Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential risk associated with self-swab rape kits being marketed to the public.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice is aware of self-swab kits being marketed to the public as a means of collecting DNA following sexual violence. These kits are in no way associated with any government department or criminal justice agency, or the Government’s wider VAWG mission. We recommend that victims of sexual violence attend a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), where trained clinicians can provide holistic care and forensic evidence can be collected in accordance with established standards.
We are also aware of concerns raised about the promotion of self-swab kits, including those outlined in position statements by the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine and Rape Crisis England & Wales. Support is available for victims of rape through SARCs and the 24-7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line. We are committed to tackling sexual violence and achieving the best outcome for all victims, in line with our goal to halve VAWG within a decade.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to take steps to raise awareness on the potential impact of self-swab rape kits being used to collect DNA on criminal prosecutions.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice is aware of self-swab kits being marketed to the public as a means of collecting DNA following sexual violence. These kits are in no way associated with any government department or criminal justice agency, or the Government’s wider VAWG mission. We recommend that victims of sexual violence attend a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), where trained clinicians can provide holistic care and forensic evidence can be collected in accordance with established standards.
We are also aware of concerns raised about the promotion of self-swab kits, including those outlined in position statements by the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine and Rape Crisis England & Wales. Support is available for victims of rape through SARCs and the 24-7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line. We are committed to tackling sexual violence and achieving the best outcome for all victims, in line with our goal to halve VAWG within a decade.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to take steps to prevent the closure of The Clink Restaurant in HMP Brixton.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We value the Clink’s longstanding partnership with His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service.
The current contract at HMP Brixton will terminate on 30 September 2026, and in line with public procurement regulations a tendering process for the new contract is now in progress. Recommissioning this service provides an opportunity to update the specification that reflects the changing needs of the prison population at Brixton since the original contract was agreed over a decade ago.
As the incumbent supplier, the Clink has direct experience of operating this service and will be able to draw on this in its bid to operate the new contract. It is important that all government opportunities are subject to fair and open competition to ensure value for money.
The specification for the new contract continues to require delivery of independently accredited training, with a defined programme of learning that prepares prisoners for work after release. Prisoners will be able to acquire accredited and non-accredited qualifications that are relevant to the current needs of the labour market.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will exempt full time students from paying Court of Protection Fees.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There are currently no fee exemptions in the courts and tribunals system based on student status. The Help with Fees scheme is available to ensure that court users who may be unable to afford a court fee are not denied access to justice. Full time students may be eligible for full or partial remission of fees in the Court of Protection if they have low savings and are in receipt of qualifying benefits, or are on a low income. Student loans are excluded from the calculation when determining eligibility for fee remission.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing legislation to remove parental rights from people convicted of rape in cases where a child has been conceived as a result of that offence.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has received a number of representations seeking to broaden the parental responsibility measure in the Victims and Courts Bill, including proposals to restrict the exercise of parental responsibility by individuals convicted of rape in cases where a child has been conceived as a result of that offence. We are carefully considering these suggestions as the Bill progresses through Parliament.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department plans to review its contract with The Big Word Interpreting Services Ltd for (a) service quality and (b) value for money; and how her Department monitors the performance of that contract.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice routinely reviews all its contracts to ensure service quality and value for money.
The contract with The Big Word for the provision of interpretation and translation services is subject to ongoing performance monitoring and governance. Service quality is assessed against a set of key performance indicators (KPIs), including interpreter attendance rates, fulfilment levels, and customer satisfaction.
Failure to meet KPIs is addressed via the application of service credits (a deduction to the invoiced amount calculated via a prescribed formula in the contract). Reasons for KPI failure are discussed with the supplier as part of routine contract management to ensure any barriers to performance are addressed, or a plan is put in place to mitigate.
Performance data is reviewed monthly, and The Big Word is required to provide regular management information and attend contract review meetings. Recent published data, available on GOV.UK, shows that The Big Word consistently meets the majority of contractual KPIs, with fulfilment rates above 95% in most categories.
The Ministry of Justice regularly and continually evaluates the service performance, identifying improvements that can be implemented within our existing contracts. The Department is also mindful of the need to ensure value for money for the taxpayer. We have recently introduced an increase to a two hour minimum face to face booking (from 1 hour), negotiated with our suppliers and implemented in October 2024 which has contributed to an improvement in service performance, with the most recent data, published on 25 March 2025, showing an increase in success rate to 96%.
The service is currently undergoing a re-procurement in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, and aims to ensure a competitive, high-quality, and value-for-money solution for future language service needs. As part of this re-procurement, a benchmarking exercise was conducted against other government departments to compare value for money, and a lessons learned was conducted on improvements to the quality of services.
The Department remains committed to delivering accessible justice by maintaining high standards in interpretation and translation services across the justice system.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the level of the compensation tariff for whiplash in line with inflation.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Civil Liability Act 2018 allows the Lord Chancellor to set fixed compensation tariff amounts for whiplash injuries from road traffic accidents lasting two years or less. The tariff amounts were first set via the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021, and the Civil Liability Act 2018 requires the tariff to be reviewed every three years.
The first statutory review was completed on 22 May 2024. The Lord Chancellor’s report of the review was published on 21 November 2024. The report concluded that the original whiplash tariff amounts should be increased by roughly 15% to account for the impact of inflation since the tariff was introduced on 31 May 2021, and to include a three-year buffer to account for projected inflation until the next review in 2027.
This increase to the whiplash tariff will be implemented by the draft Whiplash Injury (Amendment) Regulations 2025, which was laid in Parliament on 20 March 2025. Subject to approval from both Houses, the new tariff will apply to relevant whiplash injuries that occur on or after 31 May 2025.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will take steps to amend the Human Rights Act 1998 to provide a legal right to access adequate housing.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Human Rights Act (HRA) is an important part of our constitutional arrangements and fundamental to human rights protections in the UK. The Government has no plans to amend the rights protected by the HRA, which are drawn from those in the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Government will develop a new cross-government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness. We are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness including delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament, as well as abolishing section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, preventing private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empowering people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.