by relevant professional bodies rather than the LAA. When instructing interpreters in legal aid cases, legal aid providers must ensure that they adhere to the requirements set out under paragraphs 2.48-2.51 of the 2024 Standard Civil Contract: Specification. This includes provisions regarding the level of qualification that the interpreter must hold and the evidence which must be obtained and retained on file regarding this and the circumstances in which it is permissible to instruct a non-qualified interpreter.
The LAA undertakes a range of audit and assurance activity to ensure legal aid providers are complying with their contractual obligations. Clause 24 of the 2024 Standard Civil Contract: Standard Terms empowers the LAA to apply a sanction where breaches of contract are identified.
These contractual provisions act as an effective safeguard to ensure the most appropriate interpreter is used having regard to the specific circumstances of the case.
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.