Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the number of prison officers who do not have English as a first language.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the total cost of (a) translation and (b) interpretation services in the court system for each of the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested can be found in the tables below.
Translation:
FY | Translation |
FY21-22 | £ 51,231.54 |
FY22-23 | £ 113,487.07 |
FY23-24 | £ 140,829.23 |
FY24-25 | £ 126,433.75 |
FY25-26 | £ 78,995.19 |
Total | £ 510,976.78 |
Interpreting:
FY | Interpreting |
FY21/22 | £ 22,225,742.45 |
FY22/23 | £ 27,362,968.49 |
FY23/24 | £ 31,022,423.14 |
FY24/25 | £ 32,390,150.55 |
FY25/26 | £ 20,517,115.66 |
Total | £ 133,518,400.29 |
The Ministry of Justice has a statutory duty to provide Language Services to enable access to justice for users whom English is not their first language. Language Service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers whilst maintaining high standards of service delivery.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the number of interpreters used in the court system in each of the last fives years; and what languages these interpreters were for.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice uses interpreting and translation services provided under contract.
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of making people convicted of murder ineligible for transfer to open prisons.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Public protection is the Government’s foremost priority when considering any progression within the custodial estate.
There are no current plans to restrict those convicted of murder from being held in open prison conditions, as long as it safe to do so.
A prisoner serving a mandatory life sentence for murder is eligible to be considered for a move to an open prison only if within three years of completing the minimum term (tariff) set by the Court at the point of sentence. Further, other than in exceptional circumstances, a life sentence prisoner will be approved for transfer to open conditions only in response to a recommendation made by the Parole Board, following a rigorous risk assessment. Even where the Parole Board makes such a recommendation, the Secretary of State is not bound by it and conducts his own risk assessment before approving the recommendation and so authorising transfer. If, following transfer, the prisoner shows signs of increased risk, s/he will be returned to closed conditions.
Following a long period of incarceration in closed conditions, a period in open conditions may provide important evidence for the purposes of the Parole Board’s determination of whether the prisoner may be safely released into the community on life licence. It also helps to acquaint the prisoner with life outside of prison, which might have changed substantially during the period of imprisonment. This Government remains committed to supporting the progression of prisoners serving life or other indeterminate sentences by supporting them to reduce their risk to a level where the Parole Board determines they may be safely released, subject to a robust risk management plan.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons prisoners can become eligible for parole before their earliest potential release date.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We have interpreted “eligible for parole” to mean that a prisoner must lawfully be referred to the Parole Board of England & Wales to assess whether they can be safely released into the community on licence.
The statutory framework on parole for both indeterminate and relevant determinate sentence cases is set out in the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 and the Criminal Justice Act 2003.
Prisoners are not eligible to be considered for parole until the end of the minimum custodial term which is their earliest possible release date. That date is known as the parole eligibility date (PED) or tariff expiry date (TED) depending on the type of sentence. The minimum custodial term is set by the courts when the sentence is imposed and cannot be changed by the Secretary of State.
There is no data on the number of prisoners who have successfully applied for parole before their minimum sentence has been served, because such releases are not permitted under legislation.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of making prisoners ineligible for parole until after they have served their minimum term in prison.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Prisoners may only be considered for release by the Parole Board once their minimum term has been served; this is known as the parole eligibility date (or tariff expiry date for indeterminate sentences). This statutory safeguard guarantees that no prisoner will be released prior to serving the minimum period of custody established by the court. Release before this point is not permitted under legislation other than the Secretary of State’s overriding power to release any prisoner early on compassionate grounds, which is rarely used.
The recent Independent Sentencing Review proposed a progression model that would allow certain offenders, namely those serving extended determinate sentences, to earn earlier consideration for release based on behaviour and rehabilitation. However, this recommendation was rejected because we do not think it would be right to allow prisoners who have been deemed dangerous by the courts to have their parole eligibility date brought forward.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people convicted of (a) murder, (b) other violent offences, and (c) sexual offences have successfully applied for parole in each of the last 3 years.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
I must clarify that prisoners serving parole eligible sentences do not apply for parole. By law, the Secretary of State for Justice must refer such prisoners to the independent Parole Board at the point of earliest eligibility in line with the sentence being served.
The table below sets out the number of release directions issued by the Parole Board for the period requested, broken down by offence group:
Offence Group | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
Sexual offences | 493 | 638 | 687 |
Murder | 308 | 379 | 344 |
Violent offences | 986 | 1,255 | 1,178 |
1. The figures in these tables 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.
In considering prisoners’ suitability for release, the independent Parole Board conducts a stringent assessment of risk based on a dossier of evidence. Public protection remains the number one priority and the Parole Board will only release prisoners where it is satisfied that any risks posed are able to be safely managed in the community under the supervision of the Probation Service.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have successfully applied for parole before their minimum sentence has been served.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We have interpreted “eligible for parole” to mean that a prisoner must lawfully be referred to the Parole Board of England & Wales to assess whether they can be safely released into the community on licence.
The statutory framework on parole for both indeterminate and relevant determinate sentence cases is set out in the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 and the Criminal Justice Act 2003.
Prisoners are not eligible to be considered for parole until the end of the minimum custodial term which is their earliest possible release date. That date is known as the parole eligibility date (PED) or tariff expiry date (TED) depending on the type of sentence. The minimum custodial term is set by the courts when the sentence is imposed and cannot be changed by the Secretary of State.
There is no data on the number of prisoners who have successfully applied for parole before their minimum sentence has been served, because such releases are not permitted under legislation.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how are victims' opinions taken into account in parole decisions for prisoners before they have served their minimum term.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Prisoners may not be considered for release by the Parole Board until they have served the minimum custodial term imposed by the court. Victims have important rights when it comes to prisoners who are eligible for release via direction from the Parole Board and there are established mechanisms to enable them to exercise those rights. Victims who are eligible under the Victim Contact Scheme are contacted in advance of the prisoner’s first parole review – and any subsequent reviews. This allows them to submit a Victim Personal Statement explaining the effect that the crime has had on them and their family, which may inform the Parole Board’s consideration of licence conditions, should release be directed. However, this engagement does not influence the timing of parole eligibility.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether their Department has run any (a) recruitment and (b) internship schemes aimed to increase the number of people from underrepresented groups in the workforce in the last year.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
As set out in the Civil Service People Plan 2024-2027, we are committed to ensuring we attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds to create a modern Civil Service, now and for the future.
Civil Service recruitment must follow the rules set out in legislation within the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaGA) 2010 which outlines the requirements to ensure that civil servants are recruited on merit, via fair and open competition.
Going Forward into Employment (GFiE) accredits life chance recruitment pathways across government. GFiE pathways recruit people from a wide range of backgrounds into the Civil Service, including people from low socio-economic backgrounds, prison leavers, veterans, carers and care leavers.
People recruited by GFiE develop skills, gain experience and build a career, contributing to the Opportunity Mission and to the wider economy.
Over the past year, the Ministry of Justice has delivered targeted recruitment initiatives to support underrepresented groups through our Life Chance Pathways. These schemes are:
Going Forward into Employment scheme and the Probation Employment Pathway, which provide opportunities for prison leavers and individuals with convictions;
Going Forward into Employment Care Leavers pathway, designed for care-experienced individuals; and
Advance into Justice programme, which supports service leavers and veterans.
These pathways provide tailored support and fair access to employment opportunities across the Department for individuals who face barriers to work.
In addition, the Ministry of Justice participates in the Civil Service Care Leaver Internship Scheme (‘Launch’), a cross-Government initiative led by the Department for Education. This scheme provides 18-month Administrative Officer (AO) or Executive Officer (EO) internships to help young care-experienced individuals gain valuable work experience and progress into employment.