Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of continued IPP incarceration on the mental health of prisoners; and what steps he is taking to ensure appropriate psychological support is available to those affected.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
It is right that Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences were abolished. We are committed to working at pace to support the progression of all those serving the IPP sentence, but not in a way that undermines public protection.
The Government recognises that, for any prisoner serving an indeterminate sentence, the lack of certainty over a release date may adversely affect their mental health, as they are unable to plan for the future.
We are committed to improving outcomes for offenders with mental health needs, including IPP prisoners, and recognise the importance of providing the right interventions at the right time. All people in prison have access to integrated mental health services commissioned by NHS England. This includes access to a range of treatments and interventions within prison as set out in the national service specification for mental health care in prisons.
If a prisoner has a severe mental health need to an extent that detention under the Mental Health Act 1983 may be appropriate, they will be referred and assessed by qualified clinicians to determine whether a transfer to a mental health hospital is warranted.
The refreshed IPP Action Plan, published on 17 July 2025, commits HM Prison and Probation Service to target support towards those who most need it and to further understanding the individual needs of those serving the IPP sentence.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff by headcount are employed by HM Prison and Probation Service to work on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI); at what grades they are employed; and how many of these are standalone EDI roles.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Our workforce data does not identify what proportion of each employee’s role involves working on equality, diversity and inclusion. It is therefore not possible to provide the requested information without incurring disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made in improving the effectiveness of body scanners in monitoring the flow of (a) drugs, (b) weapons and (c) other contraband into prisons.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice is committed to taking every possible measure to strengthen prison security. Every prison in the closed adult male estate is equipped with a body scanner. They are used to prevent illicit drugs, mobile phones and other contraband from entering prisons.
As of March 2024, over 53,000 positive indications had been recorded by our X-ray body scanners. This demonstrates the clear impact they are having.
A full evaluation of the Security Investment Programme was undertaken. The findings of the evaluation have been published and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/security-investment-programme-evaluation.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to review sentencing guidelines or judicial training for the sentencing of repeat knife carriers.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Knife crime has destroyed far too many lives. That is why, as part of the Safer Streets mission, we are working to halve knife crime within a decade. To date, we have taken action to ban zombie knives, and the ban on ninja swords came into force on 1 August 2025 – it is now illegal to sell or own these weapons. We have also implemented “Ronan’s Law”, a range of measures which will include stricter rules for online sellers of knives.
The maximum penalty for carrying a knife or threatening with an offensive weapon is 4 years’ imprisonment. In recognition of the seriousness of offences related to knives, Parliament has provided for minimum custodial sentences for repeat knife possession and offences that involve threatening with a weapon. Where someone is physically harmed by a knife or offensive weapon, there are a range of offences that they may be charged with, such as causing grievous bodily harm. These can result in lengthy sentences, up to life imprisonment.
Sentencing guidelines are produced by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales. In 2018, the Council issued a package of guidelines on offences involving possession of and threatening with bladed articles and offensive weapons. These are available on its website at: https://sentencingcouncil.org.uk/guidelines/crown-court/. The Council published an evaluation last year which found that the package of guidelines are working as intended.
To preserve judicial independence, statutory responsibility for judicial training is held by the Lady Chief Justice, Senior President of Tribunals and Chief Coroner. The responsibilities are fulfilled by the Judicial College. The training programme is published online in an annual prospectus.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to allow a newborn child's father to have automatic parental rights over his child in light of the mother’s death during childbirth.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has no plans to bring forward legislation to grant automatic parental responsibility to a father in unfortunate circumstances where the mother dies during childbirth.
In England and Wales, a father only acquires parental responsibility automatically if he is married to, or in a civil partnership with the mother at any point between the conception or the birth of the child, or he subsequently marries or enters a civil partnership with the mother. In other cases, parental responsibility may be obtained through formal agreement with the mother, being named on the birth certificate, or a court order. The Government recognises that in cases where the mother dies during childbirth, the father, if not married to the mother at the time of the birth, may be unable to acquire parental responsibility through the usual mechanisms. In such cases, the family courts retain discretion to grant parental responsibility based on the child’s welfare and the circumstances of the case.
The Government is aware of the calls to broaden the parental responsibility measure in the Victims and Courts Bill to include instances where an individual has been convicted of rape and a child has been conceived as a result of that offence. We are carefully considering these suggestions as the Bill progresses through Parliament.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to remove parental rights from convicted rapists to children conceived through rape.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has no plans to bring forward legislation to grant automatic parental responsibility to a father in unfortunate circumstances where the mother dies during childbirth.
In England and Wales, a father only acquires parental responsibility automatically if he is married to, or in a civil partnership with the mother at any point between the conception or the birth of the child, or he subsequently marries or enters a civil partnership with the mother. In other cases, parental responsibility may be obtained through formal agreement with the mother, being named on the birth certificate, or a court order. The Government recognises that in cases where the mother dies during childbirth, the father, if not married to the mother at the time of the birth, may be unable to acquire parental responsibility through the usual mechanisms. In such cases, the family courts retain discretion to grant parental responsibility based on the child’s welfare and the circumstances of the case.
The Government is aware of the calls to broaden the parental responsibility measure in the Victims and Courts Bill to include instances where an individual has been convicted of rape and a child has been conceived as a result of that offence. We are carefully considering these suggestions as the Bill progresses through Parliament.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to reform the tribunal process to make it more cost-effective for small businesses seeking redress for late payments.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Claims for late payment are generally made as specified money claims to the County Court and not to a specific tribunal.
We are taking multiple steps to drive improvements and reduce delays in the County Court which will result in better experience including for small businesses.
We are investing in the Court’s digital infrastructure. Our new digital services (such as Online Civil Money Claims) are supporting swifter access to justice with reduced processing times, and more engagement with the justice system as evidenced by higher levels of defended claims and admissions for cases. Cases which can progress on digital services consistently progress three times quicker from the time the claim is issued to the generation of a Standard Directions Order.
The introduction of mandatory mediation for money claims under £10,000 via the HM Courts & Tribunals Service Small Claims Mediation Service has enabled a larger number of claims to be settled earlier, at lower cost and without requiring a final judicial hearing.
Additionally, the extension of Fixed Recoverable Costs to most civil claims under £100,000 is delivering access to justice at proportionate cost by making it clear at the start of proceedings the adverse costs that parties are liable to pay. This allows small businesses in litigation to make an informed choice about whether and how to proceed.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that appeals for education, health and care plans for SEND children reaching tribunal are processed swiftly.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We acknowledge that more needs to be done to reduce the time parents and young people have to wait to have their appeals heard and determined in the First-tier Tribunal (SEND). We are continuing to invest in the recruitment of up to 1,000 judges and tribunal members across all jurisdictions this year, including specific recruitment for the FTT, including SEND, which will increase judicial capacity.
Alongside this, we are supporting the Tribunal Procedure Committee’s consultation on allowing suitable, lower complexity cases to be determined on the papers—subject to judicial discretion and the option to opt-out—so that hearing time is reserved for the most complex matters. A judicial alternative dispute resolution pilot is also helping to resolve appropriate disputes earlier.
The pressures facing the Tribunal are indicative of wider pressures in the SEND system. We are working with the Department for Education in the longer term to reduce the demands on the tribunal so that the outstanding caseload, and the time taken for the tribunal to determine appeals, is reduced.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been for using (i) ghost and (ii) cloned licence plates in each of the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions and convictions for a wide range of offences, including offences relating to motor vehicle licence, trade licence, registration mark, trade plate and registration book offences (except forgery and deception offences) (MOT) in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK.
However, it is not possible to identify specifically offences relating to ghost or clone licensing. This information may be held in court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 9 September 2025 to Question 74306 on Ministry of Justice: Social Media, how much his Department has spent on promotion through social media influencers since July 2024 broken down by influencer.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice uses social media, influencers and online advertising to support the department in delivering its key priorities. These priorities include our recruitment campaigns for prison officers, probation officers and magistrates which help to ensure our front-line services are safely resourced and able to deliver swift access to justice as well as our campaigns that support victims of crime access the support they need. Commercial sensitivities exist around aspects of this spend which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.