Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many nights were spent in hotels by Departmental staff in financial year 2024-25 by the star rating of the hotel.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
This information is not held centrally.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the number of marriages between cousins that have taken place in the UK in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The number of marriages between relatives, mainly cousins, is not a data set that is collected and the Government therefore cannot give an estimate.
The Office for National Statistics publishes marriage statistics derived from information recorded at the point of marriage registration in England and Wales. This includes data about age, sex, previous marital status and whether the ceremony was civil or religious, but not whether the parties were related.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many civil servants employed by their Department work in roles primarily focused on (a) transgender policy, (b) diversity, (c) equity and (d) inclusion; and at what annual salary cost.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice does not centrally hold information on how many civil servants are employed to work in roles primarily focused on (a) transgender policy, (b) diversity, (c) equity and (d) inclusion; and at what annual salary cost.
It is estimated that locating and extracting this information would result in disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost to the public purse was of feasibility studies conducted by their Department for projects that did not proceed in the last five years.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The information requested is not centrally held in an accessible form.
Due to this any response could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions for fly-tipping were brought in Great Yarmouth in the last 12 months; and what assessment he has made of whether current penalties are a sufficient deterrent.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Fly-tipping is a serious crime which blights communities and the environment and dealing with it imposes significant costs on both taxpayers and businesses. Anyone caught fly-tipping may be prosecuted and faces potentially serious punishment.
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions relating to fly tipping in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, which can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
Relevant offences can be filtered by using the offence filter and selecting 91.1 Offences related to fly-tipping - Triable either way.
Data is not published separately for Great Yarmouth, however, there have been no prosecutions for this offence at Great Yarmouth magistrates court in year ending June 2025.
Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the courts. Parliament has provided the courts with a broad range of sentencing powers to deal effectively and appropriately with offenders, including discharges, fines, community sentences, suspended sentences and custodial sentences.
The maximum penalty for fly-tipping is 5 years custody. When deciding what sentence to impose, courts must consider the circumstances of the case, including the culpability of the offender, the harm they caused or intended to cause, and any aggravating and mitigating factors. The courts also have a statutory duty to follow any relevant sentencing guidelines, developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.
The Government keeps the sentencing framework under ongoing review to ensure that it remains fit for purpose.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce reoffending rates among prolific offenders in Great Yarmouth town centre.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
In November 2024, the Home Office introduced Respect Orders to give police and local councils powers to ban persistent offenders from town centres. As well as prison sentences of up to two years, criminal courts will be able to issue unlimited fines and community orders, such as unpaid work, and curfews as punishment for breaching a Respect Order.
For those who persistently break the law, we are building 14,000 new prison places to make sure they are removed from the streets. Whilst in prison they will be expected to take part in education or learn new skills to make them more useful contributors to society after release.
The Probation Service's first priority is to protect the public. Anyone released from prison is subject to strict licence conditions, including exclusion zones where appropriate. If found to have breached these conditions they can be returned to prison.
The Probation Service puts in place services aimed at reducing re-offending by supporting the needs of people on probation in Great Yarmouth. These include providing support in obtaining and maintaining suitable accommodation, help with drug and alcohol dependency issues, assistance with personal wellbeing needs and a holistic service addressing all needs for women.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what criteria the Crown Prosecution Service uses to determine whether to (a) release an absconder on bail and (b) bail them.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The decision to remand an individual in custody or to grant bail is solely a matter for the independent judiciary acting in accordance with the criteria set out in the Bail Act 1976.
Questions about the Crown Prosecution Service are for the Attorney General.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what is the total annual cost of legal aid issued in cases where one party subsequently (a) breaches court orders, (b) refuses contact arrangements and (c) obstructs proceedings.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The requested information is not centrally held.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in what proportion of family court cases did only one party receiving legal aid in each of the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The requested information is not centrally held.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what was the average cost per case to the public purse of providing legal aid in family proceedings for which the latest data is available.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
For financial year 2024-2025 the average legal aid expenditure in family proceedings(1) was £4,551 for private family law cases e.g. proceedings concerning child arrangements orders and £10,058 for public family law cases e.g. care and supervision proceedings brought by the local authority. These figures are derived from Civil Representation expenditure data published as part of the LAA’s official statistics.
Under the 2013 Civil Legal Aid (Financial Resources and Payment for Services) Regulations individuals may be assessed as liable to make a contribution towards the cost of their legal aid case from either income or capital. In 2024-2025, in cases where an individual was assessed as liable to make a contribution, the average contribution collected in relation to family cases was £1,019.
Under section 25 of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 individuals who recover or preserve money in civil legal aid proceedings are required to repay the cost of their legal aid case from the money recovered (unless exempt under regulations). This is known as the statutory charge. In 2024-2025, for cases subject to the statutory charge, the average amount recovered in respect of family cases was £7,409. Recovery of the statutory charge can be postponed in certain limited circumstances and so recoveries made may not necessarily relate to cases funded in the same period.
(1) As defined in the 2024 Standard Civil Contract: Category Definitions.