Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of Gender Recognition Certificate applications are rejected by Gender Recognition Panels due to the applicant being a convicted sex offender.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested is not held.
This is because applicants are not required to provide details of any criminal convictions as part of the Gender Recognition Certificate application process.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of Gender Recognition Certificate applications are rejected by Gender Recognition Panels due to concerns around safety and risk.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested is not held.
This is because applicants are not required to provide details of any criminal convictions as part of the Gender Recognition Certificate application process.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of Gender Recognition Certificate applications are rejected by Gender Recognition Panels.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Between April - September 2025, the latest period for which statistics are published, 709 Gender Recognition Certificates applications were approved, with 42 (6%) refused.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many convictions of sexual assault in which the perpetrator was a transgender woman born as a biological male have been recorded in each of the past five years.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions and convictions for a wide range of offences including rape and sexual assault in England and Wales within the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
Data held centrally contains the sex of the offender where known but does not record if the offender was a transgender woman born as a biological male.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many convictions of rape in which the perpetrator was a transgender woman born as a biological male have been recorded in each of the past five years.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions and convictions for a wide range of offences including rape and sexual assault in England and Wales within the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
Data held centrally contains the sex of the offender where known but does not record if the offender was a transgender woman born as a biological male.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government under what circumstances a convicted sex offender can obtain a gender recognition certificate while serving a prison sentence for sexual offences.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Applications for a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) are considered by the Gender Recognition Panel, which is a judicial tribunal. There are stringent criteria and a high threshold of evidence required for obtaining a GRC and not everyone who applies is granted one.
The allocation of transgender prisoners is based on a careful assessment of risk. Regardless of whether an individual holds a Gender Recognition Certificate, transgender women with birth genitalia and/or any history of violent or sexual offending cannot be placed in the general women's estate except in exceptional circumstances, where an exemption has been granted by Ministers. No transgender women have received such an exemption under this Government.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many male-born sex offenders have been granted gender recognition certificates in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government which recommendations of the Domestic Homicide Sentencing Review, published in March 2023, have been taken forward; and which recommendations have not been taken forward; and why.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Domestic Homicide Sentencing Review made 17 recommendations for reform. Of these, eight fall within the remit of the Ministry of Justice, five of which were accepted. The previous Government introduced a statutory aggravating factor for murders involving ‘overkill’, and a statutory aggravating factor and a statutory mitigating factor for murder in relation to controlling or coercive behaviour, which came into force in February 2024. This Government introduced statutory aggravating factors for murders connected with the end of a relationship, and for those involving strangulation, which came into force in October 2025.
The Ministry of Justice rejected three recommendations, including the recommendation to disapply the 25-year starting point in domestic murder cases. Implementing this recommendation would lead to significant inconsistency between domestic and non-domestic murders where a weapon has been taken to the scene. The Government rejected the Review’s recommendation to exclude sexual infidelity as mitigation and to exclude the use of a weapon as aggravation in domestic murder cases because the framework currently in place already enables judges to consider and account for the varied facts of each case.
Two of the recommendations fall within the remit of other Government Departments. The review recommended establishing a system for collecting data relevant to domestic homicides. The Home Office, in partnership with the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, created a central library for all Domestic Homicide Reviews. The recommendation to create mandatory training for lawyers and judges on coercive control is not within Government’s remit, so the previous Government wrote to the judiciary and regulatory bodies for solicitors and barristers to offer support with any potential review of training. The CPS already provides a comprehensive training package on domestic abuse and coercive or controlling behaviour.
The remaining seven recommendations fall under the remit of the independent Sentencing Council. In April 2024, following consultation, the Sentencing Council made changes to the manslaughter sentencing guidelines relating to strangulation and coercive control.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the disparity of sentencing between domestic and street homicides, in particular with regard to minimum sentencing terms.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We recognise that there are significant concerns regarding the sentencing framework in relation to domestic murders and the importance of ensuring that sentencing in these cases delivers justice for victims and their families. We have taken action by implementing further recommendations made by Clare Wade KC in the Domestic Homicide Sentencing Review. Legislation introducing statutory aggravating factors for murders involving strangulation and those connected with the end of a relationship came into force in October 2025. While it is for the judge to determine the appropriate weight to be given to the aggravating factors in each case, we expect that these measures, along with Clare Wade KC’s recommendations that have already been implemented, will have a significant impact on the custodial terms given to the perpetrators in these cases.
We know that there is more to be done. That is why the Government has asked the Law Commission to undertake a wholesale review of homicide law and sentencing, which will completely reconsider and make recommendations for a new sentencing framework for murder. It is important the Law Commission is able to consider all issues relating to homicide law and sentencing holistically. The Law Commission closed a call for evidence on 31 October 2025. They are reviewing the responses ahead of a public consultation due to be published in 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he expects to publish the Government's response to the Domestic Homicide Sentencing Review.
Answered by Edward Argar
The government commissioned an independent expert, Clare Wade KC, to undertake a review of domestic homicide sentencing. The Terms of Reference stated that the review would be submitted to the Secretary of State for Justice by the end of 2021 and that we would then consider the review and its recommendations before determining whether further consultation is needed or publishing the report.
The independent reviewer required more time than anticipated to complete the review and it was delivered to the department in June 2022. The Review examines a number of important and complex issues. Therefore prior to publication of the review and response, the government is carefully considering its recommendations and next steps.
This government is fully committed to ensuring that the sentencing framework responds appropriately to cases of domestic homicide and that sentences reflect the severity of these crimes.