Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people absconded while on bail awaiting trial in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of people sentenced for failing to surrender to bail under section 6 of the Bail Act 1976 at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been prosecuted for driving with excessively noisy exhausts in the last ten years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions for a wide range of offences including motoring offences at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
However, the data do not identify cases as a result of illegally tinted windows, excessively bright lights, or excessively noisy exhausts.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been prosecuted for driving with illegal tinted windows in the last ten years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions for a wide range of offences including motoring offences at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
However, the data do not identify cases as a result of illegally tinted windows, excessively bright lights, or excessively noisy exhausts.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been prosecuted for driving with excessively bright lights in the last ten years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions for a wide range of offences including motoring offences at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
However, the data do not identify cases as a result of illegally tinted windows, excessively bright lights, or excessively noisy exhausts.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of people who are eligible for automatic release from prison after serving 50 per cent of their sentence were convicted of (a) actual bodily harm and (b) grievous bodily harm.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Many offenders who commit these types of offences are subject to two-thirds release provisions, and others are subject to 50% depending on their specific circumstances and sentencing outcomes. Establishing who is released at exactly 50% would require examination of individual records and therefore comes at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of people who are eligible for automatic release from prison after serving 50 per cent of their sentence were convicted of rape.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Many offenders who commit these types of offences are subject to two-thirds release provisions, and others are subject to 50% depending on their specific circumstances and sentencing outcomes. Establishing who is released at exactly 50% would require examination of individual records and therefore comes at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will take steps to introduce mandatory prison sentences for people convicted of drug driving offences in cases where no accident has occurred.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The safety of our roads is an absolute priority for this Government. That is why the Department for Transport is committed to delivering a new Road Safety Strategy – the first in over a decade. They will set out next steps on this in due course.
While independent judges decide sentences, we are committed to making sure the courts have the sentencing powers to ensure punishments fit the severity of the crime.
Provisions in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (the Act) increased the maximum penalty from 14 years’ imprisonment to life for the offences of causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs, and causing death by dangerous driving.
We continue to work alongside the Department for Transport to ensure sentencing law for driving offences is appropriate.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will set a timeline for the introduction of mandatory chemical suppressants for sex offenders.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As set out by the Lord Chancellor’s oral statement on 22 May 2025, it is vital that people convicted of sexual offences are robustly managed to ensure the public are protected to the fullest degree.
We are committed to increasing the use of medication to manage problematic sexual arousal for sex offenders by expanding the existing feasibility pilot in the Southwest to two additional regions, which will see the service extend from four to 20 prisons as a first step.
The Government wants to learn from the pilots and experience in other jurisdictions, as it takes policy in this area forward.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will publish a list of offences that are eligible for automatic release after serving 40% of a prison sentence.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The previous Government left the criminal justice system in an unconscionable state, with the prison system days from collapse. To prevent the risk of gridlock across the Criminal Justice System, 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’).
Certain offences have been excluded from the SDS40 change including sex offences irrespective of sentence length; serious violent offences with a sentence of four years or more; specified offences linked to domestic abuse irrespective of sentence length (including stalking, coercive or controlling behaviour and non-fatal strangulation); as well as offences concerning national security.
The legislation which covers eligibility for SDS40 is publicly available online, for example here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2024/844/schedule/made; and https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2024/1331/article/3/made.
Once released, offenders will be subject to the same set of strict licence conditions that would apply had they been released at a 50% automatic release point and will be liable to recall to prison if they do not comply with these conditions or are judged to be a risk to public safety.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make it his policy to establish an independent body to administer compensation following miscarriages of justice.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Under the statutory scheme set out in section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the Secretary of State for Justice is responsible for considering applications for compensation in cases of miscarriages of justice in England and Wales, subject to specific criteria. Where an individual meets the criteria, an Independent Assessor has discretion in determining the amount awarded, in accordance with the statute. Given this established process, as agreed by Parliament, there are currently no plans to create an independent body to administer compensation following miscarriages of justice.