Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many illegal marriages have been recorded in each year since 2010, broken down by local authority area.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice does not hold this data.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many charges were laid under Prison rule 51 relating specifically to aggravation towards a protected characteristic of (a) race, (b) religion and (c) belief in the last year where data exists; and how many of those charges were proven.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Prison Rule 51 sets out the offences of which an adult prisoner can be found guilty, including those which relate to aggravation towards a protected characteristic. The information on the breakdown of which protected characteristics these offences against discipline relate to can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Data on Adjudication outcomes related to these offences can be found in the Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK, which are published quarterly.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which faith-based (a) charities and (b) organisations are permitted to visit prisons.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice recognises the vital contribution that charities and wider third sector organisations make to supporting prisoner rehabilitation.
Decisions as to which individuals or organisations may enter, or work in, a prison are taken by the prison governor. These decisions take account of the proposed role, security requirements, and other operational factors.
The Ministry of Justice does not maintain a central database of every organisation contributing to the work of prisons in England and Wales, as there is no operational need to do so.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many probation officers have been recruited since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Between 5 July 2024 and 30 September 2025, 55 qualified Band 4 probation officers joined HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). This figure reflects only those who already held the required qualification at the point of appointment.
The majority of Band 4 probation officers join HMPPS as trainees and qualify within the Department, rather than being recruited directly into Band 4 roles.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers have been recruited since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
There have been 2,623 Band 3–5 prison officers who joined HMPPS between 5 July 2024 and 30 September 2025.
This data only covers Public Sector Prison establishments in England and does not include Private Sector Prison establishments.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his assessment is of the effectiveness of Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The UK fully supports the operation of the international treaties which enable the cross-border enforcement of maintenance decisions. Children have a right to care and support, and parents have a responsibility to provide it. That responsibility endures regardless of family separation and includes situations where the paying parent and the child are living in different countries.
The effectiveness of reciprocal enforcement depends on how national governments operate the procedures required under the different treaties. The administration of the reciprocal enforcement of maintenance procedures in England and Wales is kept under continuous review and officials work to address any issues arising.
Regular discussions take place between UK officials and officials from other countries.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Government action to avert summer prison disaster, published on 29 January 2026, on what date the 2,900 prison spaces were approved for construction.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
This Government has delivered c.2,900 additional prison places and construction on these began between 2022 and 2024. We have invested £4.7 billion over the spending review period to enable the delivery of these additional prison places at pace and have maintained our target to deliver a total of 14,000 by 2031. The places delivered by this Government so far were approved for construction between 2020 and 2024.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Government action to avert summer prison disaster, published on 29 January 2026, when the 2,900 prison spaces began construction.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
This Government has delivered c.2,900 additional prison places and construction on these began between 2022 and 2024. We have invested £4.7 billion over the spending review period to enable the delivery of these additional prison places at pace and have maintained our target to deliver a total of 14,000 by 2031. The places delivered by this Government so far were approved for construction between 2020 and 2024.
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 his Answers to Questions 109199, 109198, 109197 and 109196, if he will publish the spreadsheet with the information requested in these questions with the number of previous occasions the offender has been convicted as individual categories up to a maximum of six times rather than in groups.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The information requested is provided in the attached excel tables. These tables include data covering the period 2020 – 2024 on:
- The number of offenders who were convicted of a specified offence but did not receive an immediate custodial sentence, by the number of previous convictions for that specified offence up to a maximum of 6.
As set out in response to questions 109196-109199, this data is not regularly published or held in an easily accessible format. The information supplied has been sourced from a bespoke retrieval from the Police National Computer database.
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: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of financial abuse by negligent Financial Deputies on vulnerable adults under the court of protection.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
When the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) receives notice that the court has appointed a deputy to manage the finances or a person who lacks mental capacity, it provides the deputy with access to the Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice and supporting guidance known as Deputy Standards. Those standards are published on gov.uk and provide information on legal duties and responsibilities.
OPG expects Public Authority and professional deputies to have a higher level of technical knowledge and expertise than lay deputies, such as family members. For lay deputies, OPG provides initial support to help them meet their responsibilities competently. All deputies are subject to supervision by OPG and that process requires the deputy to submit annual accounts. Where a deputy fails to meet the Deputy Standards, they may be asked to complete a number of corrective actions. A significant breach of the standards may result in an application to the Court of Protection to remove the deputy.
If someone believes a deputy has breached their duties, they can report the matter to OPG. Under Section 58 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 OPG has the power to deal with complaints or representations about the way in which a deputy is exercising their powers, including any alleged financial mismanagement or abuse. Where necessary, OPG refers cases to the Court of Protection and other agencies such as local authorities or the police.