Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of the approach to custody decisions in cases where a parent breaches a court order.

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

The Department has not made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of child arrangements orders or of the approach to cases where a parent breaches a court order. However, the Government is committed to long-term reform of the family courts, working with our partners across the family justice system to deliver better outcomes for families. This includes making progress on implementing the recommendations from 2020’s Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases, known as the Harm Panel report.

Child arrangement orders give clarity to parties on where their child will live and if and when they will spend time with each of the parties. If a person has failed to comply with a Child Arrangements Order, the court has a range of powers it may exercise. This could include referring the parties to a Planning Together for Children programme or recommending they undertake a form of non-court dispute resolution, such as mediation. The court may make a more defined child arrangements order, which could involve a reconsideration of the child’s living or contact arrangements. Depending on the circumstances, the court also has the power to make an enforcement or suspended enforcement order, or to issue a fine or commit an individual to prison for being in contempt of court for breaching the terms of an order.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of Child Arrangements Orders.

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

The Department has not made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of child arrangements orders or of the approach to cases where a parent breaches a court order. However, the Government is committed to long-term reform of the family courts, working with our partners across the family justice system to deliver better outcomes for families. This includes making progress on implementing the recommendations from 2020’s Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases, known as the Harm Panel report.

Child arrangement orders give clarity to parties on where their child will live and if and when they will spend time with each of the parties. If a person has failed to comply with a Child Arrangements Order, the court has a range of powers it may exercise. This could include referring the parties to a Planning Together for Children programme or recommending they undertake a form of non-court dispute resolution, such as mediation. The court may make a more defined child arrangements order, which could involve a reconsideration of the child’s living or contact arrangements. Depending on the circumstances, the court also has the power to make an enforcement or suspended enforcement order, or to issue a fine or commit an individual to prison for being in contempt of court for breaching the terms of an order.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the Parole Board’s capacity to process cases within the 18-month review cycle.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We have interpreted the reference to an ‘18-month review cycle’ to be the frequency that cases are referred to the Parole Board and the review cycle varies depending on the type of sentence being served. Standard Determinate Sentence prisoners who have been recalled are referred to the Board within 28 days of their recall and then every 12 months. Indeterminate sentence prisoners must have a parole review just prior to tariff expiry and then at a minimum, every two years thereafter. HMPPS sets the period between reviews, and offenders are referred every 12 to 24 months after their first review depending on the outstanding risk reduction work that the offender needs to complete.

Once a case has been referred to the Parole Board by the Secretary of State, the conduct of the review process and the scheduling of hearings is entirely a matter for the Board. The Parole Board has made efforts to improve timeliness and a number of measures have been implemented to improve throughput and reduce delays. These include the introduction of temporary fee uplifts, targeted recruitment campaigns, and the delegation of certain case management functions to secretariat staff.

The Board’s published Annual Review and Account for 2024/25 reports that despite making more individual decisions than the previous year, the number of cases waiting for paper decisions and or oral hearings have both fallen. The Department continues to monitor performance closely and remains committed to supporting the Parole Board in meeting its statutory obligations whilst maintaining public protection.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps his Department has taken to balance the rights of prisoners to timely parole review with the need to (a) protect the public and (b) support victims.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Parole Board plays a vital role in public protection. It can only direct release if it is satisfied that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that the offender must remain in custody. To ensure each case can receive thorough scrutiny, once a case is referred to the Board there is no time limit in which a decision must be made. Each case is considered individually and the proceedings are managed according to the specific circumstances involved.

We recognise the uncertainty and distress that parole hearings will cause for victims. Prolonged reviews are regrettable but the nature of parole proceedings means that the Board’s panel will often need to direct additional information or specialist reports to complete their risk assessment and this must be the priority for public protection reasons.

Eligible victims registered with the Victim Contact Scheme are kept up to date during the parole review by dedicated Victim Liaison Officers.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of delays in parole hearings on victims awaiting (a) closure and (b) notification of release outcomes.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Parole Board plays a vital role in public protection. It can only direct release if it is satisfied that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that the offender must remain in custody. To ensure each case can receive thorough scrutiny, once a case is referred to the Board there is no time limit in which a decision must be made. Each case is considered individually and the proceedings are managed according to the specific circumstances involved.

We recognise the uncertainty and distress that parole hearings will cause for victims. Prolonged reviews are regrettable but the nature of parole proceedings means that the Board’s panel will often need to direct additional information or specialist reports to complete their risk assessment and this must be the priority for public protection reasons.

Eligible victims registered with the Victim Contact Scheme are kept up to date during the parole review by dedicated Victim Liaison Officers.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s recent report entitled Everyday Business: Addressing domestic abuse and continuing harm through a family court review and reporting mechanism, published on October 2025, on (a) contact and (b) parental responsibility for families currently involved in family court proceedings.

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

The Government welcomes the publication of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s report.

We are carefully considering the recommendations and will publish a full response by the end of the year.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many women currently in prison have been sentenced to a term of (1) less than 4 weeks, (2) 4 to 8 weeks, (3) 8 to 12 weeks, (4) 3 to 6 months, (5) 6 to 12 months and (6) over 12 months.

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

The information requested is provided below.

Table 1: Number of female prisoners on remand and sentenced on 30 September 2025

Table 2: Number of female prisoners serving determinate sentences broken down by sentence length on 30 September 2025(1)

Notes

1. The figures in this table exclude recalled prisoners, as well as non-criminal prisoners and those serving indeterminate sentences.

2. In order to provide complete data, this figure includes a prisoner serving more than 12 weeks but less than 3 months.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the handling of child custody cases through non-court processes.

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

The Ministry of Justice continues to develop its understanding of how non-court processes support families to resolve post-separation issues, such as child arrangements.

Evidence from the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme suggests that these approaches can help families reach agreement without needing to go to court. Analysis of the first 7,200 cases completed under the scheme shows that 69% of participants reached a whole or partial agreement and did not need to go to court to resolve their issues. Since its launch, the scheme has supported over 49,000 families, and the Government has committed to continue funding it until at least March 2026.

The Government believes that helping parents reach agreement outside of court, including through mediation, reduces conflict and benefits children’s wellbeing, and continues to assess these approaches.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many women are currently in prison (1) on remand and (2) serving a sentence.

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

The information requested is provided below.

Table 1: Number of female prisoners on remand and sentenced on 30 September 2025

Table 2: Number of female prisoners serving determinate sentences broken down by sentence length on 30 September 2025(1)

Notes

1. The figures in this table exclude recalled prisoners, as well as non-criminal prisoners and those serving indeterminate sentences.

2. In order to provide complete data, this figure includes a prisoner serving more than 12 weeks but less than 3 months.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government on which clauses and amendments the Ministry of Justice have provided advice on legal and practical workability to the promoters of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government has provided legal and workability advice to the Sponsors across the entire Bill.

Where the Government has provided advice to the Sponsors on specific amendments, Ministers have referred to this within their remarks at Committee and Report Stage in the House of Commons. Parliamentary Counsel has provided the technical drafting for the amendments tabled by the Sponsors.

All advice provided to the Sponsor in relation to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has been to ensure the coherence of the statute book, and to help ensure the Bill is workable. The Government has remained neutral on the matter of assisted dying, and will continue to take this approach through the Bill’s passage in the House of Lords.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has to help ensure victims can contribute to parole decisions via (a) victim personal statements and (b) in general.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The HMPPS Victim Contact Scheme (VCS) is a service for the victims of offenders who are convicted of specified violent, sexual or terrorism offences and are sentenced to twelve months or more imprisonment. Where it falls to the Parole Board to determine whether to release any one of those offenders, and the victim has chosen to receive the VCS service, victims may make representations about licence conditions to which the offender should be subject if the Board makes a release direction. The Scheme also allows the victim to submit a victim personal statement, to explain to the Board what has been the effect of offender’s crime(s) on them and their family.

Since 1 April 2025, victims may apply to observe an oral hearing conducted by the Parole Board, and the presumption is that the Board will approve applications unless there are compelling reasons not to. Observing an oral hearing provides victims with access to vital information about the prisoner and how parole panels assess the prisoner’s risk. In addition to support from their allocated Victim Liaison Officer, victims are assigned a Victim Representative from the Public Protection Group in His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). The Representative is experienced in the parole process. In addition, victims can also apply directly to the Parole Board for the parole hearing to be held in public and, if granted, they would also be allocated a Victim Representative to support them through this process.

We keep these arrangements and processes under regular review, taking account of feedback from victims. Indeed, victims are provided with an opportunity to submit feedback to HMPPS on their experience.

Through the Victim and Courts Bill, we will be updating the legislative framework that establishes the Victim Contact Scheme to bring victims currently served by different post-conviction communication schemes into the Victim Contact Scheme and provide a new route for other victims to request information via a dedicated helpline. This will give victims confidence about the routes available to receive information about their offender’s release.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of victim support during parole hearings.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The HMPPS Victim Contact Scheme (VCS) is a service for the victims of offenders who are convicted of specified violent, sexual or terrorism offences and are sentenced to twelve months or more imprisonment. Where it falls to the Parole Board to determine whether to release any one of those offenders, and the victim has chosen to receive the VCS service, victims may make representations about licence conditions to which the offender should be subject if the Board makes a release direction. The Scheme also allows the victim to submit a victim personal statement, to explain to the Board what has been the effect of offender’s crime(s) on them and their family.

Since 1 April 2025, victims may apply to observe an oral hearing conducted by the Parole Board, and the presumption is that the Board will approve applications unless there are compelling reasons not to. Observing an oral hearing provides victims with access to vital information about the prisoner and how parole panels assess the prisoner’s risk. In addition to support from their allocated Victim Liaison Officer, victims are assigned a Victim Representative from the Public Protection Group in His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). The Representative is experienced in the parole process. In addition, victims can also apply directly to the Parole Board for the parole hearing to be held in public and, if granted, they would also be allocated a Victim Representative to support them through this process.

We keep these arrangements and processes under regular review, taking account of feedback from victims. Indeed, victims are provided with an opportunity to submit feedback to HMPPS on their experience.

Through the Victim and Courts Bill, we will be updating the legislative framework that establishes the Victim Contact Scheme to bring victims currently served by different post-conviction communication schemes into the Victim Contact Scheme and provide a new route for other victims to request information via a dedicated helpline. This will give victims confidence about the routes available to receive information about their offender’s release.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve communication with victims during the parole process.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The HMPPS Victim Contact Scheme (VCS) is a service for the victims of offenders who are convicted of specified violent, sexual or terrorism offences and are sentenced to twelve months or more imprisonment. Where it falls to the Parole Board to determine whether to release any one of those offenders, and the victim has chosen to receive the VCS service, victims may make representations about licence conditions to which the offender should be subject if the Board makes a release direction. The Scheme also allows the victim to submit a victim personal statement, to explain to the Board what has been the effect of offender’s crime(s) on them and their family.

Since 1 April 2025, victims may apply to observe an oral hearing conducted by the Parole Board, and the presumption is that the Board will approve applications unless there are compelling reasons not to. Observing an oral hearing provides victims with access to vital information about the prisoner and how parole panels assess the prisoner’s risk. In addition to support from their allocated Victim Liaison Officer, victims are assigned a Victim Representative from the Public Protection Group in His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). The Representative is experienced in the parole process. In addition, victims can also apply directly to the Parole Board for the parole hearing to be held in public and, if granted, they would also be allocated a Victim Representative to support them through this process.

We keep these arrangements and processes under regular review, taking account of feedback from victims. Indeed, victims are provided with an opportunity to submit feedback to HMPPS on their experience.

Through the Victim and Courts Bill, we will be updating the legislative framework that establishes the Victim Contact Scheme to bring victims currently served by different post-conviction communication schemes into the Victim Contact Scheme and provide a new route for other victims to request information via a dedicated helpline. This will give victims confidence about the routes available to receive information about their offender’s release.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to increase administrative efficiency in scheduling parole hearings.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We have interpreted the reference to an ‘18-month review cycle’ to be the frequency that cases are referred to the Parole Board and the review cycle varies depending on the type of sentence being served. Standard Determinate Sentence prisoners who have been recalled are referred to the Board within 28 days of their recall and then every 12 months. Indeterminate sentence prisoners must have a parole review just prior to tariff expiry and then at a minimum, every two years thereafter. HMPPS sets the period between reviews, and offenders are referred every 12 to 24 months after their first review depending on the outstanding risk reduction work that the offender needs to complete.

Once a case has been referred to the Parole Board by the Secretary of State, the conduct of the review process and the scheduling of hearings is entirely a matter for the Board. The Parole Board has made efforts to improve timeliness and a number of measures have been implemented to improve throughput and reduce delays. These include the introduction of temporary fee uplifts, targeted recruitment campaigns, and the delegation of certain case management functions to secretariat staff.

The Board’s published Annual Review and Account for 2024/25 reports that despite making more individual decisions than the previous year, the number of cases waiting for paper decisions and or oral hearings have both fallen. The Department continues to monitor performance closely and remains committed to supporting the Parole Board in meeting its statutory obligations whilst maintaining public protection.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many women currently in prison, having been released on license, have been recalled to prison for (1) less than 4 weeks or (2) 4 to 8 weeks.

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

On 30 June 2025, the latest date for which we can provide data from published statistics, there were 170 women in prison, having been released on licence, who had been recalled to prison and had served less than 4 weeks in custody and, similarly, 44 who had served 4-8 weeks in custody, out of a total of 517 women in the recall population.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many women who were remanded into custody in the last 12 months were (1) not subsequently sentenced or (2) released having served the length of their sentence on remand.

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

The number of women who were not sentenced after being remanded in custody in the latest year available, year ending June 2025, can be found in the table below:

Table: The number of women who were not sentenced after being remanded in custody at the magistrates’ court and Crown Court, year ending June 2025

Notes:

• The number of defendants not sentenced refers to cases discontinued or discharged, charges withdrawn or dismissed, acquittals and other disposals without conviction.

• Figures for magistrates’ courts exclude cases committed to Crown Court for trial and sentencing.

• Defendants are reported against their most serious remand status. All hearings except for sentence hearing are considered and ranked with custody as most serious, then bail and then not remanded or not applicable. A defendant’s remand status may change several times throughout their court journey, however what we report only reflects the most serious status they received in that set period and does not reflect the number of remand decisions made in those periods.

• These figures are presented on a principal offence and principal disposal sentence – i.e. reporting information relating to the most serious offence that a defendant was dealt with for and the most severe sentence issued for the offence.

• Further important caveats are found in the ‘Notes’ tab of the data source "Remands data tool: June 2025 which is available through the following link: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: June 2025 - GOV.UK

Information relating to women who were remanded in custody and were released having served the length of their sentence on remand is not centrally held by the Ministry of Justice.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 on victims’ participation in parole hearings.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Victims’ participation in parole is managed through the Victim Contact Scheme run by HMPPS. Victims can submit a Victim Personal Statement to the Parole Board explaining the effect that the crime has had on them and their family. They can also make representations, which may inform the Parole Board’s consideration of licence conditions, should release be directed. Additionally, victims can also apply to observe a Parole Board oral hearing to see how parole panels assess the offender’s risk.

The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 legislated for the codified public protection test, which requires the Parole Board to have particular regard to the protection of the victim when considering release. Other measures in the Act, once implemented, will ensure victims know about their rights under the Victims’ Code and that these entitlements are met by criminal justice agencies, as well as driving more strategic commissioning through the Duty to Collaborate.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the the potential benefits of accelerating the expansion of the Pathfinder pilot.

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

The Pathfinder model is currently operating in six Designated Family Judge areas across England and Wales. Three further court areas - the Black Country and Shropshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire, and Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire - will start the model on 11 November. Courts in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight will start the model in January next year.

This Government is delivering a package of reform to ensure that children and victims of domestic abuse continue to be safeguarded and supported in family court proceedings, Pathfinder is central to this. Monitoring metrics are positive and the feedback from operational teams and external stakeholders has identified a range of benefits. A process evaluation and initial financial analysis of the pilot was published in March 2025. Research participants involved in the evaluation reported that the Child Impact Report adopted in the pilots improved child engagement and the model provided better support for victims of domestic abuse. Management information from the two initial pilot court areas showed cases in the model were resolved 11 weeks quicker and the open caseload reduced by 50%.

Further expansion of the model will be considered during the allocations process which follows the latest Spending Review, and we are unable to pre-empt the outcome of this.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners erroneously released since July 2024 have since been recaptured.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government.

While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we’re clamping down on those releases in error that do occur – including through improved staff training and establishing a new specialist unit. A joint protocol between HMPPS and NPCC is in place, to ensure effective and timely communication between partner agencies when an individual is released in error to rearrest them as quickly as possible.

We have gripped this chaos – by building more prison places, ending the last Government’s early release scheme, being transparent with the public, immediately making changes to sentences to ease pressure on the system and now, taking landmark reforms through our Sentencing Bill to make sure that prisons never run out of places again

Totals for releases in error are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2024 to March 2025 - GOV.UK, and provide data up to March 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the nationalities were of the non-British nationals released from prison under the Standard Determinate Sentences 40 releases that took place between September 2024 and December 2024.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. 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’).

We have published SDS40 release data alongside the quarterly Offender Management Statistics, in line with the Lord Chancellor’s commitment to transparency.

Please find statistics on overall prison population nationality here: Offender management statistics quarterly: October to December 2024 - GOV.UK.

Please find statistics on SDS40 release nationality here: Standard Determinate Sentence 40 (SDS40) : September 2024 to March 2025 - GOV.UK.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that all relevant (a) intelligence and (b) behavioural evidence is available to the Parole Board it makes release decisions.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Qualified prison and probation officers, together with qualified psychologists, assess the relevance of all available evidence about a prisoner’s risk in the reports which they are required to submit to the Parole Board, when the Board is considering whether to direct that prisoner’s release. This includes evidence about behaviour, both past and present, and any intelligence gathered.

Additionally, the Parole Board may direct production of other reports where they, or other report writers, consider it necessary to inform the Board’s assessment of the prisoner’s risk – for example, a report from a qualified forensic psychiatrist.

Public protection remains the number one priority, and the Parole Board will release a prisoner only where it judges that the Probation Service may manage the prisoner’s risk effectively, using the licence conditions which the Board itself sets.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of training provided to Parole Board members on assessing the risk of reoffending.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Parole Board members receive training in risk assessment that covers interpreting professional evaluations and assessing written and oral evidence to decide if statutory release criteria are satisfied.

The Parole Board, as an independent body, is responsible for developing and delivering its own training programmes.

The Ministry of Justice is confident that the training provided on assessing the risk of reoffending is robust.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been released from prison in error in (a) England and (b) Essex in every year since 2010.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government.

While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we’re clamping down on those releases in error that do occur – including through improved staff training and establishing a new specialist unit. A joint protocol between HMPPS and NPCC is in place, to ensure effective and timely communication between partner agencies when an individual is released in error to rearrest them as quickly as possible.

We have gripped this chaos – by building more prison places, ending the last Government’s early release scheme, being transparent with the public, immediately making changes to sentences to ease pressure on the system and now, taking landmark reforms through our Sentencing Bill to make sure that prisons never run out of places again.

The Ministry of Justice publishes annual data on prisoners released in error in England and Wales in the HMPPS Annual Digest available via HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2024 to March 2025 - GOV.UK.

These figures can be found under Chapter 1 Tables – Escape data tool; showing data up to March 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the Parole Board’s approach to managing the risk posed by offenders convicted of serious (a) violent and (b) sexual crimes.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Parole Board applies a statutory test when determining whether to release an offender. The test requires the Board to be satisfied that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that the offender remain confined. The test was codified in the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, following the Ministry of Justice’s Root and Branch Review of the parole system, published in March 2022. The review assessed the system as a whole, including how risk is assessed in cases involving serious violent and sexual offenders, and led to reforms that strengthened statutory safeguards and public protection measures.

The Parole Board does not manage risk following the release of offenders. Where release is directed, responsibility for managing risk lies with probation services, who develop and implement robust supervision plans tailored to the individual’s risk profile. The Parole Board will only direct release if it is satisfied that the release plan is sufficient to safely manage the offender in the community.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of community sentences in addressing the (a) health and (b) social needs of people who repeatedly reoffend.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We are committed to diverting vulnerable offenders with mental health and substance misuse needs away from prison or out of the criminal justice system altogether, where appropriate.

Many people who have committed low-level offences can be managed more effectively in the community, with the right treatment and support to tackle the health-related causes of their offending behaviour, than on short custodial sentences. In addition to addressing issues around substance misuse and mental health, community sentence treatment requirements can also help to improve social needs around housing, benefits and primary care for example.

In September 2024, the Institute for Public Safety Crime and Justice published the Community Sentence Treatment Requirement Multisite Report July 2020 to June 2024 with a focus on Mental Health Treatment Requirements (MHTRs). Overall, the results presented in this report showed that MHTR interventions had a statistically significant benefit in terms of mental distress, anxiety and depression. 76% of service users experienced a positive reliable change in terms of global distress, 60% experienced positive reliable change in terms of anxiety and 53% experienced a positive reliable change in terms of depression. Overall, for those who completed a MHTR, 82% experienced a positive reliable change in at least one of the psychometrics measured.

We are piloting Intensive Supervision Courts (ISCs), diverting some offenders with complex needs away from short custodial sentences to enhanced community sentences aimed at addressing multiple needs linked to their offending. The process evaluation interim report found that some participants on ISCs reported reduced substance misuse, improved mental wellbeing and self-esteem, and improved relationships with their families.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the potential cost savings to the criminal justice system of a one per cent reduction in reoffending among repeat offenders.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Reoffending in England and Wales is estimated to cost taxpayers £22.7 billion per year (adjusted to 24/25 prices). That is why we are investing in interventions that help individuals move away from crime, including employment, accommodation and substance misuse treatment services.

Currently, we have not produced an estimate of the potential cost savings to the criminal justice system from a one per cent reduction in reoffending among repeat offenders.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to commission an updated analysis of reoffending patterns among people experiencing multiple disadvantage.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly statistics on proven reoffending of offenders who were released from custody, received a non-custodial conviction at court, or received a caution or reprimand. These include reoffending rates by offender demographics, accommodation and employment status.

Also, the Ministry of Justice’s recent Reducing Reoffending Evidence Synthesis (2025) provides a comprehensive overview of what works to reduce reoffending. The report identifies a range of factors that influence the likelihood of reoffending. This includes static factors (e.g., age, gender, criminal history) which cannot change and are among the strongest predictors of reoffending, and dynamic factors (e.g., substance misuse, employment status, family relationships) which can be addressed to reduce an individual’s risk of reoffending.

The evidence also shows that offender needs frequently overlap. Another Ministry of Justice report considered the identified needs of offenders serving both custodial sentences and community orders. This analysis included findings on multiple overlapping needs.

At present, there are no plans to commission a specific analysis of reoffending patterns among people experiencing multiple disadvantage.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the Pathfinder scheme to Hertfordshire.

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

The Pathfinder model is currently operating in six family court areas across England and Wales. Three further court areas will start the model on 11 November in the Black Country and Shropshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire and in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire. Courts in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight will start the model in January next year.

Further expansion of the model will be considered during the allocations process which follows the latest Spending Review, and we are unable to pre-empt the outcome of this.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his planned timetable is for the expansion of the Pathfinder pilot.

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

The Pathfinder programme is currently operating in six Designated Family Judge areas across England and Wales. Three further court areas - the Black Country and Shropshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire and in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire - will start the model on 11 November.

Courts in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight will start the model in January next year.

Further expansion of the model will be considered during the allocations process which follows the latest Spending Review, and we are unable to pre-empt the outcome of this.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on improving continuity of care for repeat offenders as they move between prison and the community.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We recognise that the first few weeks after release for prison leavers are high-risk for relapse, overdose and reoffending, and we are determined to ensure prison leavers have a smooth transition into the community, with swift access to care and treatment to address this.

Lord Timpson, the Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending continues to engage with Baroness Merron and Minister Dalton, Minister for Public Health and Prevention in the Department for Health and Social Care, to discuss issues related to offender health and care and drive progress forward. The Drug and Alcohol Recovery Expert Panel (DAREP), chaired by Lord Timpson, was established to identify key areas for improvement in our current approach to tackling problematic drug and alcohol use in the criminal justice system in England and Wales, including consideration of continuity of care and resettlement. Minister Dalton is part of DAREP’s core membership.

Working closely with health partners, we have recruited over 50 Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators. These staff operate nationwide to strengthen links between prison, probation and treatment providers. NHS England’s RECONNECT service also supports prison leavers with vulnerabilities to engage with the right health services in the community through referrals and peer support. We are also improving information sharing between treatment providers and probation and enabling virtual pre-release appointments with community treatment providers via secure laptops.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to increase the use of (a) problem-solving courts, (b) community treatment requirements and (c) other rehabilitative measures for people with multiple disadvantage.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Following the Independent Sentencing Review’s recommendation to expand Intensive Supervision Courts (ISCs – the UK equivalent of “problem solving courts”), the Ministry of Justice launched an Expression of Interest process to identify new areas for delivery. This process has now closed, and successful applicants are expected to be announced in the coming months. Earlier this year, the Department announced that a new women’s ISC will launch at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court, with implementation planned within the next year. Further expansion remains subject to funding allocations.

The Ministry of Justice works closely with NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to ensure that all offenders who need it have access to high-quality mental health, alcohol and substance misuse treatment. Responsibility for commissioning and delivery of substance misuse treatment in the community lies with Local Authorities. DHSC has made a targeted investment to support those referred by the criminal justice system, including funding 575 drug and alcohol workers with criminal justice specialisms who work closely with prisons, probation and in courts as well as the police to improve access to and quality of treatment. At a local level, Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators have been recruited across all probation regions in England and Wales to strengthen operational links between treatment providers and probation, bolstering support for those with Drug Rehabilitation Requirements and Alcohol Treatment Requirements. Our ongoing partnership with NHS England has also achieved an increase in the number of Mental Health Treatment Requirements with the number sentenced now more than five times higher than it was a decade ago, up from 960 in 2014 to 4,880 in 2024.

We remain committed to tackling the root causes of reoffending by investing in a range of interventions which address offenders’ underlying criminogenic needs and support their rehabilitation journey. This includes, but is not limited to, education, employment and accommodation, alongside health services.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of (a) fathers and (b) mothers received legal aid support in family court proceedings relating to child custody and access in the last five years.

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

The requested information is not centrally held.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the status is of the recruitment exercise which closed in November 2024 for Judges of the First-Tier Tribunal; how many applications were received; and how many appointments have been made (a) in total, (b) to the Social Entitlement Tribunal, (c) to the Health Education and Social Care Tribunal, (d) to the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal and (e) to the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Tribunal.

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

The recruitment for salaried judges of the First-tier Tribunal (FtT) closed for applications in November 2024. The recruitment for fee-paid judges of the First-tier Tribunal closed for applications in June 2024. Both exercises included recruitment for judges to be assigned to the Immigration and Asylum Chamber (IAC), Social Entitlement Chamber (SEC), Health, Education and Social Care Chamber (HESC) and War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber (WPAFCC).

Following appointment, assignment to specific First-tier Tribunal Chambers is the responsibility of the Senior President of Tribunals. This process is still underway for both the salaried and fee-paid appointments and so we cannot confirm the final numbers. It is also not yet known how many judges will be assigned to the IAC from both the fee-paid and salaried exercises.

The independent Judicial Appointments Commission publishes updated data quarterly on applications and the number of selections made for appointment once recruitment is completed: Completed exercises 2022-2025 - Judicial Appointments Commission. 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.

To increase IAC capacity, further specific recruitment for up to 70 IAC fee paid judges of the First-tier Tribunal recruitment is underway and recruitment for up to 30 IAC salaried judges of the First-tier Tribunal will commence shortly this calendar year.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2025 to Question 68347 on Immigration: Appeals, when the recruitment exercise commenced in 2024 for the First Tier Tribunal will be completed; and how many vacant posts at the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal will (a) be filled and (b) remain unfilled.

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

The recruitment for salaried judges of the First-tier Tribunal (FtT) closed for applications in November 2024. The recruitment for fee-paid judges of the First-tier Tribunal closed for applications in June 2024. Both exercises included recruitment for judges to be assigned to the Immigration and Asylum Chamber (IAC), Social Entitlement Chamber (SEC), Health, Education and Social Care Chamber (HESC) and War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber (WPAFCC).

Following appointment, assignment to specific First-tier Tribunal Chambers is the responsibility of the Senior President of Tribunals. This process is still underway for both the salaried and fee-paid appointments and so we cannot confirm the final numbers. It is also not yet known how many judges will be assigned to the IAC from both the fee-paid and salaried exercises.

The independent Judicial Appointments Commission publishes updated data quarterly on applications and the number of selections made for appointment once recruitment is completed: Completed exercises 2022-2025 - Judicial Appointments Commission. 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.

To increase IAC capacity, further specific recruitment for up to 70 IAC fee paid judges of the First-tier Tribunal recruitment is underway and recruitment for up to 30 IAC salaried judges of the First-tier Tribunal will commence shortly this calendar year.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many stage (a) one, and (b) two, complaints were submitted to HM Courts and Tribunals Service in (i) 2024 and (ii) 2025.

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

HM Courts and Tribunals Service holds the following data on how many stage (a) one and (b) two complaints were submitted in 2024 and 2025. For context, the annual HMCTS report published for the period 2024/5 reports states HMCTS received over 4.2 million cases.

*Data for 2025 is for the period 1 January – 30 September inclusive

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many County Court Judgements were related to vehicle infringements in each of the last five years.

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

The information requested is not centrally held. It may be held in court records, but to determine that and obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the number of custody arrangements ordered by family courts that resulted in the father being granted equal or majority care of the child in the last five years.

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

The Ministry of Justice holds data on child arrangements that might help answer the questions relating to:

• The number of custody arrangements ordered by family courts that resulted in the father being granted equal or majority care of the child in the last five years.

• The average waiting time for fathers seeking access to their children through the family courts after a separation.

• The number of fathers prevented from seeing their children following court proceedings in each of the last five years.

The information requested is not held centrally.  It may be held in court records, but to determine that and obtain it would incur disproportionate costs

The Ministry of Justice is not able to estimate the average cost to fathers of making child arrangements in court as this data is not available.

We are committed to ensuring that the family justice system supports all parents – including fathers – and children and reflects the realities of modern family life, and we recognise the importance of ensuring that both parents have the opportunity to maintain meaningful relationships with their children where it is safe and appropriate to do so.

The Children Act 1989 requires the court to have the child’s welfare as its paramount consideration when making a decision about the child’s upbringing. Any decisions the family courts make about the future arrangements for children are based on this fundamental principle. There is no automatic assumption of shared custody, as decisions about whom a child is to live or spend time with are based on the child’s best interests. This principle applies equally to mothers and fathers.

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 who cannot otherwise afford them. This includes applications made in the family courts such as applications for child arrangements orders.

We are also working to reduce backlogs and improve timeliness, so that children – and the parents seeking to support them – can access the support and stability they need without unnecessary delay. This includes the agreement of system-wide targets by the Family Justice Board for 2025/26, with a continued focus on tackling delay and reducing outstanding caseloads. In public law proceedings relating to children (such as care proceedings), this involves a renewed emphasis on the procedure set out in the Public Law Outline; and in private law proceedings relating to children (such as applications for child arrangements orders), areas delivering the new Pathfinder model have made significant progress in addressing delays.

The Government does not have any plans to commission a cross-departmental review as suggested, and we have committed to long-term reform of the family courts to deliver better outcomes for families.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average waiting time is for fathers seeking access to their children through the family courts after a separation.

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

The Ministry of Justice holds data on child arrangements that might help answer the questions relating to:

• The number of custody arrangements ordered by family courts that resulted in the father being granted equal or majority care of the child in the last five years.

• The average waiting time for fathers seeking access to their children through the family courts after a separation.

• The number of fathers prevented from seeing their children following court proceedings in each of the last five years.

The information requested is not held centrally.  It may be held in court records, but to determine that and obtain it would incur disproportionate costs

The Ministry of Justice is not able to estimate the average cost to fathers of making child arrangements in court as this data is not available.

We are committed to ensuring that the family justice system supports all parents – including fathers – and children and reflects the realities of modern family life, and we recognise the importance of ensuring that both parents have the opportunity to maintain meaningful relationships with their children where it is safe and appropriate to do so.

The Children Act 1989 requires the court to have the child’s welfare as its paramount consideration when making a decision about the child’s upbringing. Any decisions the family courts make about the future arrangements for children are based on this fundamental principle. There is no automatic assumption of shared custody, as decisions about whom a child is to live or spend time with are based on the child’s best interests. This principle applies equally to mothers and fathers.

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 who cannot otherwise afford them. This includes applications made in the family courts such as applications for child arrangements orders.

We are also working to reduce backlogs and improve timeliness, so that children – and the parents seeking to support them – can access the support and stability they need without unnecessary delay. This includes the agreement of system-wide targets by the Family Justice Board for 2025/26, with a continued focus on tackling delay and reducing outstanding caseloads. In public law proceedings relating to children (such as care proceedings), this involves a renewed emphasis on the procedure set out in the Public Law Outline; and in private law proceedings relating to children (such as applications for child arrangements orders), areas delivering the new Pathfinder model have made significant progress in addressing delays.

The Government does not have any plans to commission a cross-departmental review as suggested, and we have committed to long-term reform of the family courts to deliver better outcomes for families.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if the Government will commission a cross-departmental review across (a) justice, (b) education and (c) welfare on (i) improving support for and (ii) empowering fathers in maintaining active roles in children’s lives.

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

The Ministry of Justice holds data on child arrangements that might help answer the questions relating to:

• The number of custody arrangements ordered by family courts that resulted in the father being granted equal or majority care of the child in the last five years.

• The average waiting time for fathers seeking access to their children through the family courts after a separation.

• The number of fathers prevented from seeing their children following court proceedings in each of the last five years.

The information requested is not held centrally.  It may be held in court records, but to determine that and obtain it would incur disproportionate costs

The Ministry of Justice is not able to estimate the average cost to fathers of making child arrangements in court as this data is not available.

We are committed to ensuring that the family justice system supports all parents – including fathers – and children and reflects the realities of modern family life, and we recognise the importance of ensuring that both parents have the opportunity to maintain meaningful relationships with their children where it is safe and appropriate to do so.

The Children Act 1989 requires the court to have the child’s welfare as its paramount consideration when making a decision about the child’s upbringing. Any decisions the family courts make about the future arrangements for children are based on this fundamental principle. There is no automatic assumption of shared custody, as decisions about whom a child is to live or spend time with are based on the child’s best interests. This principle applies equally to mothers and fathers.

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 who cannot otherwise afford them. This includes applications made in the family courts such as applications for child arrangements orders.

We are also working to reduce backlogs and improve timeliness, so that children – and the parents seeking to support them – can access the support and stability they need without unnecessary delay. This includes the agreement of system-wide targets by the Family Justice Board for 2025/26, with a continued focus on tackling delay and reducing outstanding caseloads. In public law proceedings relating to children (such as care proceedings), this involves a renewed emphasis on the procedure set out in the Public Law Outline; and in private law proceedings relating to children (such as applications for child arrangements orders), areas delivering the new Pathfinder model have made significant progress in addressing delays.

The Government does not have any plans to commission a cross-departmental review as suggested, and we have committed to long-term reform of the family courts to deliver better outcomes for families.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the average cost to fathers of pursuing access to children through the family court system; and whether he plans to make that process more affordable.

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

The Ministry of Justice holds data on child arrangements that might help answer the questions relating to:

• The number of custody arrangements ordered by family courts that resulted in the father being granted equal or majority care of the child in the last five years.

• The average waiting time for fathers seeking access to their children through the family courts after a separation.

• The number of fathers prevented from seeing their children following court proceedings in each of the last five years.

The information requested is not held centrally.  It may be held in court records, but to determine that and obtain it would incur disproportionate costs

The Ministry of Justice is not able to estimate the average cost to fathers of making child arrangements in court as this data is not available.

We are committed to ensuring that the family justice system supports all parents – including fathers – and children and reflects the realities of modern family life, and we recognise the importance of ensuring that both parents have the opportunity to maintain meaningful relationships with their children where it is safe and appropriate to do so.

The Children Act 1989 requires the court to have the child’s welfare as its paramount consideration when making a decision about the child’s upbringing. Any decisions the family courts make about the future arrangements for children are based on this fundamental principle. There is no automatic assumption of shared custody, as decisions about whom a child is to live or spend time with are based on the child’s best interests. This principle applies equally to mothers and fathers.

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 who cannot otherwise afford them. This includes applications made in the family courts such as applications for child arrangements orders.

We are also working to reduce backlogs and improve timeliness, so that children – and the parents seeking to support them – can access the support and stability they need without unnecessary delay. This includes the agreement of system-wide targets by the Family Justice Board for 2025/26, with a continued focus on tackling delay and reducing outstanding caseloads. In public law proceedings relating to children (such as care proceedings), this involves a renewed emphasis on the procedure set out in the Public Law Outline; and in private law proceedings relating to children (such as applications for child arrangements orders), areas delivering the new Pathfinder model have made significant progress in addressing delays.

The Government does not have any plans to commission a cross-departmental review as suggested, and we have committed to long-term reform of the family courts to deliver better outcomes for families.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will make an estimate of the number of fathers prevented from seeing their children following court proceedings in each of the last five years.

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

The Ministry of Justice holds data on child arrangements that might help answer the questions relating to:

• The number of custody arrangements ordered by family courts that resulted in the father being granted equal or majority care of the child in the last five years.

• The average waiting time for fathers seeking access to their children through the family courts after a separation.

• The number of fathers prevented from seeing their children following court proceedings in each of the last five years.

The information requested is not held centrally.  It may be held in court records, but to determine that and obtain it would incur disproportionate costs

The Ministry of Justice is not able to estimate the average cost to fathers of making child arrangements in court as this data is not available.

We are committed to ensuring that the family justice system supports all parents – including fathers – and children and reflects the realities of modern family life, and we recognise the importance of ensuring that both parents have the opportunity to maintain meaningful relationships with their children where it is safe and appropriate to do so.

The Children Act 1989 requires the court to have the child’s welfare as its paramount consideration when making a decision about the child’s upbringing. Any decisions the family courts make about the future arrangements for children are based on this fundamental principle. There is no automatic assumption of shared custody, as decisions about whom a child is to live or spend time with are based on the child’s best interests. This principle applies equally to mothers and fathers.

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 who cannot otherwise afford them. This includes applications made in the family courts such as applications for child arrangements orders.

We are also working to reduce backlogs and improve timeliness, so that children – and the parents seeking to support them – can access the support and stability they need without unnecessary delay. This includes the agreement of system-wide targets by the Family Justice Board for 2025/26, with a continued focus on tackling delay and reducing outstanding caseloads. In public law proceedings relating to children (such as care proceedings), this involves a renewed emphasis on the procedure set out in the Public Law Outline; and in private law proceedings relating to children (such as applications for child arrangements orders), areas delivering the new Pathfinder model have made significant progress in addressing delays.

The Government does not have any plans to commission a cross-departmental review as suggested, and we have committed to long-term reform of the family courts to deliver better outcomes for families.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of the (a) prevalence and (b) potential impact of parental alienation on fathers’ ability to maintain a relationship with their children.

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

The Government does not recognise the concept of “parental alienation” syndrome and does not think it is capable of diagnosis and has therefore not undertaken an assessment of the prevalence of “parental alienation” or its impact on fathers’ ability to maintain a relationship with their children.

The Government does recognise the important role that fathers play in their children’s lives and supports a father’s involvement in their child’s lives where that involvement is safe, meaningful and positive. The family court must make decisions in the child’s best interests; this includes having particular regard to the factors set in the ‘welfare checklist’ in the Children Act 1989, such as the ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned (considered in light of their age and understanding), the impact on the child of any change in circumstances, and how capable each parent is of meeting the child’s needs.

In December 2024, the Family Justice Council published guidance on “responding to a child’s unexplained reluctance, resistance or refusal to spend time with a parent and allegations of alienating behaviour”. The guidance provides a comprehensive overview of the reasons a child may reject a parent, including harmful parenting, and provides a clear framework for assessing whether alienating behaviours are present. Where alienating behaviours are found the guidance provides clear next steps.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what visits he has conducted to (a) HMP Pentonville and (b) HMP Manchester since he became Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Since his appointment in September, HMP Pentonville and HMP Manchester are not prisons the Secretary of State for Justice has visited although he has been to HMP Belmarsh and HMP Gartree. Ministers visit prisons regularly and in recent months this has included both HMP Manchester and HMP Pentonville.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) translators and (b) interpreters have worked in the prison estate since 2018; and what the total cost to the public purse was for their services.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

HMPPS uses translation services provided under contract. These services provide translation by phone and do not require translators to physically come onto the prison estate. There may be specific occasions where in person translators are required but we do not hold a central record for these and to collect the information would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2025 to Question 82447 on Ministry of Justice: ICT, how many of the 1026 devices lost were (a) secure laptops, (b) secure mobile phones and (c) authentication devices.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Of the 1026 devices lost, 317 were laptops (30.9%), and 709 were mobile phones (69.1%). There were 0 authentication devices.

All of these devices were secured to HMG standards, using encryption and other methods to ensure that data on them remains inaccessible if the device is lost or stolen.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish (a) all recreational activities provided to inmates and (b) the total cost to the public purse for providing those activities in (i) HMP Maidstone, (ii) HMP Huntercombe and (iii) HMP Morton Hall since 2018.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The requested data is not held centrally and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help support victims of crime through the criminal justice system.

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

The Ministry of Justice provides funding for services that support victims and witnesses as they engage with the criminal justice system.

The Victims’ Code also sets out the minimum level of service that victims of crime should receive.

We will consult on a new Code to make sure we get the foundations for victims right.

We are supporting victims through the introduction of the Victims and Courts Bill. The Bill will help victims get the justice they deserve.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to provide adequate funding to the Probation Service for meeting its additional responsibilities in the Sentencing Bill.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We continue to invest in Probation to ensure workloads are manageable and the changes from the Independent Sentencing Review are sustainable.

The Probation and community services budget will increase by up to £700 million (a 45% rise) by 2028/2029.

An initial £8 million will be invested in technology to reduce administration and free up officers to focus on managing risk and reducing reoffending.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of safeguards for preventing harm to children during court-ordered contact arrangements.

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

This Government has been clear – child safety during court-ordered contact is vital.

The recently published review of court’s application of the presumption of parental involvement found a high incidence of ordered contact. In some instances, this could have negative implications for children.

That is why this Government plans to repeal the presumption from the Children Act 1989. This will be part of a package of reforms to the family courts – including the further expansion of the Pathfinder model.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to support victims of rape and sexual violence through the court system.

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

I recognise that the experience of attending court can be distressing, particularly for vulnerable victims, such as those of rape and sexual violence.

Special measures can help vulnerable witnesses who may otherwise feel unable to give evidence.

The Ministry of Justice-funded Witness Service also provides on-the-day support to victims at court.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his planned timeline is for the implementation of the uplift of (a) housing and (b) immigration legal aid.

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

The Government announced in July this year that legal aid fees for housing and immigration legal aid will be uplifted.

Following the criminal attack on the Legal Aid Agency’s digital systems, the Government’s priority has been to maintain access to justice through the rapid implementation of contingency measures and the restoration of critical systems.

We remain fully committed to introducing the fee uplifts as soon as it is operationally feasible.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government for how many hours the (1) Family Court, and (2) Family Division of the High Court, sat in (a) 2023, and (b) 2024.

Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice does not hold the data for hours sat as family sittings for both the County Court and the High Court are recorded in days. This data can be found in the Royal Courts of Justice Annual Tables, table 9.2 as below:

Notes:

1. These figures represent only the days sat in court or in chambers in the jurisdictions shown. Judges sit in other areas (for example, High Court hearings in regional County Courts are not currently included) and also undertake a range of other functions outside the courtroom that are not shown here.

2. Includes Private and other family figures including family: divorce sitting days.

HMCTS does not hold data on how many cases were heard in the Family Court and Family Division of the High Court. However, data on the total number of cases disposed of, which includes both hearings and out of court disposals are in table 1 of the Family Court Statistics as shown below:

Source: HMCTS FamilyMan and Core Case Data

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many cases the (1) Family Court, and (2) Family Division of the High Court, heard in (a) 2023, and (b) 2024.

Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice does not hold the data for hours sat as family sittings for both the County Court and the High Court are recorded in days. This data can be found in the Royal Courts of Justice Annual Tables, table 9.2 as below:

Notes:

1. These figures represent only the days sat in court or in chambers in the jurisdictions shown. Judges sit in other areas (for example, High Court hearings in regional County Courts are not currently included) and also undertake a range of other functions outside the courtroom that are not shown here.

2. Includes Private and other family figures including family: divorce sitting days.

HMCTS does not hold data on how many cases were heard in the Family Court and Family Division of the High Court. However, data on the total number of cases disposed of, which includes both hearings and out of court disposals are in table 1 of the Family Court Statistics as shown below:

Source: HMCTS FamilyMan and Core Case Data

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the additional number of offenders will be entitled to release from prison on each day of the 28 days and then each month of the subsequent 11 months following the day of enactment of the Sentencing Bill alterations to automatic release points, broken down by offence.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Around 17,000 prisoners are entirely excluded from the release point changes being brought forward in the Sentencing Bill. We are working across agencies to prepare and plan for implementation of the changes, and this Government is committed to ensuring that measures impacting sentencing and release are introduced safely, transparently and in a way that protects the public.

Release volumes will depend on the crimes committed, the sentences given by the Court and whether the prisoner is given added days for bad behaviour.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of instances of prisoners bring transferred from prison to court late in the last 12 months.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

In the 12 months to 30 September, 134,536 prisoners were escorted to court from prison, 99.8% of whom were delivered on time by the Prisoner Escort and Custody Service (PECS) contractors. There were 2151 reported instances of delayed arrival in court. Of these, 832 (39%) were attributable to delays at the prison, and 1119 to the PECS contractor (in 814 of the PECS cases, no resulting trial delay was reported). The remaining 200 reported instances are attributable to wider system issues.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many individuals released through the early release scheme were foreign nationals.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. 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).

We have published SDS40 release data alongside the quarterly Offender Management Statistics, in line with the Lord Chancellor’s commitment to transparency. This includes data on the number of foreign national offenders released under SDS40.

Please find statistics on SDS40 releases by nationality group in Table 5: Standard Determinate Sentence 40 (SDS40) : September 2024 to June 2025 - GOV.UK.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of subjecting prison officers to security checks upon entering prisons.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The vast majority of prison staff are hardworking and dedicated; however, HMPPS recognises the risk of corruption and is committed to tackling it at all levels. We have a range of physical security measures in place to reduce the conveyance of illicit items into prisons.

Airport-style Enhanced Gate Security, comprising of metal detectors and X-ray baggage scanners, is used in 54 high-risk prison sites (both private and public sector), enabling routine searching of prison officers.

In addition, local security strategies allow for routine and random rub-down searches of prison officers and other staff and visitors upon entry to, or within, prisons.

Prison security must be dynamic and be able to respond to shifting risks as they manifest. We regularly review our security countermeasures capabilities and use all the tools at our disposal. We will not hesitate to adjust our approach as needed.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 20th October 2025 to question 79734 on Prison Accommodation: Procurement, by when a programme is planned to be developed to recommence delivery.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Pursuant to the answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 79734, new replacement contractors have been appointed on all the projects previously supplied by ISG and ESS across the Houseblocks and Refurbishments and Category D Expansion Programmes in line with contingency plans.

Work is underway to enable us to recommence delivery across these projects. We are committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places and are on track to do so by 2031, with places fully operational by 2032. We have already delivered c.2,600 of these since taking office.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 20th October 2025, to question 79734 on Prison Accommodation: Procurement, which projects previously supplied by ISG have now been taken over.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Pursuant to the answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 79734, new replacement contractors have been appointed on all the projects previously supplied by ISG and ESS across the Houseblocks and Refurbishments and Category D Expansion Programmes in line with contingency plans.

Work is underway to enable us to recommence delivery across these projects. We are committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places and are on track to do so by 2031, with places fully operational by 2032. We have already delivered c.2,600 of these since taking office.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish an update on plans to trial chemical castration for sexual offenders.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

As the Deputy Prime Minister announced on 16 September, the innovative pilot of Medication to Manage Problematic Sexual Arousal for sex offenders will continue in the South West and will be expanded to two new regions – the North West and North East of England. This will extend the service across to twenty prisons in three regions, up from the current four, as the first step towards a national rollout.

We are continuing to work closely with our partners across health and justice agencies to inform our plans for implementation of the new pilot regions in 2026. We are also continuing to explore whether we might mandate this treatment in future.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the press release entitled Major safety boost for frontline prison staff, published on 21 September 2025, how many stab vests have been issued to frontline prison staff since that announcement.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

I refer the Rt. Hon Member to the reply I gave to the hon Member for Fylde on 20 October 2025 to PQ 79110.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been wrongly released from prison since July 2024.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government.

While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are clamping down on those releases in error that do occur – including through improved staff training and establishing a new specialist unit. A joint protocol between HMPPS and NPCC is in place, to ensure effective and timely communication between partner agencies when an individual is released in error to rearrest them as quickly as possible.

We have gripped this chaos – by building more prison places, ending the last Government’s early release scheme, being transparent with the public, immediately making changes to sentences to ease pressure on the system and now, taking landmark reforms through our Sentencing Bill to make sure that prisons never run out of places again.

Totals for releases in error are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via Prison and Probation Performance Statistics - GOV.UK, and provide data up to March 2025.

The number of people who have been released in error since April 2025 cannot be provided because it would form a subset of releases in error data which underpins future versions of these Official Statistics.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of defendants over the age of 18 who have been remanded by the police are released by the court at the first hearing on (a) sentence, (b) bail and (c) for other reasons.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on pre court remands at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Remands data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.

However, data held centrally does not include details on the circumstances around the release of a defendant held on remand.

This information may be held in court records but to examine individual court records would incur disproportionate costs.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been released in error from HMP Littlehey since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government. On 11 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a five-point action plan setting out initial steps to address this issue.

Totals for releases in error, including a breakdown by releasing prison (or Prisoner Escort Custody Services), are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2024 to March 2025 - GOV.UK, and provide data up to March 2025.

Breakdowns of the number of people who have been released in error since April 2025 cannot be provided because it would form a subset of releases in error data which underpins future versions of these Official Statistics.

The Government is determined to fix the issue of mistaken releases and ensure the public is properly protected.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of defendants under the age of 18 who have been remanded by the police are released by the court at the first hearing on (a) sentence, (b) bail and (c) for other reasons.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on pre-court remands at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Remand data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK.

However, data held centrally does not include details on the circumstances around the release of a defendant held on remand.

The information may be held in court records but to examine individual court records would incur disproportionate costs.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) single sex and (b) gender neutral bathroom facilities his Department provides in its premises.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

This information can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons had the highest rates of accidental release of prisoners in each of the last five years.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government. On 11 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a five-point action plan setting out initial steps to address this issue.

Totals for releases in error, including a breakdown by releasing prison (or Prisoner Escort Custody Services), are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2024 to March 2025 - GOV.UK , and provide data up to March 2025.

The Government is determined to fix the issue of mistaken releases and ensure the public is properly protected.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been released early in Lancashire in the last 12 months.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government. On 11 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a five-point action plan setting out initial steps to address this issue.

Totals for releases in error, including a breakdown by releasing prison (or Prisoner Escort Custody Services), are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2024 to March 2025 - GOV.UK , and provide data up to March 2025.

The Government is determined to fix the issue of mistaken releases and ensure the public is properly protected.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been accidentally released early in each of the last five years.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government. On 11 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a five-point action plan setting out initial steps to address this issue.

Totals for releases in error, including a breakdown by releasing prison (or Prisoner Escort Custody Services), are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2024 to March 2025 - GOV.UK , and provide data up to March 2025.

The Government is determined to fix the issue of mistaken releases and ensure the public is properly protected.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much (a) their Department and (b) its arm’s length bodies have spent on (i) installing electric vehicle charging facilities and (ii) purchasing electric vehicles since 4 July 2024; and what estimate their Department has made of the difference in capital cost between (A) the electric vehicles purchased by their Department and (B) comparable (1) petrol and (2) diesel models.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Since 4 July 2024, the Department and its arm’s length bodies have spent £3,537 on the installation of electric vehicle charging facilities.

Since 4 July 2024, the Department and its arm's length bodies have spent £483,909 on the purchase of electric vehicles.

The Department estimates that the capital cost of the electric vehicles purchased is approximately £11,545 higher than comparable petrol or diesel models.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the original expected completion date was for all prisons currently scheduled for (a) construction and (b) expansion.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Under the previous Government, 20,000 additional prison places were planned for delivery by the mid-2020s. By July 2024, c.6,000 of these places had been delivered. As set out in the 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy, this Government has committed to delivering the remaining 14,000 places and aims to do so by 2031, with the expectation that they will become operational by 2032. We are on track to meet this target, having already delivered c.2,600 since taking office.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the expected completion date is for all prisons currently scheduled for (a) construction and (b) expansion.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Under the previous Government, 20,000 additional prison places were planned for delivery by the mid-2020s. By July 2024, c.6,000 of these places had been delivered. As set out in the 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy, this Government has committed to delivering the remaining 14,000 places and aims to do so by 2031, with the expectation that they will become operational by 2032. We are on track to meet this target, having already delivered c.2,600 since taking office.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2025 to Question 45822 on Ministry of Justice: Equality, for what reason his Department no longer collects that information centrally.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice does not routinely collate information on specific words in job titles as there is no business or legal requirement to do so. Further information on staffing can be found in the Department's annual report and accounts.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to increase legal aid fees.

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

We have confirmed we will be uplifting fees for housing and immigration legal aid, the first increase since 1996, and worth £20 million when implemented.

We have also recently consulted on funding of up to £92 million a year for criminal legal aid and prison solicitors to help address the ongoing challenges in the criminal justice system. This money is in addition to the £24 million uplift the Government introduced to the criminal duty solicitor scheme.

Following the cyber security incident, our focus has been on restoring Legal Aid Agency services, ensuring access to justice through business continuity, including delegating authority to providers and offering weekly average civil payments. These contingency measures have supported providers to continue to operate and support the public. However, we are committed to implementing the significant fee uplifts in civil and criminal legal aid as soon as operationally possible.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of prison officers subject to dismissal following recent changes to Skilled Worker visa salary thresholds; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of those dismissals on prison operations.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We are clear that net migration as a whole must come down after quadrupling in recent years as we replace Britain’s failed immigration system with one that is controlled, selective and fair.

Assessments of the number of individuals subject to dismissal following the Immigration Rule changes are not held, as sponsorship decisions depend on individual circumstances at the time of application. Sponsorship is not the sole visa route, and while individuals may be ineligible, this does not necessarily result in dismissal, as they may secure alternative right-to-work arrangements.

We will of course provide support to those who affected by these changes. Under current arrangements, prison officers already sponsored via the Skilled Worker route will be able to remain in post and extensions will be considered in line with policy. We are exploring options to support staffing, including renewed efforts to prioritise domestic recruitment.

Working in prison is an extraordinary job and we are always looking for people who want to help keep the public safe to join.

The Department carefully monitors resourcing levels to ensure that we are able to manage current staffing levels and make accurate predications around future requirements. We have recruitment activity ongoing for all sites with a current or future recruitment need.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken to improve its search procedures, in the context of the research and analysis entitled Security Investment Programme Evaluation, published by his Department on 5 September 2024.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

A full evaluation of the £100 Security Investment Programme, aimed to reduce crime in prison including reducing smuggling of drugs, was published on 5 September 2024 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/security-investment-programme-evaluation.

Airport-style enhanced gate security, comprising of metal detectors and X-ray baggage scanners, is used in 54 high-risk prison sites (both private and public sector), enabling routine searching of prison officers. In addition, local security strategies allow for routine and random rub-down searches of prison officers and other staff upon entry to, or within, prisons.

This year, we are investing over £40 million in physical security across 34 prisons to further prevent contraband entering prisons.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) monitoring and (b) reporting arrangements his Department has put in place to ensure that repeated non-compliance by local authorities in the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) is escalated to (i) the Department for Education, (ii) the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, (iii) Ofsted, (iv) the Care Quality Commission and (v) other relevant oversight bodies; and where this information is published.

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

Data about whether any barring orders have been made by the First Tier Tribunal (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) in each of the last three years could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Data on non-compliance, following a decision made by the Tribunal is not held centrally. The Tribunal does not have powers of enforcement over local authorities. Escalation of non-compliance of a Tribunal’s decision is to the Local Authority. If the decision is still not been complied with, this could be escalated to the Local Authority Ombudsman. Guidance about this is provided to appellants.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether any barring orders have been made by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal under Rule 8 of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) Rules 2008 in each of the last three years.

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

Data about whether any barring orders have been made by the First Tier Tribunal (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) in each of the last three years could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Data on non-compliance, following a decision made by the Tribunal is not held centrally. The Tribunal does not have powers of enforcement over local authorities. Escalation of non-compliance of a Tribunal’s decision is to the Local Authority. If the decision is still not been complied with, this could be escalated to the Local Authority Ombudsman. Guidance about this is provided to appellants.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many notices of intention under Rule 7(3) have been issued by the First Tier Tribunal (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) by local authority in each of the last three year.

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

Data about how many notices of intention under Rule 7 (3) (by local authority) have been issued, and whether any barring orders have been made, by the First Tier Tribunal (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) in each of the last three years could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Data on non-compliance, complaints about non-compliance, or binding orders made, following a decision made by the Tribunal is not held centrally. The Tribunal does not have powers of enforcement over local authorities. Escalation of non-compliance of a Tribunal’s decision is to the Local Authority. If the decision is still not being complied with, this could be escalated to the Local Authority Ombudsman. Guidance about this is provided to appellants.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to (a) Section 51(2) of the Children and Families Act 2014 and (b) the powers of the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) to issue binding orders following appeal hearings, what (i) monitoring and (ii) reporting arrangements on compliance with binding Tribunal orders have been implemented following appeal hearings, broken down by local authority; what formal route of escalation is available to people where rulings relating to those appeal hearings are not implemented; and how many (A) notifications and (B) complaints relating to non-compliance have been received from (1) appellants and (2) local authorities since 2022.

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

Data about how many notices of intention under Rule 7 (3) (by local authority) have been issued, and whether any barring orders have been made, by the First Tier Tribunal (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) in each of the last three years could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Data on non-compliance, complaints about non-compliance, or binding orders made, following a decision made by the Tribunal is not held centrally. The Tribunal does not have powers of enforcement over local authorities. Escalation of non-compliance of a Tribunal’s decision is to the Local Authority. If the decision is still not being complied with, this could be escalated to the Local Authority Ombudsman. Guidance about this is provided to appellants.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases awaiting trial are related to non-payment of the BBC license fee by (a) age and (b) sex.

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

The Ministry of Justice holds data on cases awaiting trial related to non-payment of the BBC licence fee. As of 6 November 2025, there were 76 such cases.

By age:

By sex:

Source: HMCTS management information Common Platform: extracted 6 November 2025

Data Caveats:

1) The count is based upon cases in which a hearing is scheduled for 6 November 2025 or the future and contains the following offence codes CT0310 - Use a television set without a licence; CA03010B - Aid / abet / counsel / procure the use of a television receiver without a licence; CA03011 - Possess a television set with intent to install / use without a licence; CA03501 - Use a television set without a licence - other address (manual entry).

2) Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and is the best data that is available.

3) Data are management information and are not subject to the same level of checks as official statistics.

4) Data are taken from a live management information system and can change over time and for that reason might differ slightly from any previously published information.

5) Data has not been cross referenced with case files.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases awaiting trial are related to non-payment of the BBC license fee.

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

The Ministry of Justice holds data on cases awaiting trial related to non-payment of the BBC licence fee. As of 6 November 2025, there were 76 such cases.

By age:

By sex:

Source: HMCTS management information Common Platform: extracted 6 November 2025

Data Caveats:

1) The count is based upon cases in which a hearing is scheduled for 6 November 2025 or the future and contains the following offence codes CT0310 - Use a television set without a licence; CA03010B - Aid / abet / counsel / procure the use of a television receiver without a licence; CA03011 - Possess a television set with intent to install / use without a licence; CA03501 - Use a television set without a licence - other address (manual entry).

2) Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and is the best data that is available.

3) Data are management information and are not subject to the same level of checks as official statistics.

4) Data are taken from a live management information system and can change over time and for that reason might differ slightly from any previously published information.

5) Data has not been cross referenced with case files.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure adequate access to free immigration advice in (a) Bristol and (b) the South West.

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

We are committed to making sure timely advice is there for those who need it, and this sits right at the heart of our vision for a better, more effective justice system.

We have confirmed we will be uplifting housing and immigration legal aid fees. This represents a significant investment – the first since 1996 – resulting in an increase of £20 million a year once fully implemented.

We are also supporting the sector through targeted grants. The Government is funding the costs of accreditation for immigration and asylum caseworkers, providing up to £1.4 million in 2024 and a further £1.7 million in 2025.

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.

In response to challenges around the supply of legal aid providers in the south-west, the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) put in place a list of immigration providers in England and Wales who are willing and able to provide immigration advice to individuals from the Southwest who are unable to find a local provider. This list remains in force and is regularly updated and provided to individuals that call the Civil Legal Aid advice line, as well as being published/accessible on the LAA’s website.

Beyond legal aid, the Ministry of Justice is funding the delivery of wider legal support services, which provide advice and support to people facing social welfare legal problems, including immigration issues. In 2025-26 we are providing over £6 million of grant funding to 60 frontline organisations to improve access to legal support and information, both in person and online, to help people resolve their problems as early as possible. This includes funding for organisations such as some regional Citizens Advice, Law Centres (including Bristol Law Centre), Asylum Support Appeals Project, Devon and Cornwall Refugee Support, as well as AdviceNow, which provides online support on their website across a range of civil, family and tribunal problems.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the application of Section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980 in medical negligence cases involving cerebral palsy; and whether it has had discussions with Scope on this issue.

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

Limitation periods set statutory time limits within which a party must bring a civil claim, or give notice of a claim, to the other party in a dispute. For negligence resulting in personal injury (which would include clinical negligence claims) the limitation period is normally three years from the date of the alleged negligence or the date of the claimant’s knowledge of damage, whichever is later.

However, under Section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980, this period can be extended at the court’s discretion, if it appears that it would be equitable (fair and reasonable) to all parties to allow an action to proceed.

The Government has no plans to reform the law, and has had no discussions with Scope but they are welcome to write to me if they want to set out any specific concerns.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to institute a review of the quality and effectiveness of services provided to children and vulnerable adults who are complainants, victims or witnesses in criminal trials.

Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Victims’ Code is statutory guidance that sets out the minimum level of service that victims of crime should receive from the criminal justice system. Witnesses who are not victims under the Code, are covered by the Witness Charter, which sets out standards of care for witnesses in the criminal justice system.

During the trial itself, the Victims’ Code includes the right for victims to make a Victim Personal Statement, the right to be given information about the trial and on the role of a witness, and the right to be given information about the outcome of the case. Recognising that certain victims are more likely to require specialised assistance, victims who are under the age of 18 at the time of the offence, as well as victims who service providers consider vulnerable or intimidated, are eligible for Enhanced Rights under the Code. This may include being offered a referral to a specialist support service, being contacted sooner after key decisions, and being assisted with accessing relevant special measures. Witnesses under the age of 18 and other vulnerable and intimidated witnesses under the Witness Charter may also be eligible for additional support during the police investigation and at trial.

We will be consulting on a new Code in due course to make sure we get the foundations for victims right.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the increase to Employer's National Insurance Contributions on rape crisis centres.

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

This Government inherited a criminal justice system under immense pressure, and a black hole in the nation’s finances.  We have made difficult decisions to ensure we can deliver the justice victims deserve.

This Government has protected the smallest businesses and charities by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning that 43% of employers will pay no National Insurance Contributions at all.

I have protected dedicated VAWG victims spending in the department this year to ensure help is available to survivors of these awful crimes. This includes our ringfenced domestic abuse and sexual violence funding to all 42 Police and Crime Commissioners and our Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund, which reaches over 60 specialist rape victim support organisations. Grant recipients are best placed to understand their local communities and shape support to meet the need of victims in their area.

To stay abreast of demand volumes and service user needs, we regularly monitor these grants, using management information to inform policy development and commissioning.

Now that the department has its Spending Review settlement, we are in the process of allocating this budget to individual priorities, including victims funding. This will require difficult and carefully considered decisions to balance priorities within the Ministry of Justice.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help ensure that rape support charities receive adequate funding.

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

This Government inherited a criminal justice system under immense pressure, and a black hole in the nation’s finances.  We have made difficult decisions to ensure we can deliver the justice victims deserve.

This Government has protected the smallest businesses and charities by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning that 43% of employers will pay no National Insurance Contributions at all.

I have protected dedicated VAWG victims spending in the department this year to ensure help is available to survivors of these awful crimes. This includes our ringfenced domestic abuse and sexual violence funding to all 42 Police and Crime Commissioners and our Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund, which reaches over 60 specialist rape victim support organisations. Grant recipients are best placed to understand their local communities and shape support to meet the need of victims in their area.

To stay abreast of demand volumes and service user needs, we regularly monitor these grants, using management information to inform policy development and commissioning.

Now that the department has its Spending Review settlement, we are in the process of allocating this budget to individual priorities, including victims funding. This will require difficult and carefully considered decisions to balance priorities within the Ministry of Justice.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on providing support to victims of rape and sexual violence through the court system in the North East.

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

Ministers at the Ministry of Justice engage regularly with stakeholders across the criminal justice system and victim support sector organisations across the country and in all regions. I recently held a roundtable at the Angel Centre (a Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Newcastle) to meet with and learn from local services supporting victims of sexual violence.

This Government is committed to ensuring that victims are supported throughout their engagement with the criminal justice system, regardless of where they live. Across the country, every Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) area now has at least two dedicated Victim Liaison Officers in its rape and serious sexual offences unit. Pre-trial meetings are offered to all adult victims of these crimes, and the CPS have also delivered trauma-informed training to staff as part of their Victims’ Programme. The Ministry of Justice-funded Witness Service also provides on-the-day emotional and practical support to victims who are witnesses.

This year we have protected dedicated Ministry of Justice Violence Against Women and Girls victims spending, maintaining 2024-25 funding levels for ringfenced sexual violence and domestic abuse support services in every Police and Crime Commissioner area. This also includes the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund, which provides funding to over 60 specialist support organisations, including in the North East.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether protocols are in place to ensure that victims of crimes are contacted if the perpetrator is mistakenly released from prison.

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

The HMPPS Victim Contact Scheme is a service for the victims of offenders who are convicted of a specified violent, sexual or terrorism offence and are sentenced to twelve months’ or more imprisonment. Victims who decide to receive the service are allocated a Victim Liaison Officer who will keep the victim updated on key stages throughout the sentence, including if the offender is released from prison in error and when the offender is returned to custody. In emergency situations, the Police may contact the victim directly.

Through the Victim and Courts Bill, we will be updating the legislative framework that establishes the Victim Contact Scheme to bring victims currently served by different post-conviction communication schemes into the Victim Contact Scheme and provide a new route for other victims to request information via a dedicated helpline.

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Found: 7 November 2025 from Jake Richards MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, Ministry of Justice

Found: the proportion of cases concluded within the 26-week timeframe has increased from 17% to 35%.1 1 MoJ

Found: They will also work with the Ministry of Justice to consider how the disclosure regime in the CPIA

Found: How are you working with the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health to understand the impact

Found: High‑need cohort and cross‑government action 5.8 Create a pooled fund across DfE, DHSC or NHSE and MoJ

Found: Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice relating to the transcript of the Committee

Found: Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice relating to the transcript of the Committee

Found: PIB) was the result of substantial cross-government working, between departments such as the Ministry of Justice

Found: Amendment) Regulations 2025 Instruments not reported 3 Annex 3 Appendix 1: Memorandum from the Ministry of Justice

Found: less than two years, of which three moves were internal between government departments (CO, DCMS, MoJ

Found: inquiry into the failed cavity wall insulation programmes to examine accountability across DESNZ, MoJ

Found: It was also agreed that the meeting note would be reviewed by officials from the Ministry of Justice

Found: We are held to a high standard by the MOJ on that, and I am happy to say that we have all four stars

Found: the solicitor profession have to offer, and to continue to work with the Government and the Ministry of Justice

Found: and Legal Services to the Chair, Justice and Home Affairs Committee regarding amendments to Ministry of Justice

Found: your work is, in a sense, being hampered by the policies being led by the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice

Found: I was working in the cc, which became the Ministry of Justice.

Found: So there is a problem with the Home Office but, to be perfectly honest, the Ministry of Justice is even

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether his Department has (a) implemented a domestic abuse policy for staff and (b) trained line managers to effectively respond to staff who are experiencing domestic abuse.

Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)

The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly, all staff that join, do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other Government bodies, principally the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government, who remain the employers.

The Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government provide extensive domestic abuse guidance and support for employees and their managers.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of victims of grooming gangs who will have convictions for prostitution expunged.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office is setting up a disregards scheme for convictions and cautions issued to under 18s for persistently loitering or soliciting in a street or public place for the purpose of prostitution, contrary to Section 1 of The Street Offences Act 1959.

A preliminary search of centrally held digital records suggests that 352 individuals have been cautioned or convicted for this offence while under 18, since 1995. We are legislating in the Crime and Policing Bill to disregard and pardon these convictions and cautions.

However, it is not possible to calculate the proportion of the 352 individuals who were the victim of group based child sexual exploitation.

We are aware that victims of group based child sexual exploitation may have been convicted for other offences; the Ministry of Justice is working with the Criminal Cases Review Commission to ensure it is properly resourced to review the applications of victims of Child Sexual Exploitation who believe they were unjustly convicted when their position as a victim was not properly understood.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2025, to Question 86664, on Ministers: Official Cars, how much has been invoiced to each department in each month since July 2024; and how much has been paid through an internal transfer for the Cabinet Office in each month since July 2024.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Government Car Service (GCS) transferred to the Cabinet Office from the Department of Transport, as a result of a machinery of government change, on 1st April 2025. Therefore all invoicing data prior to that date remains with the Department for Transport.

Invoicing data post April 2025 is included below. A significant proportion of invoicing activity was paused during the transition period which resulted in two invoicing runs for April 2025 with costs normalising in subsequent months.

Charges to the Cabinet Office include services provided to No10, the Leader of the Opposition, the Leaders of the House of Commons and House of Lords, and the Cabinet Secretary, in addition to core Cabinet Office ministers.

The figures provided represent total charges to departments, inclusive of all associated costs such as Transport for London (TfL) congestion charge, as well as travel and subsistence claims submitted by drivers in the delivery of the service.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of specialist residential drug and alcohol treatment in (a) England and (b) the North East.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Local authorities are responsible for assessing local need for alcohol and drug prevention and treatment in their area, including residential treatment, and commissioning services to meet these needs. The Department set an ambition that 2% of the drug and alcohol treatment population should be accessing residential treatment. We remain committed to this ambition and continue to work with the sector to achieve this.

Earlier this year, the Department launched the self-assessment toolkit to help local areas to improve the residential drug and alcohol treatment that they commission, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/residential-drug-and-alcohol-treatment-self-assessment-toolkit

The Department facilitates a residential treatment provider forum and engages in annual planning for local authorities and partners, including target-setting for residential episodes. The Department also maintains regular engagement with the English Substance Use Commissioners Group and holds joint meetings with the Ministry of Justice to explore improved pathways from the criminal justice system into residential treatment.

In addition to the Public Health Grant, in 2025/26 the Government is providing the North East with £29,432,782 in further targeted grants to improve drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services. This additional funding has provided opportunity for local authorities in the North East to enhance access to out of area facilities and bolster community models of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery support, including quasi residential rehabilitation and dayhab models.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether her Department has (a) implemented a domestic abuse policy for staff and (b) trained line managers to effectively respond to staff who are experiencing domestic abuse.

Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) provides employment services, including policies, to staff and line managers in my department.

Staff and line managers in my Department can access domestic abuse guidance and support which provides important information on how to best respond to anyone experiencing or who is a survivor of domestic abuse.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many people have been prosecuted for the illegal sale of fireworks each year for the past five years.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

This information is not held by the Department of Business and Trade. Local Council Trading Standards prosecute cases of illegal fireworks sale. Prosecutions for illegal sales of fireworks are made under the Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015 (UK-wide extent) and the Fireworks Act 2003 (GB-wide extent). The Ministry of Justice collects and publishes information from Courts and Sentencing data for England and Wales in the Criminal Justice System Statistics Quarterly publications.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of the initial asylum decisions resulting in refusal have been the subject of an appeal to the First-tier Tribunal between October 2024 and March 2025; and how many of those (a) were successful, (b) were unsuccessful and (c) are outstanding.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum appeals lodged, and determined by outcome, are published in tables Asy_D06 and Asy_D07, respectively, of the asylum detailed datasets. The latest data relates to the year ending March 2023. Appeals data for April 2023 onwards is not available due to ongoing work on a new case working system. Updated data will be included in a future edition of the Immigration system statistics release.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on asylum appeals in the ‘Tribunal Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the open caseload for appeals relating to asylum, protection and revocation of protection is published in table FIA_4. The latest data relates to as at March 2025.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to review data-sharing systems between the Prison Service and immigration enforcement.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

We keep all data sharing systems and agreements between the Home Office and MoJ under review. We will be mindful of any recommendations or proposals for improvement that might flow from Dame Lynne Owens' review into the incident at Chelmsford and any wider learning on releases in error.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 85743 on Infected Blood Inquiry, how much remuneration the Chair of the Infected Blood Inquiry receives for his work on that inquiry each year.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Chair of the Infected Blood Inquiry has been paid at the level of a High Court judge, except that he has declined any pension as a result of his work for the Inquiry. The Ministry of Justice publishes the judicial salaries each year. The Chair of the Infected Blood Inquiry is currently receiving one tenth of this salary in recompense for his work.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will make an assessment of the ability of police and courts to detect and prosecute offences relating to coercion as set out in the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

As is standard when introducing a new offence, the Ministry of Justice will engage with criminal justice agencies, including the police, CPS, and judiciary, before commencement. These bodies will develop guidance and training through their respective organisations, such as the College of Policing and the Judicial College, to ensure officers and practitioners have the necessary powers, knowledge, and skills to detect and prosecute offences under the Bill.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of criminal records amassed in the course of exploitation and abuse on victims of child (a) sexual exploitation and (b) criminal exploitation.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We recognise that criminal records can impact an individual’s opportunity to find work and rebuild their lives, and are committed to helping those with convictions to overcome these barriers and reintegrate into society.

Regarding victims of child sexual exploitation, the Ministry of Justice is working with the Criminal Cases Review Commission to ensure it is properly resourced to review the applications of victims of Child Sexual Exploitation who believe they were unjustly convicted when their position as a victim was not properly understood.   We are also legislating in the Crime and Policing Bill to disregard cautions and convictions issued to individuals under the age of 18 for the on-street prostitution offence.

We also know that children can be exploited into criminal activity and we are introducing a new offence of criminal exploitation of children in the Crime and Policing Bill to go after the gangs who are luring young people into violence and crime. As part of this legislation, we are also delivering new civil preventative orders to disrupt and prevent child criminal exploitation from occurring or re-occurring. Where a victim of CCE also meets the definition of a victim of modern slavery, they may have access to the statutory defence against prosecution contained in section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 July 2025 to Question 67377, which (a) Departments and (b) civil servants are represented at the (i) the Cross-Whitehall Working Group and (ii) the Cross-Whitehall Deputy Director Shadow Board.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The quarterly Cross-Whitehall Working Group on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) is jointly chaired by the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the Ministry of Defence (MOD), with the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice, Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive also represented. The Cross-Whitehall Deputy Director Shadow Board includes senior officials from the same UK Government departments and devolved administrations.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on (a) enforcement and (b) prosecution rates by police force following reports from members of the public of road traffic offences captured on (i) dashcams and (ii) other video evidence.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not hold the requested information.

The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on police enforcement of road traffic offences as a part of the annual ‘Police powers and procedures: Roads policing’ statistical release. These statistics include information on the number of offences by outcome, including Fixed Penalty Notice, driver retraining and referral to court action.

The latest publication, covering 2023, can be found on GOV.UK at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-roads-policing-to-december-2023

As part of these statistics, the Home Office publishes breakdowns on the number of camera-detected offences. However, these figures relate to offences captured by official traffic enforcement cameras and do not include footage submitted by members of the public via dashcams or other private video recording devices.

Information on the prosecution outcome of offences referred to court action by the police is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department plans to review the use of (a) confidentiality clauses and (b) NDAs in consumer redress agreements involving alleged (i) harm or (ii) injury to animals.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

DBT does not currently have any plans to review consumer redress agreements involving alleged harm or injury to animals.

The MoJ recently introduced an amendment to the Victims and Courts Bill which ensures that confidentiality clauses or NDAs used in any context cannot be legally enforced to the extent that they purport to prevent victims and direct witnesses of crime (including those who reasonably believe they fall into these categories), from making allegations of, or disclosing information relating to, relevant criminal conduct. This could include any animal cruelty which constitutes criminal behaviour.

Earlier this year, DBT also announced reform in the Employment Rights Bill to address the misuse of NDAs in cases of relevant harassment and discrimination. The government will be consulting on this reform in due course.

Found: Schedule 1 would provide the list of 12 Ministry of Justice, ‘Jade’s law to be introduced to better

Found: We interviewed officials from the Court Funds Office (part of the Ministry of Justice), HM Revenue &

Found: Criminalisation of Looked-after children and Care leavers was published in 2018 by the Home Office, Ministry of Justice

Found: detained and readily removable, and prioritise those appeals in the public interest. 16 Ministry of Justice

Found: We’ve worked closely with the Ministry of Justice and HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) throughout

Found: (MoJ) has established the Girls in Youth Justice Advisory Board (GYJAB) The Panel’s Terms of

Found: The Ministry of Justice of Armenia is a government agency which possesses executive authority and executes

Found: Synergy Programme (working with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Home Office (HO) and Ministry of Justice

Found: Cover Cover page Ministry of Justice Statistical Bulletin His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service

Found: Prison and Probation Service Workforce Statistics Bulletin England and Wales 30 September 2025 Ministry of Justice

Found: The Great Place to Work for Veterans scheme was introduced to all vacancies in MoJ from 1st April 2022

Found: national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics © Crown Copyright Produced by the Ministry of Justice

Found: national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics © Crown Copyright Produced by the Ministry of Justice

Found: Difference at establishment level for Band 3-5 Prison Officers The bulletin is released by the Ministry of Justice

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Found: Peterborough NHS Trust, North West London and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust, Flora and Fauna, Ministry of Justice

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Found: , Communities & Local Government PINS 30/09/2025 Steady State Service Provision People Unit MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

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Found: , Communities & Local Government PINS 30/09/2025 Steady State Service Provision People Unit MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

Found: Accompanying files • None Contact Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice

Found: Although funded by the Ministry of Justice ( “MOJ”), it is an arms- length body with important judicial

Found: In 2019, the Ministry of Justice established a settlement scheme for victims and survivors of physical

Found: The Board is bringing together the most senior officials within the Ministry of Justice and first met

Found: Prison leavers Context In 2024, 57,277 people left prison in England and Wales.48 48 Ministry of Justice

Found: “We strongly support the appointment of a strategic lead at the Ministry of Justice to focus on improving

Found: effectiveness of the work of probation, and youth offending services across England and Wales to Ministry of Justice

Found: effectiveness of the work of probation, and youth offending services across England and Wales to Ministry of Justice

Found: (MoJ) has established the Girls in Youth Justice Advisory Board (GYJAB) The Panel’s Terms of

Found: We’ve worked closely with the Ministry of Justice and HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) throughout

Found: European Convention on Human Rights: Fourth supplementary memorandum by the Home Office and Ministry of Justice

Found: European Convention on Human Rights: Fourth supplementary memorandum by the Home Office and Ministry of Justice

Found: European Convention on Human Rights: Fourth supplementary memorandum by the Home Office and Ministry of Justice

Found: European Convention on Human Rights: Fourth supplementary memorandum by the Home Office and Ministry of Justice

Found: European Convention on Human Rights: Fourth supplementary memorandum by the Home Office and Ministry of Justice

Found: loss in Scotland and the inflation measures that are most applicable. 2.17 We note that the Ministry of Justice

Found: people from all parts of the ecosystem, including the Scottish Government, Barclays, the UK Ministry of Justice

Found: and • Allowing initiatives such as that being developed in England and Wales where the Ministry of Justice

Found: prevalent; and • Allowing initiatives such as that being developed in England and Wales where the Ministry of Justice

Found: and removing the 7 day reflection period and the need for a second appointment. 250 Federal Ministry of Justice

Found: It is hosted by LawtechUK and supported by the UK Government's Ministry of Justice.