Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he is taking steps to ensure that private prosecutions do not contribute to existing court backlogs.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Private prosecutions are brought before the same courts in England and Wales as prosecutions commenced by criminal justice agencies. The prioritisation of cases in the criminal court caseload is a matter for the independent judiciary. The Ministry of Justice published a consultation “on the oversight and regulation of private prosecutors in the criminal justice system”, between 6 March and 8 May 2025 and will set out next steps shortly.
The Ministry of Justice holds management information on private prosecutions brought before the magistrates’ courts and this is shown in the table below. The definition of private prosecutions is detailed in the Department’s consultation referenced above.
Table One: Defendants dealt with in private prosecutions at the magistrates’ courts in England and Wales, annually 2014 – 2024
Year | Quarter | Defendants dealt with in private prosecutions | Proportion of total defendants dealt with at the magistrates’ courts |
2015 | All | 397,932 | 26% |
2016 | All | 400,647 | 27% |
2017 | All | 384,037 | 27% |
2018 | All | 401,767 | 29% |
2019 | All | 408,611 | 29% |
2020 | All | 180,057 | 18% |
2021 | All | 167,312 | 15% |
2022 | All | 235,042 | 19% |
2023 | All | 326,399 | 26% |
2024 | All | 352,276 | 27% |
Information on private prosecutions at the Crown Court cannot be produced robustly within costs.
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Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether OpenAI’s UK data storage facilities will be subject to routine government security audits.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Data centres were designated as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) in September 2024. In recognition of this, the government is expected to introduce proportionate regulatory oversight of this sector. The expected vehicle is the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill (CSRB). This will encapsulate OpenAI operations that use colocation services which are covered by the regulations in the CSRB.
DSIT is actively considering options to further improve the cyber security and resilience of Data Centres, as outlined in the Cyber Security and Resilience Policy Statement that was published on 1 April 2025. This would apply to most UK based data centres, including those used by OpenAI.
Specific questions in relation to contracts between OpenAI and relevant Government Departments are a matter for that Government Department. Departments must carry out cyber security assurance of their critical services through GovAssure, assessing key security outcomes against the National Cyber Security Centre's Cyber Assessment Framework. Government’s Public Procurement Note 014 directs all commercial suppliers holding government OFFICIAL, personnel or citizen data to have a minimum of NCSC’s Cyber Essentials certification.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the number of road traffic accidents caused by LED headlights affecting drivers' vision.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department does not hold data relating to the number of collisions caused by LED highlights specifically.
The Department’s published road casualty statistics include figures for the number of collisions where ‘vision affected by dazzling headlights’ was recorded as a contributory factor by a police officer attending the scene. In 2023, the latest year for which this data is available, there were 216 reported injury collisions with this factor assigned.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her speech at the Regional Investment Summit on 21 October 2025, what metrics her Department used to calculate the forecast annual £6 billion in savings for businesses arising from regulatory changes.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
A baseline for the administrative burden of regulation on businesses has been established at £22.4bn a year. Further to the Prime Minister’s commitment to cutting the administrative costs of regulation by 25% by the end of the Parliament, the Government’s target is to reduce the annual burden by £5.6bn.
Our methodology for calculating administrative burdens, and the distribution of the savings we have identified so far, is publicly available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish a breakdown of the £1.5 billion in savings identified to date under the Regulation Action Plan, including (a) sectoral distribution and (b) methodology used for calculating those savings.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
A baseline for the administrative burden of regulation on businesses has been established at £22.4bn a year. Further to the Prime Minister’s commitment to cutting the administrative costs of regulation by 25% by the end of the Parliament, the Government’s target is to reduce the annual burden by £5.6bn.
Our methodology for calculating administrative burdens, and the distribution of the savings we have identified so far, is publicly available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which towns will be eligible to bid for the UK Town of Culture; and what criteria will be used to define what a town is for the purposes of the competition.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The new UK Town of Culture competition aims to boost civic pride in our towns through recognising their cultural contributions to public life and actively supporting their continued development. Regarding eligibility criteria, we will advise small and medium size towns apply to this new competition, and refer larger towns to the UK City of Culture competition. This, however, will not be mandated and it will be for the places themselves to decide which competition they wish to apply for. We will provide further guidelines and support in due course to ensure all places can confidently engage with the competition.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on introducing a Tailored Energy Discount for manufacturers transitioning to electrification.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor has regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on a range of topics
The Chancellor recognises the importance of electrification for manufacturers and bringing down the cost of electricity is a key element of this government's mission to increase growth.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many private prosecutions were brought before magistrates’ courts and Crown Courts in each of the past ten years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Private prosecutions are brought before the same courts in England and Wales as prosecutions commenced by criminal justice agencies. The prioritisation of cases in the criminal court caseload is a matter for the independent judiciary. The Ministry of Justice published a consultation “on the oversight and regulation of private prosecutors in the criminal justice system”, between 6 March and 8 May 2025 and will set out next steps shortly.
The Ministry of Justice holds management information on private prosecutions brought before the magistrates’ courts and this is shown in the table below. The definition of private prosecutions is detailed in the Department’s consultation referenced above.
Table One: Defendants dealt with in private prosecutions at the magistrates’ courts in England and Wales, annually 2014 – 2024
Year | Quarter | Defendants dealt with in private prosecutions | Proportion of total defendants dealt with at the magistrates’ courts |
2015 | All | 397,932 | 26% |
2016 | All | 400,647 | 27% |
2017 | All | 384,037 | 27% |
2018 | All | 401,767 | 29% |
2019 | All | 408,611 | 29% |
2020 | All | 180,057 | 18% |
2021 | All | 167,312 | 15% |
2022 | All | 235,042 | 19% |
2023 | All | 326,399 | 26% |
2024 | All | 352,276 | 27% |
Information on private prosecutions at the Crown Court cannot be produced robustly within costs.
Notes |
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Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to increase the number of languages guidance on how to find an immigration centre is available in.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
To improve the accessibility of the visitor process for immigration removal centres, the Home Office has published translated versions of the guidance on gov.uk for visiting IRCs into 20 languages.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many whistleblowing reports relating to HM Courts & Tribunals Service's digital systems have been received in each of the past five years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There have been two whistleblowing reports over the last five years (reported 2024-25) that relate to HM Courts & Tribunals Service’s digital systems.