Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the representatives from (1) overseas governments, and (2) non-governmental organisations, that the Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition Working Group has met during the course of its research.

Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley

As noted in the Terms of Reference, the advice provided to government by the independent Working Group will be private. Once the Government has had time to review the advice, it will consider its next steps.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) religious worker visas, and (2) minister of religion visas, have been issued to Iranians since March 2023; who those visas were issued to; and what plans they have, if any, to review that visa system.

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

The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas by visa type and nationality in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’ on GOV.UK. Data on outcomes of visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the detailed entry clearance visas dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data is from January 2005 up to the end of March 2025.

Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’ on GOV.UK.

The data shows that 1 Religious Worker (RW) and 1 Minister Of Religion (MOR) visa have been issued since July 2024 with a total of 1 RW and 3 MOR visas issued since March 2023. For GDPR reasons, we cannot reveal the identity of the visa holders.

The Home Office keeps all immigration routes under review, including the T2 Minister of Religion and Temporary Work – Religious Worker routes.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) religious worker visas, and (2) minister of religion visas, have been issued to Iranians since July 2024; who those visas were issued to; and what plans they have, if any, to review that visa system.

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

The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas by visa type and nationality in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’ on GOV.UK. Data on outcomes of visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the detailed entry clearance visas dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data is from January 2005 up to the end of March 2025.

Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’ on GOV.UK.

The data shows that 1 Religious Worker (RW) and 1 Minister Of Religion (MOR) visa have been issued since July 2024 with a total of 1 RW and 3 MOR visas issued since March 2023. For GDPR reasons, we cannot reveal the identity of the visa holders.

The Home Office keeps all immigration routes under review, including the T2 Minister of Religion and Temporary Work – Religious Worker routes.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent high-volume offenders from reoffending, and whether they will consider introducing minimal sentencing provisions for reoffenders.

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

We know that prolific offenders represent nearly 10% of offenders but account for just over 50% of all sentences. That clearly cannot continue, which is why David Gauke was asked to look at this issue in the independent sentencing review, to ensure we have fewer crimes committed by prolific criminals.

Prolific offenders often have a complex set of needs, and to tackle the underlying causes of offending community sentences may also have rehabilitative requirements attached, including drug, alcohol and mental health difficulties. The Independent Sentencing Review made a clear recommendation to expand the use of Intensive Supervision Courts (ISCs) - we have acted on that and have published an Expression of Interest process to identify future areas, with plans to begin implementation within the next year. These courts impose orders with tough conditions, including regular judicial reviews and rehabilitative requirements, along with strict consequences for non-compliance to tackle the root causes of prolific offending. There is strong international evidence showing that these approaches can break the cycle of re-offending, and early results from the ISCs are promising.

Parliament has provided the courts with a broad range of sentencing powers to deal effectively and appropriately with offenders – including prolific offenders – and this includes discharges, fines, community sentences, suspended sentences, and custodial sentences.

Minimum sentences are rare in England and Wales, and are only provided in legislation for certain offences where there is a particular concern. It is the function of the court to decide the sentence in each case subject to the maximum that Parliament has provided, and any relevant Sentencing Guidelines published by the Sentencing Council. Sentencing must also be proportionate to the offence committed, taking into account all the circumstances of each case.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what information His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service holds on (1) the immigration status and (2) the nationalities of prison chaplains.

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

The immigration status of Prison Chaplains is not held internally by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). Immigration status is checked as part of the recruitment and vetting process, and all Prison Chaplains must hold valid right to work and meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules to be eligible for employment in HMPPS.

Table: Chaplaincy staff directly employed(1)(2) by HMPPS in public sector prisons(3), by Nationality(4), as of 30 June 2025.

Notes:

1. Religious provisions in prisons are also delivered by Chaplains engaged on a sessional basis and by unremunerated Chaplains. The number of non-directly employed Chaplains is not recorded centrally. The table contains information on the number of full time and part time Chaplains directly employed by HMPPS.

2. Unpaid staff, such as those on career breaks and on long term sick or unpaid maternity / adoption leave, are excluded from the data.

3. Only includes staff who are based in public sector prisons.

4. Most staff who joined the Ministry of Justice after 2017 have their nationality recorded but this information is missing from the centralised HR database for the majority of staff who joined before this date. If the nationality composition is different for newer recruits, then the above table might not be representative of all chaplains in post.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 4 July 2019 (HL16560), what is the number of prison chaplains for each recognised faith or belief.

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

The statutory duties of a prison chaplain are set out in the Prison Act 1952.

We recognise and respect the right of prisoners to register and practice their faith or belief while in custody. Chaplaincy plays a critical and unique role in the work of prisons and the life of prisoners. It not only provides advice on faith/belief matters, but also offers pastoral care, in support of HM Prison and Probation Service’s commitment to decency, safety and rehabilitation. Chaplains may work on an employed basis (either full-time or part-time), or be engaged on a contracted, sessional or voluntary basis.

The number of prison chaplains in prisons in England and Wales by faith or belief (as of 2 September 2025) is set out in the following table:

Data sources and quality:

The figures in the table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce reoffending among hyper-prolific offenders.

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

We know that prolific offenders represent nearly 10% of offenders but account for just over 50% of all sentences. That clearly cannot continue, which is why David Gauke was asked to look at this issue in the independent sentencing review, to ensure we have fewer crimes committed by prolific criminals.

Prolific offenders often have a complex set of needs, and to tackle the underlying causes of offending community sentences may also have rehabilitative requirements attached, including drug, alcohol and mental health difficulties. The Independent Sentencing Review made a clear recommendation to expand the use of Intensive Supervision Courts (ISCs) - we have acted on that and have published an Expression of Interest process to identify future areas, with plans to begin implementation within the next year. These courts impose orders with tough conditions, including regular judicial reviews and rehabilitative requirements, along with strict consequences for non-compliance to tackle the root causes of prolific offending. There is strong international evidence showing that these approaches can break the cycle of re-offending, and early results from the ISCs are promising.

Parliament has provided the courts with a broad range of sentencing powers to deal effectively and appropriately with offenders – including prolific offenders – and this includes discharges, fines, community sentences, suspended sentences, and custodial sentences.

Minimum sentences are rare in England and Wales, and are only provided in legislation for certain offences where there is a particular concern. It is the function of the court to decide the sentence in each case subject to the maximum that Parliament has provided, and any relevant Sentencing Guidelines published by the Sentencing Council. Sentencing must also be proportionate to the offence committed, taking into account all the circumstances of each case.