Submit Evidence (by 30 Sep 2025)

This inquiry will examine how advice and legal services are adapting to secure access to justice across civil, criminal, and family law, and the impacts of the cyber-attack on the Legal Aid Agency.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when her Department plans to publish the next Safety in custody statistics.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Safety in Custody statistics are published quarterly, with the next publication due on 31 July 2025. This will cover deaths in prison custody to June 2025, and self-harm and assaults in prison custody to March 2025.

The statistics will be available at the following link: Safety in custody statistics - GOV.UK.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the probation service in Lancashire.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Lancashire is part of the North West region of the Probation Service. The North West region has developed a Quality Improvement Plan that prioritises and focuses improvement activity. It includes actions derived from internal audits and reports by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation. Progress is regularly monitored, assured and supported by regional and national, Performance, Assurance and Risk functions.

Data on probation performance are published at regional and national level. Performance statistics for Probation Delivery Units in Lancashire in 2023-24 are shown in the table below:

Note:

1. These data are the aggregated outcomes from the four Probation Delivery Units in Lancashire (PDU Central Lancashire; PDU East Lancashire; PDU North West Lancashire; PDU Blackburn and Darwen).
2. PS04 SL028 Unpaid work stand downs performance is not available at PDU level for this area.
3. PS05 SL031 (Accredited programme starts [targeted]) and PS05 SL033 (Accredited programme completions [targeted]): performance for these measures are not available at PDU level. A number of cases are assigned to an organisational level PDU in the region, and are therefore not reflected in these geographic PDUs. This has been marked by “[x]”.

Outcomes for the North West Region and National probation (including scorecard rating) can be found at: Community Performance Annual, update to March 2024 - GOV.UK.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many assaults on staff at prisons have been recorded in each month since 1 December 2024.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Assaults on staff by month can be found on the bottom row on table 8e in the Safety in Custody Summary Tables, available at the following link: Safety-in-custody-summary-q4-2024_final_table.xlsx.

The Safety in Custody statistics are updated quarterly, and the next update will be published on 31 July.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information her Department holds on the number of foreign nationals in prisons who are on remand in the community since 2019, broken down by (a) year, (b) nationality and (c) offence committed.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

If a foreign national accused of a crime is held on remand, they are detained in custody ahead of trial and sentencing and will not be in the community. We are therefore not able to provide a response to this question as currently worded.

The Ministry of Justice does publish information on the number of Foreign National Offenders in prison which includes the number of Foreign Nationals in prison on remand. The latest available published data can be found at Table 1_Q_9 in the attached link: prison-population-31-Mar-2025.ods.

Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced. Where appropriate, the Ministry of Justice will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many stab vests have been issued to prison officers since June 2025.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Following the Lord Chancellor’s announcement on 3 June that we will be mandating Protective Body Armour (PBA – commonly referred to as "stab vests") for use in Separation Centres, Close Supervision Centres and Segregation Units in the Long-term High Secure Estate, we are working to ensure that PBA will be made and issued as quickly as possible.

Staff continue to have the ability to wear PBA (with other personal protective equiment) when necessary.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the response to the Legal Aid Agency data breach on the implementation of the means test review proposals.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

This is an unprecedented event and an evolving situation, and every effort is being made to restore systems following the criminal attack on our services. The impact on the system has affected implementation and delivery of intended legal aid fee uplifts in both crime and civil – we are working at pace to operationalise those commitments. More generally, the Government continues to give consideration to the financial criteria that governs legal aid eligibility.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department plans to take steps to protect digital ownership.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Government is taking steps to protect digital ownership by introducing the Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill. This Bill confirms that digital assets such as crypto-tokens can be recognised as personal property under the law of England and Wales, and Northern Ireland. This clearer legal recognition will provide greater certainty and legal protection for individuals and businesses who hold or transact with these assets, including in cases of theft, insolvency, inheritance, and when used as security for loans.

Justice is a devolved matter in Scotland, which has a distinct legal tradition in property law. The Scottish Government has been consulting separately on the recognition of digital assets as property under Scots law.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice has a statutory duty to provide Language Services to enable access to justice for users for whom English is not their first language and those who require visual and tactile services, under the provision of the Equality Act.

Language Service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.

In FY 23/24 the total contracted spend was £915,037.52.

In FY 24/25 the total contracted spend was £1,003,283.32.

In FY 25/26 so far, the total contracted spend is £256,707.82.

The languages in this data exclude written translations into English, Welsh and Braille.

The languages translated into from English (United Kingdom) are:

Albanian (Albania)

Amharic (Ethiopia)

Arabic (Classical)

Arabic (Egypt)

Arabic (Modern Standard) Middle Eastern

Arabic (Modern Standard) North African

Arabic (Morocco)

Armenian (Armenia)

Bangla (Bangladesh)

Bosnian (Latin, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Bulgarian (Bulgaria)

Burmese

Burmese (Myanmar)

Catalan (Catalan)

Chinese (Simplified)

Chinese (Traditional)

Croatian (Latin, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Czech (Czech Republic)

Danish (Denmark)

Dari (Afghanistan)

Dutch (Netherlands)

Estonian (Estonia)

Filipino (Philippines)

Finnish (Finland)

French (Belgium)

French (France)

Georgian (Georgia)

German (Austria)

German (Germany)

Greek (Greece)

Gujarati (India)

Hebrew (Israel)

Hindi (India)

Hungarian (Hungary)

Icelandic (Iceland)

Indonesian (Indonesia)

Italian (Italy)

Japanese (Japan)

Kinyarwanda (Rwanda)

Kiswahili (Kenya)

Korean (Korea)

Kurdish (Bahdini)

Kurdish (Sorani)

Latvian (Latvia)

Lingala (Congo DRC)

Lithuanian (Lithuania)

Macedonian (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)

Malay (Malaysia)

Malayalam (India)

Maltese (Malta)

Mirpuri (Central Asia)

Mongolian (Cyrillic, Mongolia)

Nepali (Nepal)

Norwegian, Bokmål (Norway)

Norwegian, Nynorsk (Norway)

Oromo (Ethiopia)

PahariPotwari (Central Asia)

Pashto (Afghanistan)

Persian (Afghanistan)

Persian (Iran)

Polish (Poland)

Portuguese (Brazil)

Portuguese (Portugal)

Punjabi (India)

Punjabi (Pakistan)

Romanian (Romania)

Romany (Europe)

Russian (Russia)

Serbian (Cyrillic, Serbia)

Serbian (Latin, Serbia)

Shona (Latin, Zimbabwe)

Sinhala (Sri Lanka)

Slovak (Slovakia)

Slovenian (Slovenia)

Somali (Somalia)

Spanish (Argentina)

Spanish (Latin America)

Spanish (Mexico)

Spanish (Spain)

Swedish (Sweden)

Tajik (Cyrillic, Tajikistan)

Tamazight (Latin, Algeria)

Tamil (India)

Tetum (Timor)

Thai (Thailand)

Tigrinya (Eritrea)

Turkish (Turkey)

Ukranian (Ukraine)

Urdu (Islamic Republic of Pakistan)

Uzbek (Latin, Uzbekistan)

Vietnamese (Vietnam)

Wolof (Senegal)

Yoruba (Nigeria)

The Languages translated into from English (United States) are:

Arabic (Egypt)

Hungarian (Hungary)

Polish (Poland)

Romanian (Romania)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department plans to take steps to reduce the waiting time for appeal hearings in the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support).

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

We are working to reduce the outstanding caseload across the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal, which includes the Social Security and Child Support jurisdiction. This is key to reducing the waiting time for tribunal hearings.

HMCTS continues to invest in improving tribunal productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, the deployment of Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of modern case management systems and the use of remote hearing technology.

Data on Tribunals performance is published by the Ministry of Justice on a quarterly basis. Receipts, disposals and the outstanding caseload for individual Chambers in the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal can be found at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have applied for appointment as a (a) First-Tier Tribunal Judge (Immigration and Asylum) and (b) Upper Tribunal Judge (Immigration and Asylum) in the last 12 months; and how many of those applications (i) were successful, (ii) were rejected and (iii) are outstanding.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

We are maintaining investment in the annual recruitment of about 1,000 judges and tribunal members across all courts and tribunals.

Recruitment was completed in 2024 for salaried and fee-paid judges of the FTT, including for the IAC, and for salaried and fee-paid judges of the Upper Tribunal IAC. Deployment to a specific FTT chamber is the responsibility of the Senior President of Tribunals.

The independent Judicial Appointments Commission publishes data once recruitment is completed: https://judicialappointments.gov.uk/completed-exercises/.

Information on the number of judges in post, leavers, new appointments and promotions is published annually at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/judicial-diversity-statistics.

Recruitment exercises which commenced in 2024 for the First-tier Tribunal, including the IAC, are ongoing, with recommendations due later this year. Further recruitment will commence later in 2025. There is no ongoing or currently planned recruitment to the Upper Tribunal IAC.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department plans to rebuild the existing case management system or develop a new system, following the Legal Aid Agency data breach.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

This has been an unprecedented event and every effort is being made to restore services following the criminal attack on our systems. The Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) digital services have been taken offline to negate the threat and prevent further exposure of legal aid providers and users. We have been able to return some systems to internal use, enabling an improved ability to support criminal legal aid applications and payments.

We cannot confirm a specific timescale for full service restoration. In the interim, the LAA will continue to provide updates as soon as they are available and will work closely with representative bodies to ensure any extended or refined contingency measures support providers and their clients to the maximum extent. All updates, including contingency arrangements, are published on the LAA’s dedicated cyber security incident webpage Legal Aid Agency cyber security incident - GOV.UK.

Contingency measures have been implemented to ensure that access to legal aid remains available and that providers are receiving payments. This included the implementation of emergency legislation on 27 June. The new legislation provides for increased delegation of powers to providers and removes civil client contributions. The average payment scheme already operating in civil legal aid will continue.

The LAA retains all data impacted by this incident. There is no evidence of data being permanently lost or destroyed. However, while systems are offline some data is not accessible. Access will be restored as part of service restoration.

The recent data breach is the result of serious criminal activity, but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of the long years of underinvestment under the last Conservative Government. By contrast, since taking power this Government has prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when she plans for the Legal Aid Agency’s case management system to be fully operational, following the recent data breach.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

This has been an unprecedented event and every effort is being made to restore services following the criminal attack on our systems. The Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) digital services have been taken offline to negate the threat and prevent further exposure of legal aid providers and users. We have been able to return some systems to internal use, enabling an improved ability to support criminal legal aid applications and payments.

We cannot confirm a specific timescale for full service restoration. In the interim, the LAA will continue to provide updates as soon as they are available and will work closely with representative bodies to ensure any extended or refined contingency measures support providers and their clients to the maximum extent. All updates, including contingency arrangements, are published on the LAA’s dedicated cyber security incident webpage Legal Aid Agency cyber security incident - GOV.UK.

Contingency measures have been implemented to ensure that access to legal aid remains available and that providers are receiving payments. This included the implementation of emergency legislation on 27 June. The new legislation provides for increased delegation of powers to providers and removes civil client contributions. The average payment scheme already operating in civil legal aid will continue.

The LAA retains all data impacted by this incident. There is no evidence of data being permanently lost or destroyed. However, while systems are offline some data is not accessible. Access will be restored as part of service restoration.

The recent data breach is the result of serious criminal activity, but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of the long years of underinvestment under the last Conservative Government. By contrast, since taking power this Government has prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to develop a new case management system following the Legal Aid Agency data breach.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

This has been an unprecedented event and every effort is being made to restore services following the criminal attack on our systems. The Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) digital services have been taken offline to negate the threat and prevent further exposure of legal aid providers and users. We have been able to return some systems to internal use, enabling an improved ability to support criminal legal aid applications and payments.

We cannot confirm a specific timescale for full service restoration. In the interim, the LAA will continue to provide updates as soon as they are available and will work closely with representative bodies to ensure any extended or refined contingency measures support providers and their clients to the maximum extent. All updates, including contingency arrangements, are published on the LAA’s dedicated cyber security incident webpage Legal Aid Agency cyber security incident - GOV.UK.

Contingency measures have been implemented to ensure that access to legal aid remains available and that providers are receiving payments. This included the implementation of emergency legislation on 27 June. The new legislation provides for increased delegation of powers to providers and removes civil client contributions. The average payment scheme already operating in civil legal aid will continue.

The LAA retains all data impacted by this incident. There is no evidence of data being permanently lost or destroyed. However, while systems are offline some data is not accessible. Access will be restored as part of service restoration.

The recent data breach is the result of serious criminal activity, but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of the long years of underinvestment under the last Conservative Government. By contrast, since taking power this Government has prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department retains access to all data held in the case management systems impacted by the Legal Aid Agency data breach.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

This has been an unprecedented event and every effort is being made to restore services following the criminal attack on our systems. The Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) digital services have been taken offline to negate the threat and prevent further exposure of legal aid providers and users. We have been able to return some systems to internal use, enabling an improved ability to support criminal legal aid applications and payments.

We cannot confirm a specific timescale for full service restoration. In the interim, the LAA will continue to provide updates as soon as they are available and will work closely with representative bodies to ensure any extended or refined contingency measures support providers and their clients to the maximum extent. All updates, including contingency arrangements, are published on the LAA’s dedicated cyber security incident webpage Legal Aid Agency cyber security incident - GOV.UK.

Contingency measures have been implemented to ensure that access to legal aid remains available and that providers are receiving payments. This included the implementation of emergency legislation on 27 June. The new legislation provides for increased delegation of powers to providers and removes civil client contributions. The average payment scheme already operating in civil legal aid will continue.

The LAA retains all data impacted by this incident. There is no evidence of data being permanently lost or destroyed. However, while systems are offline some data is not accessible. Access will be restored as part of service restoration.

The recent data breach is the result of serious criminal activity, but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of the long years of underinvestment under the last Conservative Government. By contrast, since taking power this Government has prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the number of deaths referred to the Isle of Wight coroner involved a Marine Accident Investigation Branch inquiry in each of the last five years; when each case was (a) opened and (b) completed; and whether an inquest has been held for each case.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch is an independent organisation; the Ministry of Justice does not collect this information centrally.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the of the ability of the Criminal Cases Review Commission to operate in a timely and effective manner.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Lord Chancellor has appointed Dame Vera Baird DBE KC to carry out a thorough review of the operation of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, to increase public confidence in the organisation and the important work it undertakes investigating potential miscarriages of justice.

The terms of the reference for the review can be viewed at: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/48553/documents/254582/default/.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 55645 on Legal Aid Scheme: Rural Areas, what data her Department holds on the average (a) travel distance and (b) waiting time for residents to access in-person legal aid services in (i) rural and (ii) urban areas.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Citizens in England and Wales should be able to access legal aid services regardless of where they live, provided they meet the relevant eligibility criteria. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is responsible for commissioning legal aid services, and it monitors the numbers of providers in each procurement area and across all categories of law. It takes operational action where it can, to respond to market pressures that may arise and works closely with the Ministry of Justice on policy solutions concerning the supply of legal aid.

Greater use of technology can enable people to access a wide range of specialist advice from across the country. For example, legal advice for education, discrimination, housing and debt issues is always available through the Civil Legal Advice telephone service, wherever you are in England and Wales.

As part of the £24 million increase for criminal solicitors implemented in 2024, the Ministry of Justice is paying for travel time for solicitors who work or commute to work in a small number of scheme areas with fewer than two legal aid providers, as well as the Isle of Wight.

The Department continues to monitor office locations and travel distances between providers and clients as part of its assessment of geographical coverage.

The Government’s grant funding of over £6 million going to 60 frontline organisations in 2025/26 funds charitable, benevolent or philanthropic organisations delivering legal support and information services in relation to a range of social welfare legal problems. Organisations include some local Citizen’s Advice centres, Shelter and Law Centres, who provide legal support services across England and Wales, including in rural areas, with some organisations also providing outreach services. Online services delivered by organisations like AdviceNow also provide support and information to individuals in relation to civil, family and tribunal matters regardless of location. The Advicenow website includes information about how to get legal aid in relevant areas of law and signposts users to further information and support.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 55645 on Legal Aid Scheme: Rural Areas, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the legal aid procurement model on improving access to legal aid services in rural areas.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Citizens in England and Wales should be able to access legal aid services regardless of where they live, provided they meet the relevant eligibility criteria. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is responsible for commissioning legal aid services, and it monitors the numbers of providers in each procurement area and across all categories of law. It takes operational action where it can, to respond to market pressures that may arise and works closely with the Ministry of Justice on policy solutions concerning the supply of legal aid.

Greater use of technology can enable people to access a wide range of specialist advice from across the country. For example, legal advice for education, discrimination, housing and debt issues is always available through the Civil Legal Advice telephone service, wherever you are in England and Wales.

As part of the £24 million increase for criminal solicitors implemented in 2024, the Ministry of Justice is paying for travel time for solicitors who work or commute to work in a small number of scheme areas with fewer than two legal aid providers, as well as the Isle of Wight.

The Department continues to monitor office locations and travel distances between providers and clients as part of its assessment of geographical coverage.

The Government’s grant funding of over £6 million going to 60 frontline organisations in 2025/26 funds charitable, benevolent or philanthropic organisations delivering legal support and information services in relation to a range of social welfare legal problems. Organisations include some local Citizen’s Advice centres, Shelter and Law Centres, who provide legal support services across England and Wales, including in rural areas, with some organisations also providing outreach services. Online services delivered by organisations like AdviceNow also provide support and information to individuals in relation to civil, family and tribunal matters regardless of location. The Advicenow website includes information about how to get legal aid in relevant areas of law and signposts users to further information and support.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 55645 on Legal Aid Scheme: Rural Areas, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that the £6 million legal support grant funding reaches legal aid deserts in rural areas.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Citizens in England and Wales should be able to access legal aid services regardless of where they live, provided they meet the relevant eligibility criteria. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is responsible for commissioning legal aid services, and it monitors the numbers of providers in each procurement area and across all categories of law. It takes operational action where it can, to respond to market pressures that may arise and works closely with the Ministry of Justice on policy solutions concerning the supply of legal aid.

Greater use of technology can enable people to access a wide range of specialist advice from across the country. For example, legal advice for education, discrimination, housing and debt issues is always available through the Civil Legal Advice telephone service, wherever you are in England and Wales.

As part of the £24 million increase for criminal solicitors implemented in 2024, the Ministry of Justice is paying for travel time for solicitors who work or commute to work in a small number of scheme areas with fewer than two legal aid providers, as well as the Isle of Wight.

The Department continues to monitor office locations and travel distances between providers and clients as part of its assessment of geographical coverage.

The Government’s grant funding of over £6 million going to 60 frontline organisations in 2025/26 funds charitable, benevolent or philanthropic organisations delivering legal support and information services in relation to a range of social welfare legal problems. Organisations include some local Citizen’s Advice centres, Shelter and Law Centres, who provide legal support services across England and Wales, including in rural areas, with some organisations also providing outreach services. Online services delivered by organisations like AdviceNow also provide support and information to individuals in relation to civil, family and tribunal matters regardless of location. The Advicenow website includes information about how to get legal aid in relevant areas of law and signposts users to further information and support.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have plans for courts to sit at weekends and other times outside of normal sitting hours and sitting days to clear the backlog of cases awaiting trial.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Courts are already sitting at, or close to, maximum judicial capacity in almost every jurisdiction, with record investment this year, and a record allocation of sitting days in the Crown Court. It is worth remembering that judicial maximum does not equal the maximum the system can run. The Government must be mindful of managing the wider system capacity - the availability not just of judges to sit in the Crown court but of the lawyers, prosecutors, legal aid and defence barristers that underpin the rest of the system.

Existing allocations can and will be accommodated within existing court operating hours. Magistrates’ courts already routinely sit on Saturdays and bank holidays.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to the Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985 to strengthen legal protections for (a) children and (b) parents fleeing domestic abuse under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government is aware of concerns around the operation of the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention in situations where there are allegations of domestic abuse.

Published judgments demonstrate that courts in the UK take into account domestic abuse when assessing the grave risk of harm exception under Article 13(b) of the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention.

The International Child Abduction and Contact Unit, as the operational Central Authority for England and Wales under the 1980 Hague Convention on behalf of the Lord Chancellor, carries out the administrative work required under the Convention; the Central Authority has no role in the assessment of grave risk of harm.

The UK has been leading efforts to consider these issues internationally, including via a Forum held in South Africa last year, part-funded by the Government, and will be taking an active role in the organisation of a second Forum in Brazil later this year.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of procurement contracts were awarded to UK companies in the 2024-25 financial year.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Within financial year 2024-2025, the Ministry of Justice awarded 601 contracts to suppliers for provision of goods and services across the justice sector. 591 (98.3%) of these contracts were awarded to UK companies.

Details of central government contracts above £12,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023 above £12,000 inc VAT are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service. This includes a note of the winning supplier.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that cases involving domestic abuse are assessed under the grave risk exception of Article 13(b) of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction; and what guidance she has provided to (a) central authorities and (b) courts for such assessments.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government is aware of concerns around the operation of the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention in situations where there are allegations of domestic abuse.

Published judgments demonstrate that courts in the UK take into account domestic abuse when assessing the grave risk of harm exception under Article 13(b) of the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention.

The International Child Abduction and Contact Unit, as the operational Central Authority for England and Wales under the 1980 Hague Convention on behalf of the Lord Chancellor, carries out the administrative work required under the Convention; the Central Authority has no role in the assessment of grave risk of harm.

The UK has been leading efforts to consider these issues internationally, including via a Forum held in South Africa last year, part-funded by the Government, and will be taking an active role in the organisation of a second Forum in Brazil later this year.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information her Department holds on the number of post-mortem imaging scans that have been carried out in the Isle of Wight coroner area in each of the last five year; and in how many of those cases imaging was not able to determine the cause of death.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Coronial post-mortem examinations are carried out on a fee paid basis by specialist practitioners from within the cadre of pathologists in England and Wales who undertake post-mortem work.

In the last five years, the number of post-mortem examinations relating to the Isle of Wight coroner areas which used less invasive techniques (including, but not limited to, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans) was:

The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the number of cases in the Isle of Wight where the cause of death was not revealed by imaging techniques, where they were used.

The Government acknowledges the significant challenges currently affecting post-mortem pathology services across England and Wales. It is firmly committed to driving meaningful progress on this complex, cross-cutting issue as a matter of urgency. This includes engagement with relevant Ministerial colleagues to identify and implement a sustainable, long-term solution.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many road-traffic fatalities were recorded by the Isle of Wight coroner in each of the last five years; for each case, on what dates a forensic collision investigator’s report was (a) commissioned and (b) completed; and whether the inquest has been held.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The annual number of short-form inquest conclusions of “road traffic collision” for each coroner area in England and Wales is available in the Coroner Statistics which are published each May for the preceding calendar year (Coroners and burials statistics - GOV.UK).

The number of such conclusions (and, therefore, relevant completed inquests) recorded in the Isle of Wight coroner area in each of the last five calendar years is as follows:

2024 – 1

2023 – 1

2022 – 2

2021 – 1

2020 – 0

The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on related investigations. However, the coroner will typically suspend their investigation into a death pending the completion of any related investigatory processes, primarily to avoid duplication of process.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answers of (a) 23 July 2024 to Question 612 and (b) 4 November 2024 to Question 11600 on Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, when section 31 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 will come into force.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Now that the Data (Use and Access) Act has passed through Parliament, we are progressing work to implement this measure.

We will write to the Member shortly to outline our plan and timescale for implementation.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to ensure that awards made by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority are paid out in a timely manner.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

I refer the honourable Member to the answer I gave on 3 July 2025 to Question 63019.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has considered extending eligibility for the Children’s Funeral Fund to include babies lost before 24 weeks’ gestation; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing financial support to parents arranging funerals for pregnancy losses occurring from 20 weeks onward.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Losing a baby is an unimaginably painful experience for any family. To help ease the financial burden during such a difficult time, the Children’s Funeral Fund for England provides support towards the cost of a funeral.

The Fund, established under the Social Fund (Children’s Funeral Fund for England) Regulations 2019, uses the definition of stillbirth set out in section 41 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953. This definition applies to babies lost after 24 weeks of pregnancy and is consistent with the Department for Work and Pensions Funeral Expenses Payment scheme.

The Department remains committed to regularly keeping the operation of the Children’s Funeral Fund under review to ensure it continues to meet the needs of bereaved families with compassion and care.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has considered the potential merits of requiring prisoners convicted for (a) murder, (b) rape and (c) terrorism offences to work in prison to repay legal aid.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Legal aid is not paid directly to the defendant. It is paid to lawyers and ensures defendants have a fair trial and can be punished for their crimes.

The Legal Aid Agency ensures public money is used efficiently by applying means and merits (the interests of justice test) tests, except where exempt by regulation, to all defendants before the magistrates’ and Crown courts, when they make an application for legal aid funding. Where a defendant’s income is above the minimum income threshold, they are required to pay contributions for up to six months during the case. If convicted, they may be required to pay contributions from their capital assets up to the full amount of their defence costs.

The Court of Appeal can also make ‘Recovery of Defence Costs Order’ after upholding a conviction to recover legal aid costs where the defendant has been assessed to have the financial means to do so.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what comparative assessment she has made of the performance of the Family Court system in (a) London and (b) the rest of the country.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

This Government is committed to improving performance, which is assessed against system wide targets for 2025/26, agreed by the Family Justice Board. The latest published data shows encouraging signs nationally, including a reduction in the public law open caseload.

Official statistics on family courts are available here: Family Court Statistics Quarterly: January to March 2025 - GOV.UK.

Performance varies across regions, and London continues to experience significant challenges which result in high outstanding caseloads and high average case durations. System partners are working collaboratively to understand and address the drivers of delay and the region is showing positive signs of improvement.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to recommendation 8 of part 1 report of the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, published on 9 July 2025, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of adopting the recommendation on trends in the level of (a) theft and (b) drug dealing.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Government will carefully consider Sir Brian’s recommendations in detail before setting out a full response to the report in the autumn.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps is her Department taking to tackle misogyny in (a) the bankruptcy and (b) judicial system.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice is committed to ensuring that the justice system is fair, impartial and free from discrimination. Fair treatment and equality before the law are fundamental principles of our justice system and central to the judicial role. The Lady Chief Justice holds statutory responsibility for the training and guidance of court judges in England and Wales, including oversight of the Guide to Judicial Conduct. This Guide reflects the core values of judicial conduct: independence, impartiality, integrity, propriety, equality of treatment, and competence and diligence. We are supportive of the ongoing efforts of the senior judiciary to uphold and embed these values across the judiciary.

In relation to bankruptcy specifically, the process is overseen by the Insolvency Service, an executive agency of the Department for Business and Trade.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was spent on (a) translation and (b) interpretation services in the (i) courts and (ii) prison system in the last financial year.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice has a statutory duty to provide Language Services to enable access to justice for users for whom English is not their first language and those who require visual and tactile services, under the provision of the Equality Act. Language Service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.

In FY 2024/25, the spend in the courts was £33,073,280.44 on interpretation (spoken) and £136,879.03 on translation (written).

In FY 2024/25, the contracted spend in the prisons was £105,849.83 on interpretation (spoken) and £1,707,440.07 on translation (written).

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many court sitting days were allocated in (a) Taunton and (b) the UK in each of the last five years.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

In Taunton, the following allocations were made:

Allocation and Outturn for For Years 2021 – 2026

Crown

Civil

Family

In the rest of England and Wales, the allocations were as followed. Please note that justice is devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

In England and Wales:

Allocations for years 2021 – 2026

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she has taken with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to review the (a) safe and (b) effective use of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in cases where an individual has fluctuating capacity to make (i) safe and (ii) informed decisions.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice has responsibility for the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005, which provides a framework for making decisions on behalf of adults who are unable to do so for themselves.

The 2007 statutory Code of Practice issued under the MCA already provides guidance to practitioners and others on the conduct of capacity assessments in keeping with the principles of the MCA. Paragraphs 4.26 and 4.27 and Chapter 3 of the Code provide guidance on people with fluctuating capacity and how to support them to make a decision.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was given in legal aid to foreign nationals accused of (a) murder, (b) rape and (c) terrorism offences in each of the last five years.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The requested information relating to legal aid expenditure in respect of specific criminal offences could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost to the public purse was for legal aid for cases in relation to immigration offences in each of the last five years.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The requested information relating to legal aid expenditure in respect of specific criminal offences could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been given legal aid for cases in relation to immigration offences in each of the last five years.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The requested information relating to legal aid expenditure in respect of specific criminal offences could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will consider the potential merits of conducting a review of the legal aid policy.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The previous Government commissioned the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review (CLAIR), chaired by Lord Bellamy KC in 2021, to provide analysis of the criminal legal aid system and explore the ways in which the Government could support its long-term sustainability. This Government continues to keep the Review’s findings under consideration as we look at options for reform in the criminal legal aid sector.

On 19 December 2024, we announced that criminal legal aid solicitors will receive up to £92 million more a year, subject to consultation, to help address the ongoing challenges in the criminal justice system. The consultation for this has now closed. Additionally, in November 2024, we announced our response to the Crime Lower consultation, confirming an uplift to the lowest police station fees, introducing a new Youth Court fee scheme, and paying for travel in certain circumstances. Together, these changes amounted to a £24 million investment for criminal legal aid providers.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was given in legal aid to foreign nationals in each of the last five years.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Legal aid expenditure since 2010 is published as part of the Legal Aid Agency’s official statistics. The most recent publication can be viewed here [see table 1.0] and includes expenditure up to 31 March 2025.

Information about legal aid expenditure in respect of foreign nationals is not centrally recorded.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost to the public purse was of legal aid in each of the last five years.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Legal aid expenditure since 2010 is published as part of the Legal Aid Agency’s official statistics. The most recent publication can be viewed here [see table 1.0] and includes expenditure up to 31 March 2025.

Information about legal aid expenditure in respect of foreign nationals is not centrally recorded.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will take steps to help support parents with the costs of the Family Court system.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Government is already taking steps to ensure that financial hardship does not prevent parents from engaging with the family court system. To support access to justice, the Help with Fees scheme provides full or partial remission of court and tribunal fees for those on low incomes or in receipt of certain benefits. This includes applications made in the family courts such as applications for child arrangement orders.

Legal aid is available in some private family matters, including for individuals experiencing or at risk of domestic abuse; for individuals (for example, parents) where the child who is the subject of the order is a victim of child abuse or at risk of abuse; people under the age of 18; in certain cases of international or domestic abduction; for family mediation where there is a family dispute and for certain urgent protection applications – for example, non-molestation orders. To be eligible for legal aid means and merits tests and evidence requirements also usually need to be met.

Legal aid is also available for parents, those with parental responsibility, children and third parties (such as grandparents) in certain public family proceedings, subject to meeting the relevant means and merits tests.

Beyond legal aid, the Ministry of Justice is providing funding to support the delivery of wider legal support services, which provide advice and support to individuals facing social welfare legal problems, including family matters. In 2025-26 the Ministry of Justice will provide over £6 million of grant funding to 60 frontline organisations to improve access to free legal support and information, both in-person and online, and to help people resolve their problems as early as possible. This includes funding for organisations including some local Citizens Advice and Law Centres, as well as AdviceNow, which provides online support on their website across a range of civil, family and tribunal issues.

The Government recognises the importance of supporting separating families to, where appropriate, resolve their issues without the need to come to court. The Mediation Voucher Scheme provides up to £500 towards the cost of mediation to help families resolve their child arrangement disputes outside of court, where this is safe and appropriate. The voucher is non-means tested and is available to anyone with a private law dispute relating to children. The scheme will be in place until at least March 2026 and has helped over 44,000 families to date.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of exempting foreign nationals from being eligible for legal aid.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Decisions about who receives legal aid are made in accordance with the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and regulations made under that Act.

Anyone applying for legal aid in England and Wales is subject to strict eligibility criteria, and as a result, their legal issue must generally be in scope, and they must satisfy means and merit tests, unless specifically exempt by regulation.

Legal aid can play an important role in ensuring the smooth running of the courts, by providing timely advice to the individuals concerned, reducing the likelihood of delays and adjournments and helping to tackle court backlogs.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was given in legal aid to people accused of (a) murder, (b) rape and (c) terrorism offences in each of the last five years.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The requested information relating to legal aid expenditure in respect of specific criminal offences could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether every person who has served a prison sentence as a result of a wrongful conviction is eligible for financial compensation.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Individuals who have had their conviction quashed in an out of time appeal following a qualifying miscarriage of justice are eligible to apply for compensation through the Miscarriage of Justice Application Service (MOJAS). S.133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 sets out the circumstances in which the Government will provide compensation under this scheme. Under subsection 1ZA, compensation will only be awarded if the conviction has been overturned as a result of a new or newly discovered fact that shows beyond reasonable doubt that the person did not commit the offence.

MOJAS compensation is just one route by which someone whose conviction is quashed can receive compensation, with other options including making a civil claim based on malicious prosecution or misfeasance in a public office, for example.

The Miscarriage of Justice Support Service which is part of Citizens Advice and funded by HM Prison and Probation Service, also provides support to all individuals who have had their conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal. They are able to support with accessing accommodation, benefits and signposting to psychological support.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many employment tribunals cases have been heard since September 2024.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Our latest published statistics for Employment Tribunals can be found using the following link: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.

Published data details the number of receipts by jurisdiction and the number of claims disposed of but does not include overall number of cases heard. Disposals by outcome for cases successful at hearing, unsuccessful at hearing and dismissed at a preliminary hearing are published in the main tables in ET_3_R.

This data is currently published up to March 2025 for reform cases only. Employment Tribunals are currently undergoing a transition from paper based systems to digital systems. Only those cases received on digital systems are included in this data.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 34243, Prisons: Education, what guidance was given to her Department by (a) HM Treasury and (b) other Departments on the application of New Fair Deal to prison educators transferring from further education colleges to the private sector as a result of new Prison Education Service contracts.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department followed guidance from His Majesty’s Treasury (HMT), at the time of tender publication, and included all the relevant details to bidders on the application of the New Fair Deal (NFD) in the Invitation to Tender documentation.

Further information can be found using the following links: Prisoner Education Services Panel (Inc. Core Education) - Find a Tender (find-tender.service.gov.uk) and Procurement for the Provision of Prisoner Education Services (Careers Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG)) - Find a Tender.

Once HMT policy on pensions was announced on 14 November 2024, all contracts were awarded to suppliers to include the application of NFD to transferring educators.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 34243, Prisons: Education, whether prison educators who transfer from further education colleges to the private sector as a result of new Prison Education Service contracts will have access to (a) the Local Government Pension Scheme and (b) the Teachers' Pension Scheme.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

I can confirm that staff transferring from further education colleges to the private sector will have access to (a) the Local Government Pension Scheme and (b) the Teachers' Pension Scheme.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 34243, Prisons: Education, whether New Fair Deal will apply to prison educators transferring from further education colleges to the private sector as a result of new Prison Education Service contracts.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

I can confirm that the New Fair Deal will apply. The Department will honour the Government pension policy set by His Majesty’s Treasury.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the press release entitled UK and Albania agree groundbreaking new arrangement on prisoner transfers, published on 24 May 2023, how many prisoners have been transferred under the agreement with Albania in the last 12 months.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Between 17 July and 31 December 2024 (the latest period for which validated figures are available), four Albanian national offenders were transferred to Albania under the bi-lateral Prison Transfer Agreement. Prisoner transfer is just one scheme where foreign national offenders can be removed early from prison and it is more suited to those serving longer sentences. The Government pursues removal through all available mechanisms and during 2024, 1,610 Albanian foreign national offenders were removed from England and Wales, up 7% from the previous year.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether any convicted paedophiles have been released from prison through the early release scheme; and if she will make it her policy not to release convicted paedophiles through the early release scheme.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

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. On 10 September 2024, the Government therefore took the unavoidable step to move the release point for certain standard determinate sentences from 50% to 40% (‘SDS40’).

All sex offences including those committed against a child are automatically excluded from SDS40.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of deporting all foreign criminals currently in prison.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The removal of Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) is an important priority of this Government. We refer all FNOs in receipt of custodial sentences to the Home Office to consider deportation and we are taking decisive steps to increase removals.

In the past year, 5,179 FNOs have been deported. This is a 14% increase in returns compared to the same period 12 months prior.

We have accepted the recommendations of the sentencing review to enable earlier deportation of FNOs. On 25 June 2025, we laid legislation to expand the Early Release Scheme to allow FNOs to be removed up to 4 years before the earliest release point of their sentence (increased from 18 months now), subject to having served 30% of the custodial element of their sentence (allowing earlier removal compared to the 50% minimum time needed to serve now). This is estimated to further increase deportations and reduce demand by up to 500 prison places per year.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 34243, Prisons: Education, whether her Department will underwrite New Fair Deal for staff transferring from further education colleges to the private sector in the event that the admitting process to relevant public-sector pension schemes to seek admitted body status as a result of new Prison Education Service contracts is not complete before the effective date of transfer of staff.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The application process is managed by the supplier and so no such assurance can be provided by the Department. As the scheme employer, the Department works proactively with suppliers supporting early applications being made to obtain admitted body status and to provide a scheme guarantee from the relevant Secretary of State in the Admissions Agreement expediently.

The Department also works with the supplier to ensure migration plans and post migration plans have a confirmed process for maintaining the pension status until the individuals are fully admitted.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 34243, Prisons: Education, whether her Department has made any assurances to private-sector providers of prison education as to whether the admitting process to relevant public-sector pension schemes to seek admitted body status as a result of new Prison Education Service contracts will be complete before the effective date of transfer of staff.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The application process is managed by the supplier and so no such assurance can be provided by the Department. As the scheme employer, the Department works proactively with suppliers supporting early applications being made to obtain admitted body status and to provide a scheme guarantee from the relevant Secretary of State in the Admissions Agreement expediently.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 34243, Prisons: Education, whether her Department has made any assurances to private-sector providers of prison education in the event that applications to relevant public-sector pension schemes to seek admitted body status as a result of new Prison Education Service contracts are unsuccessful.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department has not made any such assurances to private-sector providers of prison education. Instead, as the scheme employer, the Department works collaboratively with suppliers to assist in the completion of their Admissions Agreement(s) to the appropriate pension fund. Furthermore, the Department provides a scheme guarantee from the Secretary of State in the Admissions Agreement.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 34243 on Prisons: Education, what guidance her Department has provided to private-sector providers of prison education on establishing contingency plans in the event that the admitting process to relevant public-sector pension schemes to seek admitted body status as a result of new Prison Education Service contracts is not complete before the effective date of transfer of staff.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department works with the supplier to ensure migration plans and post migration plans have a confirmed process for maintaining the pension status until the supplier is fully admitted.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 34243, Prisons: Education, whether it is her expectation that private-sector providers of prison education will apply directly to relevant public-sector pension schemes to seek admitted body status as a result of new Prison Education Service contracts.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

It is the expectation that private-sector providers of prison education will apply directly to relevant public-sector pension schemes to seek admitted body status. The Department will collaborate with suppliers to achieve admittance to relevant pension schemes.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the performance of (a) Serco and (b) GeoAmey PECS under the prisoner escort and custody service contract.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

It is recognised that there are many factors that can lead to trials being delayed, and that the efficient running of the criminal justice system requires a whole-system approach.

Over the three months March to May 2025, GEOAmey, the PECS supplier in the north, escorted 45,632 prisoners to court. There were 11 instances of delay in arrival for which PECS was responsible, and nine instances where failure to staff a court resulted in a delay. The overall performance rating was 99.96%.

In the south, during the same period, Serco escorted 41,052 prisoners to court and were found responsible for 51 instances of delay in arrival. There were also 19 instances of failure to staff a court leading to a delay. The overall performance rating was 99.83%.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what meetings she has had with the victims of people released from prison through the early release scheme.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We have had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. SDS40 was a necessary measure introduced to relieve pressure on the prison estate. This involved changes to some offender’s automatic release dates.

In designing SDS40, we carefully considered the impact on victims and public safety, ensuring that the most serious offenders were excluded from the scheme. The implementation of SDS40 was considered at a victim support sector roundtable, and then subsequently through meetings with a sector engagement group, which included a broad range of victims’ groups and representatives. We also published an explanation of the policy on GOV.UK and provided victim support organisations with frequently asked questions and answers to support them when engaging with victims who may be affected by the measure. Ministers regularly meet with victims and engage with the victims’ sector to inform relevant areas of policy.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2025 to Question 65243 on Prisoners' Release, what data her Department holds on trends over time in the average length of time spent on recall for (a) determinate sentenced prisoners and (b) all prisoners.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The requested information for the average length of time spent on recall for indeterminate prisoners can be found in Table 5_Q_11 of the Department’s Offender Management Statistics Quarterly publication: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/680923bf148a9969d2394f58/licence-recalls-Oct-to-Dec-2024.ods.

The corresponding information for determinate sentenced prisoners is only obtainable at disproportionate cost as it requires data matching between different data systems (namely prison recall information from the Public Protection Unit Database, and prisoner release information from prison-NOMIS).

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to reduce the backlog of cases at Truro Crown Court.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

This Government inherited a record and rising courts backlog. We have funded a record-high allocation of Crown Court sitting days – 110,000 days this financial year, 4,000 more than the previous Government – to tackle the outstanding caseload.

As part of our commitment to bearing down on the caseload we have increased magistrates’ court sentencing powers from 6 months to 12 months’ imprisonment for a single triable-either way offence. This will free up capacity in the Crown Court, ensuring it is reserved for the more serious and complex cases.

However, the scale of the challenge is beyond what increasing sitting days alone can achieve.

This is why we commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to undertake an Independent Review of the Criminal Courts to consider the merits of longer-term reform and the efficiency of processes in the criminal courts. We will carefully consider Sir Brian’s proposals in more detail before setting out the Government’s full response to the report in the autumn.

Over the past two years, Truro Crown Court has experienced a significant increase in receipts, rising by 56% (from 477 to 746 cases), a figure that surpasses the 28% increase seen in England and Wales. This growth reflects the increasing demand on the judicial system in the region.

Truro continues to maximise the use of Crown Court estate to increase the number of cases sat. In June 2025, Crown Court appeals were heard at Truro magistrates’ court to reduce the appeal backlog, whilst also maintaining trials at Truro Crown Court.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the number of sitting days at Truro Crown Court will be increased.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

This Government inherited a record and rising courts backlog. We have funded a record-high allocation of Crown Court sitting days – 110,000 days this financial year, 4,000 more than the previous Government – to tackle the outstanding caseload.

As part of our commitment to bearing down on the caseload we have increased magistrates’ court sentencing powers from 6 months to 12 months’ imprisonment for a single triable-either way offence. This will free up capacity in the Crown Court, ensuring it is reserved for the more serious and complex cases.

However, the scale of the challenge is beyond what increasing sitting days alone can achieve.

This is why we commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to undertake an Independent Review of the Criminal Courts to consider the merits of longer-term reform and the efficiency of processes in the criminal courts. We will carefully consider Sir Brian’s proposals in more detail before setting out the Government’s full response to the report in the autumn.

Over the past two years, Truro Crown Court has experienced a significant increase in receipts, rising by 56% (from 477 to 746 cases), a figure that surpasses the 28% increase seen in England and Wales. This growth reflects the increasing demand on the judicial system in the region.

Truro continues to maximise the use of Crown Court estate to increase the number of cases sat. In June 2025, Crown Court appeals were heard at Truro magistrates’ court to reduce the appeal backlog, whilst also maintaining trials at Truro Crown Court.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her department is taking to increase the use of phone blocking (a) techniques and (b) technologies in prisons.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) is committed to tackling the threat to prison security posed by illicit mobile telephones. We have a wide-ranging programme in place to prevent them from entering prisons; to detect and disrupt their use by prisoners if they are smuggled in; and to investigate cases where a prisoner may have committed an offence.

As part of their local security strategies, prisons are able to deploy a range of measures to detect items of contraband, including X-ray body scanners, and Enhanced Gate Security that utilises X-ray baggage scanners and metal detection. Owing to security and operational sensitivities, however, it would not be appropriate to comment in detail on the countermeasures HMPPS has in place.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2025 to Question 65241 on Prisoners on Remand, what data her Department holds on trends in the average length of time spent on remand in that period.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Information relating to the time spent on custodial remand is not centrally held by the Ministry of Justice. To obtain the data to answer this question would involve a manual interrogation of court records which would result in a disproportionate cost to the Department.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what negotiations she has had with prisoner escort contractors on reducing the number of court trials that are cancelled as a result of contractors not bring the defendant to court on time.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Prisoner Escort and Custody Service (PECS), which is part of HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS), provides Ministers with regular updates on performance of prisoner escort contractors against delivery targets.

It is recognised that there are many factors that can lead to trials being cancelled and that the efficient running of the criminal justice system requires a whole-system approach. PECS’ contractual performance against the indicator for timely delivery to court currently stands at 99.93%.

HMPPS closely monitors the operation of the contracts, and works with criminal justice partners through its Strategic Partnership Board, which includes representatives from His Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service and the police, as well as the contractors which deliver PECS services, to ensure that prisoners get to court on time, and that courts are prepared for their arrival.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what contract management procedures are in place for prisoner escort contracts.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The contracts for supply of services to the Prisoner Escort and Custody Service (PECS), which is part of HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), are overseen by a specialist team, which monitors supplier performance against contractual obligations, works closely with suppliers to address any issues, and applies appropriate commercial levers and financial remedies should this be necessary. It reports quarterly to Ministers.

In addition to initiatives to improve outcomes at a local level, HMPPS collaborates with criminal justice partners through the Strategic Partnership Board. The board includes representatives from His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, the police, and PECS suppliers. Its core objective is to ensure that prisoners are delivered to court on time, and that courts are prepared for their arrival, supporting a timely start to the court’s business day.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to defend the integrity of airspace above the prison estate from drone incursions which facilitate the delivery of illicit materials to prisoners.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) is working hard to deter, detect and disrupt the use of illegal drones to deliver contraband into prisons.

Restricted Fly Zones have been introduced around all closed prisons and young offender institutions. These restrictions make all unauthorised drone incursions a crime and support police and prison collaboration to disrupt illegal drone use. Those using drones to smuggle illicit items which drive violence and criminality in custody may face up to a decade behind bars.

This year, we are investing over £40 million in physical security across 34 prisons.

Whilst we cannot share our counter drone tactics, as that would aid sophisticated serious and organised criminals, HMPPS uses suitable technology, alongside physical countermeasures and intelligence tools, with the support of Law Enforcement Agencies, to disrupt those who use drones. We are also working with UK and global partners to understand the tactics used abroad and identify opportunities to strengthen our response to illicit drone activity.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when will legal aid providers be able to submit (a) bills and (b) claims for payments on account following the Legal Aid Agency data breach.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

This is an unprecedented event and an evolving situation, and every effort is being made to restore services following the criminal attack on our systems. The Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) digital services have been taken offline to negate the threat and prevent further exposure of legal aid providers and users. We will not reopen the system until the appropriate steps have been taken to enable us to do so. We have been able to return some systems to internal use, enabling an improved ability to support criminal legal aid applications and payments.

In the interim, a number of contingency measures have been implemented to ensure that access to legal aid remains available and that providers are receiving payments. Contingency measures for billing, including an average payment scheme for civil cases, were implemented week commencing 27 May. For crime providers, processing of bills for graduated fee schemes resumed on 28 May, with payments resuming the following week.

On 27 June, emergency legislation came into force enabling the LAA to implement enhanced business continuity arrangements. The new legislation provides for increased delegation of powers to providers and removes civil client contributions. The average payment scheme already operating in civil legal aid will continue.

Our priority remains to maintain access to justice and to ensure legal aid providers can continue to be paid in a timely manner. These enhanced measures are designed to support legal aid providers and their clients and to prevent a significant case backlog while contingency measures are in place.

The recent data breach is the result of serious criminal activity, but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of the long years of underinvestment under the last Conservative Government. By contrast, since taking power this Government has prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she plans to take to support people with Family Court cases who are unable to afford legal representation but are not eligible for legal aid.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Government is already taking steps to ensure that financial hardship does not prevent parents from engaging with the family court system. To support access to justice, the Help with Fees scheme provides full or partial remission of court and tribunal fees for those on low incomes or in receipt of certain benefits. This includes applications made in the family courts such as applications for child arrangement orders.

The Ministry of Justice also provides funding to support the delivery of wider legal support services, which provide advice and support to individuals facing social welfare legal problems, including family matters. In 2025-26, the Ministry of Justice will provide over £6 million of grant funding to 60 frontline organisations to improve access to free legal support and information, both in-person and online, and to help people resolve their problems as early as possible. This includes funding for organisations including some local Citizens Advice and Law Centres, as well as AdviceNow, which provides online support on their website across a range of civil, family and tribunal issues.

The Government recognises the importance of supporting separating families, where appropriate, to resolve their issues without the need to come to court. The Mediation Voucher Scheme provides up to £500 towards the cost of mediation to help families resolve their child arrangement disputes outside of court, where this is safe and appropriate. The voucher is non-means tested and is available to anyone with a private law dispute relating to children. The scheme will be in place until at least March 2026 and has helped over 44,000 families to date.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions she has had with the (a) Home Secretary and (b) Minister for Women and Equalities on (i) level of funding and (ii) future sustainability for the holistic advocacy wrap around service provided by Southall Black Sisters.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

All Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales receive annual grant funding from the Ministry of Justice’s victim and witness budget to commission local practical, emotional, and therapeutic support services for victims. This includes ‘core’ funding for victims of all crime types and funding that is ring-fenced for sexual violence and domestic abuse services. PCCs allocate funding locally at their discretion, based on their assessment of local need. PCCs are best placed to understand their local communities and providers, and to commission appropriate support services to meet the need of victims in their area. Such services will include specialist organisations like the Southall Black Sisters.

The Ministry of Justice is not involved in local commissioning decisions.

Ministry of Justice officials engage regularly with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime regarding their grant funding and locally commissioned services.

I co-chair the Violence Against Women and Girls Board joint ministerial group with the Home Office Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls. This board is attended by other government departments that are working together on the VAWG strategy.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has had discussions with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime on (a) level of funding and (b) future sustainability for the holistic advocacy wrap around service provided by Southall Black Sisters.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

All Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales receive annual grant funding from the Ministry of Justice’s victim and witness budget to commission local practical, emotional, and therapeutic support services for victims. This includes ‘core’ funding for victims of all crime types and funding that is ring-fenced for sexual violence and domestic abuse services. PCCs allocate funding locally at their discretion, based on their assessment of local need. PCCs are best placed to understand their local communities and providers, and to commission appropriate support services to meet the need of victims in their area. Such services will include specialist organisations like the Southall Black Sisters.

The Ministry of Justice is not involved in local commissioning decisions.

Ministry of Justice officials engage regularly with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime regarding their grant funding and locally commissioned services.

I co-chair the Violence Against Women and Girls Board joint ministerial group with the Home Office Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls. This board is attended by other government departments that are working together on the VAWG strategy.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of allowing inquests into cases of child death by suicide to sit in private.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government is committed to putting the bereaved at the heart of the inquest process, and we are particularly conscious of the importance of this for those who have suffered the unimaginable distress of losing a child through suicide.

However, in line with the principle of open justice - which applies in all courts including the coroner’s court - it is important that justice is administered in public, that everything said in court is reportable, and that any departure from this approach is closely regulated.

Accordingly, there are strict limitations on the coroner’s powers to sit in private, to withhold the names of witnesses or Interested Persons, or to prevent the reporting of matters heard in court. In particular, the public and media may only be excluded from an inquest hearing in the interests of national security.

Chapter 8 of the Chief Coroner’s Guidance for Coroners on the Bench (Chapter 8: Open Justice - Courts and Tribunals Judiciary) provides guidance for coroners on the principle of open justice and the application of any statutory powers to depart from it.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of existing legislation surrounding violence against women and girls.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government is taking action to deliver a transformative, cross-government approach to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) underpinned by a new strategy which will be published later this year. We have already sought to strengthen the legislation surrounding violence against women and girls. We have introduced in the Crime and Policing Bill a range of measures including a new spiking offence, provisions strengthening the law on child sexual abuse on managing sex offenders, and on strengthening the law on stalking, taking intimate images without consent, and exposure offences. In the Data (Use and Access) Act we are banning the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes.

I also look forward to reviewing the Law Commission’s recommendations on how we can introduce legislation to change practice relating to the use of evidence in sexual offence prosecutions, so that practitioners do not rely on or perpetuate so-called rape myths and misconceptions at court. In particular, the Law Commission will make recommendations on the admissibility of evidence relating to so-called false allegations, sexual behaviour evidence, and the use of special measures.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to monitor the number of hours that magistrates volunteer each year.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Magistrates’ sitting levels are already monitored by HM Courts & Tribunals Service and the judiciary. Bench Chairs are responsible for ensuring magistrates meet their minimum sitting commitment of 13 days per year and for supporting effective listing and bench management.

The Secretary of State has no current plans to introduce further monitoring.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what mechanisms are in place to (a) monitor and (b) hold accountable (i) CAFCASS and (ii) family courts in private law proceedings where safeguarding concerns for children are identified; and what procedures there are to ensure action is taken in cases involving known risks to prevent serious harm.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

As a Non-Departmental Body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, the oversight and assurance arrangements for Cafcass are carried out in accordance with the Arms-Length Body Code of Practice. Specific areas of oversight are also covered in the Framework Document between the Ministry of Justice and Cafcass, which broadly sets out sponsorship governance arrangements, financial management and performance reporting. Cafcass is subject to regular inspection by Ofsted. The most recent inspection took place in January 2024 and key findings are available here.

The judiciary is independent, and the Government therefore does not hold them to account, however support is available in the family courts where safeguarding concerns are identified and to ensure that action is taken to protect children.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison deaths were recorded by the Isle of Wight coroner in each of the last five years; on what dates the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman investigation was (a) opened and (b) completed for each of those cases; and whether an inquest was held.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Coroners have a statutory duty under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 to hold an inquest into all deaths of individuals who die while in custody or other state detention. The coroner will typically suspend their investigation into a death pending the completion of any related investigatory processes, primarily to avoid duplication of process.

The annex sets out the dates on which the Prison and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) opened and completed investigations into prison deaths occurring in the Isle of Wight coroner area in each of the last five calendar years. Information on fatal incidents and investigations are published by the PPO on their website, including in their annual report, available here: Death investigations & reports – Prisons and Probation Ombudsman or here Fatal Incident reports | Document Types | Archive website - Prisons & Probation Ombudsman post July 2024.

Inquests have concluded into two of the deaths that occurred in 2020, and eight that occurred in 2021. Inquests into the remaining deaths listed in the annex have not yet concluded.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what was the total cost to the public purse of quasi-autonomous non governmental organisations sponsored by her Department for (a) the financial years (i) 2023/24 and (ii) 2024/25 and (b) April 2025 to date.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice currently has seven Non-Departmental Public Bodies which have a vital role in the process of national government but are not part of a government department. Their combined expenditure was £303,943 million in the 2023/24 financial year, £318,032 million in 2024/25, and £56.130 million from April – June 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2025 to Question 42776 on Marriage: Humanism, what progress she has made on reviewing the recommendations of the Law Commission's report on marriage reform, published in July 2022.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government appreciates the importance of this issue and will provide an update in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) victims of harassment who have been unable to secure a conviction against the perpetrator and (b) other victims of harassment.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

In its manifesto, the Government committed to strengthening protective orders, which can be used to protect from harassment in different situations, to make sure victims can get the strongest protection they need, at the earliest opportunity. Last November, we launched a new Domestic Abuse Protection Order that goes further than the current protective orders, including tagging of perpetrators and mandating attendance on behaviour change programmes, to help address root causes of abuse. This order is available across family, civil and criminal courts in selected areas, so that victims can get protection at the best time and place for them.

A civil claim may also be brought for harassment, where it is a connected course of conduct by the same person causing the victim distress or alarm. Civil remedies include injunctions to prohibit the conduct and damages to compensate for distress and loss.

Additionally, the 42 Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales receive annual grant funding from the Ministry of Justice victim and witness budget to commission local practical, emotional, and therapeutic support services for victims. This includes ‘core’ funding for victims of all crime types and funding that is ring-fenced for sexual violence and domestic abuse services. PCCs allocate funding locally at their discretion, based on their assessment of local need. PCCs are well placed to understand their local communities and providers, and to commission appropriate support services to meet the need of victims in their area including those affected by harassment.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they are giving to implementing the recommendations of the final report of the Civil Justice Council for its review of litigation funding published on 2 June.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government welcomes the Civil Justice Council review of litigation funding, which will help inform the approach to potential reforms. We will outline next steps in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many criminal prosecutions related to abortion have been brought in each of the last five years, and what assessment they have made of connection between the number of such prosecutions and the availability of telemedicine for early medical abortion.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of prosecutions across England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK.

The offences that constitute unlawful abortion include procuring an illegal abortion under sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, as well as child destruction under section 1 of the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929. This data is held on a principal-offence basis and therefore reports information relating to the most serious offence that a defendant was dealt for. The Department of Health and Social Care is responsible for the policy relating to telemedicine for early medical abortion. The available data does not specify how many of these prosecutions are linked to the use of telemedicine for early medical abortion. The Government has not made an assessment on the connection between the number of such prosecutions and the availability of telemedicine for early medical abortion.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case of Mohammed Alazawi who has been sentenced to nine years' imprisonment for crimes related to the non-therapeutic circumcision of boys.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Ministry of Justice has no responsibility for non-therapeutic male circumcision or its regulation.

The Government, however, sympathises with the children and families affected by the harm caused by unregulated and irresponsible individuals who claim to be medical practitioners. It is right that those who act outside the law, as in the case of Mr Alazawi, are held accountable and brought to justice in these cases.

Non-therapeutic male circumcision refers to procedures not medically necessary. While the Government respects that some parents seek this for religious or cultural reasons, it would urge all families to ensure the procedure is carried out safely, with the child’s wellbeing given the highest priority. We would also encourage parents, before such a procedure is undertaken on their child, to discuss the matter first with their GP or healthcare practitioner.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been on probation without an electronic tag since 4 July 2024, broken down by the length of time.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Electronic Monitoring can be one part of robust licence conditions to support the management of offenders in the community. It is a mandatory requirement for those released under the Home Detention Curfew scheme and for those released onto the Acquisitive Crime programme. Electronic Monitoring can also be used on a discretionary basis where it is available, and probation practitioners consider it a proportionate and necessary part of a risk management plan. The requested information for all those offenders released without an electronic monitoring requirement is not held centrally and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many vacancies for prison officers there were in the West Midlands in the latest period for which figures are available.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

In the latest published figures as of 31 March 2025, there were 89 FTE fewer staff in post compared to the target staffing level. This relates to the full-time equivalent, adjusted for different contracted hours, for Band 3 to 5 Prison Officers working in public sector prisons in the West Midlands. These figures are available in HM Prison and Probation Service workforce quarterly: March 2025, Prison and Probation Officer Recruitment annex: March 2025 via HM Prison and Probation Service workforce quarterly: March 2025.

Notes:

• This figure covers all Band 3 - 5 Officers includes Band 3 - 4 Prison Officers (including specialists), Band 4 Supervising Officers, and Band 5 Custodial Managers.

• The figure is a net value and balances out surpluses and deficits between the individual establishments.

• Prisons included in this analysis cover the West Midlands Prison Group (Birmingham, Brinsford, Featherstone, Hewell, Stafford, Stoke Heath, Sudbury, and Swinfen Hall), supplemented by a Long Term High Security Estate prison, a women’s prison and a Young Offenders Institution in the West Midlands region (Long Lartin, Drake Hall and Werrington).

• Data only includes Public Sector Prisons. Data does not include Private Sector Prison establishments.

• The Target Staffing level changes regularly in response to Governors' freedoms and other changes requested by the business.

• Target Staffing is the number of staff required to run an optimal regime in each prison. This level is greater than the minimum number of staff required for a prison to operate safely, and includes allowances for staff taking leave, being off sick or being on training.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to re-open HMP Dartmoor.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Elevated radon readings were first found at Dartmoor in 2020. HMPPS have been monitoring radon levels to manage exposure to prisoners and staff.

Dartmoor has been temporarily closed since August 2024 after monitoring results were higher than expected. We are working with specialist radon experts to investigate whether we can re-open the prison safely.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what meetings ministers in her Department have had with their counterparts in (a) Albania, (b) Poland, (c) Romania, (d) Jamaica, (e) Lithuania, (f) Bulgaria and (g) Vietnam on the removal of foreign national offenders since 17 July 2024.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Increasing the numbers of foreign national offender returns from our prisons is a priority for this Government.

We are working with international partners wherever possible to help achieve this.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will take steps to facilitate a visit for Rt hon. and hon. Members of the Official Opposition to (a) HMP Long Lartin, (b) HMP Belmarsh, (c) HMP Manchester and (d) HMP Wandsworth; and when she plans to respond to the correspondence of 11 June 2025 from the Rt hon. Member for Newark.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The correspondence of 11 June will be responded to in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to ensure that dynamic alignment with EU law does not undermine UK judicial independence.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

As outlined in the Common Understanding from the UK-EU Summit, the UK will have a joint role in shaping any new rules governing our relationship with the EU. In specific areas this will mean aligning our shared obligations to facilitate better trade and increased security. However, no rules will apply in the UK without Parliament’s agreement and any disputes will be done by international arbitration.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) will only have a role with regards the interpretation of EU law, in the same way that UK judges remain the independent interpreters of UK law. The Government remains unequivocally committed to the independence of the judiciary. We will continually work to ensure that any cooperation with the EU, including alignment where appropriate, respects the UK’s constitutional framework and preserves the independence of our judiciary.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many physical attacks there have been on judges in the last five years.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Secretary of State for Justice regards Judicial Office Holders’ safety with great importance. There are robust security and safety systems at court/tribunals to protect all court users and the department works with the Police and Judicial Office to deliver effective judicial security outside of court and online.

Physical attacks on Judicial Office holders are incredibly rare. There have been two instances in the past five years. When serious incidents such as these do occur, they are subject to robust investigations to ensure lessons are learnt to prevent recurrence and ensure all security and safety risks are managed to as low a level as reasonably practicable. Over £20m in additional funding in 25/26 has been allocated to a programme of works to further strengthen existing physical and online security arrangements.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make it her policy to utilise all court sitting days made available by the Lady Chief Justice in the (a) 2026–27, (b) 2027–28 and (c) 2028–29 financial years.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Lord Chancellor will begin the Concordat process with the judiciary in due course, and this is how sitting days will be allocated. The Lord Chancellor has been clear she is committed to tackling the outstanding caseload, but the number of sitting days allocated is just one factor in achieving this. The Lord Chancellor must be mindful of managing the wider system capacity—the availability not just of judges to sit in the Crown court but of the lawyers, prosecutors, legal aid and defence barristers that underpin the rest of the system.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign nationals received legal aid in (a) 2024-2025 and (b) 2025-2026; and what the cost to the public purse was of the legal aid provided.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

This information requested is not held centrally.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of legal aid was spent on foreign nationals appealing deportation decisions in (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26 so far.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

This information requested is not held centrally.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of cases awaiting trial at Truro Crown Court in the last 12 months.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

This Government inherited a record and rising courts backlog. We have funded a record-high allocation of Crown Court sitting days – 110,000 days this financial year, 4,000 more than the previous Government – to tackle the outstanding caseload.

However, the scale of the challenge is beyond what increasing sitting days alone can achieve.

This is why we commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to undertake an Independent Review of the Criminal Courts to consider the merits of longer-term reform and the efficiency of processes in the criminal courts. We will carefully consider Sir Brian’s proposals in more detail before setting out the Government’s full response to the report in the autumn.

At the end of March 2025 there were 373 open cases at Truro Crown Court. 328 of these were "for trial" cases, up from 191 the previous year.

Truro continues to maximise the use of Crown Court estate to increase the number of cases sat. In June 2025 Crown Court appeals were heard at Truro magistrates’ court to reduce the appeal backlog, whilst also maintaining trials at Truro Crown Court.

Further information regarding caseload trends can be found in the published statistics which can be found here: Criminal court statistics quarterly: January to March 2025 - GOV.UK

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to ensure (a) her Department and (b) the UK legal system support attracting inward investment, in the context of the Civil Justice Council’s review of the litigation funding sector.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Government welcomes the Civil Justice Council review of litigation funding, which will help inform the approach to potential reforms. We are carefully considering the recommendations made in the review and will outline next steps in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to introduce mandatory reporting on overseas funding used for third-party litigation.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Government welcomes the Civil Justice Council review of litigation funding, which will help inform the approach to potential reforms. We are carefully considering the recommendations made in the review and will outline next steps in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of the civil justice system for litigants in person.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

This Government is committed to ensuring access to justice for all, whether people have legal representation or not. The Ministry of Justice is providing over £6 million of grant funding in 2025-26 to 60 organisations to improve access to free legal support and information, both in-person and online. This includes support for Litigants in Person (LiPs) to help them navigate the justice system effectively, including preparation for court and support at court.

Judges have a duty to ensure a fair trial by giving LiPs assistance, helping to ensure that LiPs are treated equally before the law. Guidance and rules sets out how the judiciary engage with LiPs, including the Equal Treatment Bench Book and Practice Direction 1A of the Civil Procedure Rules. LiPs can request supportive measures including reasonable adjustments, and interpreters at court. They can request to bring their own supporter such as a friend/family member. New digital services built under the Reform programme have been designed to be simple, accessible, and easy to use for LiPs.

The Government will continue to take steps to understand and improve LiPs’ experience of the civil justice system through Public User engagement Groups, research and feedback surveys.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2025 to Question 36526 on Legal Ombudsman, what steps her Department is taking to (a) identify and (b) resolve complaint cases awaiting investigation for more than four years; and whether the Legal Ombudsman has a procedure for prioritising those cases where delay may cause further harm to the complainant.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The legal profession in England and Wales, together with its regulators, operate independently of government. The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) is the independent body responsible for administering the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) Scheme and the Legal Services Board (LSB), in its role as oversight regulator, has statutory duties in relation to monitoring the OLC.

My officials have engaged with the LeO, which has advised that, at present, it has no complaints that have been waiting four or more years for allocation for investigation. There are two cases where initial contact with the LeO occurred over four years ago, but where enquiries were either premature (not previously responded to by the legal provider, as required by legislation) or lacked sufficient information to proceed.

The LeO has also advised it operates a policy for prioritising cases where a continued delay is likely to have an adverse impact on the complainant, such as cases involving vulnerability, significant medical issues or a required reasonable adjustment.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason she has increased legal aid for immigration cases.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Legal aid for immigration cases is important to maintaining an effective immigration and asylum system. Legal aid can play a vital role in ensuring the smooth running of the courts, by providing timely advice to the individuals concerned, reducing the likelihood of delays and adjournments and helping to tackle court backlogs. Hourly rates for immigration work have not been uplifted since 1996, but, following the Review of Civil Legal Aid, and a consultation on increasing fees for those working in the housing and debt and immigration and asylum sectors, we are taking action to uplift those fees given the particularly acute pressures facing these sectors.

This investment will help the Government deliver commitments to reduce the asylum backlog, end hotel use, increase returns and ensure the most vulnerable – such as victims of modern slavery and human trafficking - can navigate a complex legal system and access justice.

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Found: Research also suggests that wider costs, particularly to the Ministry of Justice, will likely reach

Found: Committee report (2025) that the Department should work with others including LAs and the Ministry of Justice

Found: That includes both myself and Minister Pennycook, but we have also been working with MOJ and of course

Found: There is information that links the MoJ and DfE, or education and child health insights that link DfE

Found: When the Home Office, the Department for Education, the Department of Health, the Ministry of Justice

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to improve (a) enforcement and (b) arrears recovery in child maintenance cases where the paying parent resides abroad.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) can only be used where the receiving parent, paying parent and any qualifying children are all habitually resident in the United Kingdom (UK). The CMS does not have jurisdiction where this does not apply.

The process for handling cases where the paying parent may be non-resident in the UK is managed according to a range of international treaties under the umbrella term REMO (Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders).

The UK has arrangements with a number of other countries and territories that allow a parent with care to claim maintenance from a non-resident parent resident in one of those countries. REMO can be used to register and enforce child maintenance orders internationally, or for example, when the paying parent is habitually resident in the UK but has assets and/or income in another country. If the paying parent has moved to an EU country, The CMS may be able to enforce collection of outstanding child maintenance arrears.

The CMS works closely with the Ministry of Justice, with whom the process is managed by, and the CMS's caseworkers are trained to signpost parents to that department for advice.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her oral contribution of 23 June 2025, Official Report, column 823, what steps her Department is taking to enable face-to-face meetings for PIP appeal hearings more accessible.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The oral contribution refers to the PIP assessment process and outlines our commitment to audio recording assessments.

Appeals are lodged directly with, and administered by, HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). Making appeal hearings more accessible is therefore a matter for HMCTS and MoJ.

Found: • These Explanatory Notes have been prepared by the Ministry of Justice in order to assist the reader

Found: The Ministry of Justice is working alongside HMCTS and DHSC to model and support the necessary planned

Found: On this page Background Scope NAO team Background In 2021, the Ministry of Justice

Found: multi-disciplinary Communications team at the Office of the Public Guardian, an agency of the Ministry of Justice

Found: class="govuk-table__cell">Group Operations

Found: of Health and Social Care 10/12/2024 Revenue Policy Payments Secondary Care and Integration MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

Found: class="govuk-table__cell">Group Operations

Found: govuk-table__cell">Secondary Care and Integration

Found: Plymouth with 30,000 trees planted as part of a cross- Government social value contract with the Ministry of Justice

Found: Plymouth with 30,000 trees planted as part of a cross- Government social value contract with the Ministry of Justice

Found: Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference MHCLG Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government MoJ

Found: Ministry of Justice: 21.1 Court of Appeal (England and Wales); 21.2.

Found: Treasury Home Office Ministry of Defence Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government Ministry of Justice

Found: In a boost for victims, the Ministry of Justice recently announced an uplift to the amount a miscarriage

Found: Lagos • C hioma Agwuegbo from TechHerNG • Yewande Gbola-Awopetu from Federal Ministry of Justice of

Found: International enquiries 1,246 Cases analysed 223 Lines of enquiries generated 132 Witness Intermediary Team (MOJ

Found: The department is in regular contact with the officials in the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish

Found: This included working with both the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office to share prosecutorial

Found: Internal Audit Agency HMT The National Infrastructure Commission HMT HM Courts and Tribunals Service MOJ

Found: From: Ministry of Justice and Senior Salaries Review Body Published 21 July 2025 Get emails

Found: Customer details Government departments, including the DfE and Ministry of Justice.

Found: 35.5 27.8 222.4 119.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Metropolitan Police 96.5 256.2 0.0 0.0 56.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 Ministry of Justice

Found: Department for Work and Pensions • Government Legal Department • Government Property Agency • Ministry of Justice

Found: Department for Work and Pensions • Government Legal Department • Government Property Agency • Ministry of Justice

Found: Plymouth with 30,000 trees planted as part of a cross- Government social value contract with the Ministry of Justice

Found: Plymouth with 30,000 trees planted as part of a cross- Government social value contract with the Ministry of Justice

Found: by House of Lords (2023-24: nil), £653 by Ministry of Defence (2023-24: nil), £3,437 by Ministry of Justice

Found: T +4420 3334 3555 F +44870 761 7753 E https://contact-moj.service.justice.gov.uk/ www.gov.uk/moj

Found: From: Ministry of Justice and Prison Service Pay Review Body Published 22 July 2025 Get

Found: T +4420 3334 3555 F +44870 761 7753 E https://contact-moj.service.justice.gov.uk/ www.gov.uk/moj

Found: From: Ministry of Justice and Senior Salaries Review Body Published 22 July 2025 Get emails

Found: British Sign Language 5-year plan: Ministry of Justice

Found: guidance for police is clear and comprehensive, and it produced BSL content to support it. 4.13 Ministry of Justice

Found: Ministry of Justice.

Found: We recognise that as a supplier of alcohol monitoring technology to the Ministry of Justice, we cannot