Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 2 February 2026 to Question 109196, how many people have been convicted of common assault and battery; and how many of these people did not receive an immediate custodial sentence, by year of conviction and number of previous occasions the offender has been convicted for a violence against the person offence, and where that offence was common assault or battery, where the number of occasions was 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9+ previous convictions.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The data requested is provided in the attached excel table. The table includes data covering the period 2020 – 2024 on the number of offenders who were convicted of common assault and battery offences who did not receive an immediate custodial sentence; separated by the number of previous occasions the offender had been convicted for a violence against the person offence where that offence was common assault and battery.
Previous convictions are already a statutory aggravating factor, with Sentencing Guidelines being clear that sentencers must consider the nature and relevance of previous convictions, and the time elapsed since the previous convictions.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) phones, (b) laptops and (c) other electronic devices have been lost by his Department between 5 July 2024 and 29 April 2025.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Between 5 July 2024 and 29 April 2025, the Ministry of Justice recorded lost or stolen:
179 laptops
475 mobile phones
11 other electronic devices
All Ministry of Justice laptops and mobile phones are encrypted and protected to National Cyber Security Centre standards. The Department has mandatory reporting procedures for lost or stolen items, and incidents are investigated in line with security policy.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what conversations he has had with the Department of Health and Social Care about the Human Tissue Authority’s role in regulating the care of corpses throughout the death pathway including in funeral homes.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is considering the full range of options to strengthen and improve standards to safeguard the security and dignity of the deceased, particularly in the context of a full response to the Fuller Inquiry Phase 2 report which will be provided by summer 2026.
Our consideration has included discussions about a potential role for a relevant partner organisation such as the Human Tissue Authority.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to fund restorative justice programmes in i) Hampshire ii) Gosport.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice provides all Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales with core grant funding for victims of all crime types, which can be used to commission restorative justice and domestic abuse services. In addition, they receive ring-fenced funding for domestic and sexual abuse services. PCCs are best placed to assess local need and commission services based on the needs of the population in the local area. Restorative justice services should be targeted to the most appropriate cases, where we have clear evidence for the benefits of that approach and should only take place when both the victim and the offender agree, and it is considered safe.
The Ministry of Justice is investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date. We will be increasing funding for victim support services year on year, from 2026 to 2029, recognising the need to meet the rising cost pressures of delivery. I have protected dedicated VAWG victims spending in the department by maintaining 2024-25 funding levels for ringfenced sexual violence and domestic abuse support this year.
Last November, the Government announced the abolition of PCCs, the first in a series of reforms that were set out in the recent Police Reform White Paper. In light of this announcement, we are exploring changes to the delivery of victims funding to ensure this is delivered in the best way in the future. We recognise the important work PCCs and Mayors do to commission vital support services for victims and witnesses, including restorative justice and domestic abuse services. Ensuring ongoing support to victims is a key priority for this Government.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to fund domestic abuse support programmes in i) Hampshire ii) Gosport.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice provides all Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales with core grant funding for victims of all crime types, which can be used to commission restorative justice and domestic abuse services. In addition, they receive ring-fenced funding for domestic and sexual abuse services. PCCs are best placed to assess local need and commission services based on the needs of the population in the local area. Restorative justice services should be targeted to the most appropriate cases, where we have clear evidence for the benefits of that approach and should only take place when both the victim and the offender agree, and it is considered safe.
The Ministry of Justice is investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date. We will be increasing funding for victim support services year on year, from 2026 to 2029, recognising the need to meet the rising cost pressures of delivery. I have protected dedicated VAWG victims spending in the department by maintaining 2024-25 funding levels for ringfenced sexual violence and domestic abuse support this year.
Last November, the Government announced the abolition of PCCs, the first in a series of reforms that were set out in the recent Police Reform White Paper. In light of this announcement, we are exploring changes to the delivery of victims funding to ensure this is delivered in the best way in the future. We recognise the important work PCCs and Mayors do to commission vital support services for victims and witnesses, including restorative justice and domestic abuse services. Ensuring ongoing support to victims is a key priority for this Government.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to promote the use of long-acting injectable buprenorphine (LAIB) in i) sentencing decisions in cases involving opioid abuse ii) prison-release pathways in Hampshire.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Treatment and clinical prescribing decisions are the responsibility of services commissioned by NHS in prisons and local authority service providers in the community.
Responsibility for continuity of care for prison leavers, including access to medications and clinical care rests with prison drug and alcohol treatment providers liaising with community treatment providers.
The promotion of one medicine over another is strictly regulated in England and Wales.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department received any representations on the replacement of Justice Chamberlain as the judge presiding over the judicial review of Palestine Action’s proscription.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has no role in the process for assigning judges to cases, and it has not received any representations on the composition of the bench for the judicial review of Palestine Action’s proscription.
Asked by: Jeremy Hunt (Conservative - Godalming and Ash)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to respond to emails sent by the Rt Hon. Member for Godalming and Ash dated 18 November 2025 and 20 January 2026 concerning a case relating to a Magistrate.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
A response was sent on 24 February and the Department apologises for the significant delay in replying. We recognise that, on this occasion, the delay falls short of expected standards.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of the Crown Court backlog comprises the cohort of up to three years’ imprisonment cases and would go before a Judge only court under proposed reforms.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes information about cases in the open caseload at both the magistrates’ courts and at the Crown Court. This includes breakdowns of volumes and durations as part of the Crown Court open caseload published as part of Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly: Criminal court statistics quarterly.
The Ministry of Justice does not publish data relating to the progression of cases or defendant elections in the open caseload. As such we cannot provide volume or timeliness estimates regarding the decision of the defendant to elect mode of trial within the disproportionate costs limit.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of cases in the Crown Court backlog are either way cases that would be no longer eligible for jury trial under proposed reforms.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes information about cases in the open caseload at both the magistrates’ courts and at the Crown Court. This includes breakdowns of volumes and durations as part of the Crown Court open caseload published as part of Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly: Criminal court statistics quarterly.
The Ministry of Justice does not publish data relating to the progression of cases or defendant elections in the open caseload. As such we cannot provide volume or timeliness estimates regarding the decision of the defendant to elect mode of trial within the disproportionate costs limit.