Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of delays in the family courts caused by litigants in person on (a) one and (b) both sides of a case.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government does not record the number of litigants who were unable to present their case properly due to lack of representation. The Ministry of Justice publish official statistics includes legal representation data in the following: Family_Court_Tables__Apr-Jun_2025_.ods
The Government is committed to ensuring all court users can access justice fairly. HMCTS offers practical guidance and intermediary support for litigants in person, while wider legal help is available through organisations funded by over £6 million from the Ministry of Justice (April 2025–March 2026), including online resources like Advicenow.
We have not made a specific assessment of the delays in cases involving litigants in person. However, published statistics show that cases where both parties, or the respondent only, had legal representation generally took longer to conclude than those where only the applicant was represented or both parties were unrepresented.
We recognise the impact delays have on families and are taking action to improve outcomes. In private law proceedings relating to children, Pathfinder courts are reducing case durations, delivering some of the fastest times nationally and providing better support for vulnerable parties, including domestic abuse survivors.
This Government has not made an assessment of judicial outcomes. The Judiciary are constitutionally independent from the Government. Commenting on or evaluating judicial decisions would risk undermining this independence.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of applications for legal aid in family proceedings have been granted to mothers in each of the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Legal Aid Agency does not specifically track or report on grants of legal aid broken down by whether the applicant was a mother or father as the same eligibility criteria are applicable to all parents and persons with parental responsibility. The requested information could only be obtained by manually reviewing individual applications at disproportionate cost to the Department.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications for legal aid in family proceedings were granted to fathers in each of the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Legal Aid Agency does not specifically track or report on grants of legal aid broken down by whether the applicant was a mother or father as the same eligibility criteria are applicable to all parents and persons with parental responsibility. The requested information could only be obtained by manually reviewing individual applications at disproportionate cost to the Department.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for the total spend on (i) LinkedIn membership fees (ii) other subscriptions by his Department in the last financial year.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice does not hold a specific membership with LinkedIn. However, our spend on LinkedIn for the financial year 2024/2025 was £155,247.65.
Please note this cost covers multiple recruitment services and advertising that span across all our operationally critical frontline roles. For example, those in HMPPS and HMCTS. All our campaign activity is data driven to maximise our reach to our target audiences.
The Department’s spend for other subscriptions in 2024/2025 is £628,213.00. These subscriptions/memberships cover things such as The Solicitors Regulation Authority, The Bar Council, and the Office for National Statistics and ensure we are able to operate compliantly and effectively.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many super-injunctions relating to the Government are in place.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government does not publish or hold centralised data on the number of super-injunctions currently in place, due to the sensitive and often confidential nature of such orders.
Where such orders are made, they are typically issued by the High Court under strict judicial oversight and may include provisions that prevent disclosure of their very existence.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much from the public purse has been spent by the Legal Aid Agency on (a) legal representation and (b) pre-action work challenging removals under the one-in, one-out migrant returns policy since 1 July 2025.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Information relating to legal aid expenditure challenging removals under the one-in one-out pilot is not centrally held. Although legal aid expenditure broken down by category is published on a quarterly basis as part of the Legal Aid Agency’s Official Statistics.
In order to obtain information relating to the number of legal aid certificates granted for cases which make specific reference to either the one-in one-out migrant returns policy or removals to France, it would be necessary to manually review every single application for legal representation in connection with judicial review proceedings in the immigration context. That could only be obtained 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 legal aid certificates have been granted for cases referencing (a) the one-in, one-out migrant returns policy and (b) removals to France since July 2025.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Information relating to legal aid expenditure challenging removals under the one-in one-out pilot is not centrally held. Although legal aid expenditure broken down by category is published on a quarterly basis as part of the Legal Aid Agency’s Official Statistics.
In order to obtain information relating to the number of legal aid certificates granted for cases which make specific reference to either the one-in one-out migrant returns policy or removals to France, it would be necessary to manually review every single application for legal representation in connection with judicial review proceedings in the immigration context. That could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2025 to Question 86469 Ministry of Justice: Social Media, if he will publish a breakdown of all non-commercially sensitive information on (a) influencers paid and (b) amount paid to each influencer in the last five financial years.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Given the nature of working with influencers, there are sensitivities surrounding all aspects of this expenditure. Sharing any information could compromise commercial interests, as the Department has engaged with only 10 influencers where it has enhanced our communications. All influencer activity is subject to strict Cabinet Office spending controls to ensure that we achieve an appropriate balance between effectiveness and value for money for taxpayers.
The Ministry of Justice uses social media influencers to help deliver its communications and operational priorities. This includes activity to support recruitment campaigns for prison officers, probation officers and magistrates, ensuring that frontline services are effectively staffed to maintain public safety and deliver swift access to justice. Our digital comms team are also increasingly collaborating with content creators/influencers to help reach new audiences with justice content on a no-cost basis.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department tracks the locations of foreign national offenders following release.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Foreign national offenders (FNOs), if not detained under immigration powers, are released on licence at the conclusion of the custodial element of their sentence, under the supervision of the Probation Service.
They are subject to licence conditions to protect the public, reduce re-offending, and enable them to be supervised effectively in the community. These conditions can be varied during the licence period, if necessary, to reflect any change in level of risk.
The licence conditions include a requirement for FNOs to inform the Probation Service of their address and obtain prior approval for any change. The Probation Service liaises with the police during the address approval process, to ensure the address is suitable, and to safeguard the public. Any unauthorised change of address would constitute a breach of licence. Enforcement action may include recall to custody.
Where standard conditions are insufficient to manage risk, additional licence conditions may be imposed, such as restrictions on movement, contact, or residence, and the use of GPS tagging. GPS tagging is applied only where it is assessed as necessary and proportionate to the individual’s level of risk.
The Probation Service’s supervision of FNOs runs in parallel with any action on deportation being undertaken by the Home Office.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many officials in his Department have faced disciplinary action following the mistaken release of asylum seekers convicted of criminal offences in each of the last five years.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.