Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been prosecuted under section 25 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in each of the last five years, broken down by the recorded ethnicity of the defendant.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions and convictions for a wide range of criminal offences including those under section 25 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in England and Wales within the Outcomes by Offences data tool. This can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics. Data within the published tool can be disaggregated by ethnicity and sex.
The data specific to offences under section 25 of The Sexual Offences Act 2003 is available by selecting the HO offence filter and using the following codes
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions for incest under section 25 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 have been recorded in each of the last five years, disaggregated by the ethnicity and gender of the offender.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions and convictions for a wide range of criminal offences including those under section 25 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in England and Wales within the Outcomes by Offences data tool. This can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics. Data within the published tool can be disaggregated by ethnicity and sex.
The data specific to offences under section 25 of The Sexual Offences Act 2003 is available by selecting the HO offence filter and using the following codes
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what timetable has been set for establishing a single national redress scheme for survivors of child sexual abuse in England and Wales, in the context of the recommendation of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government recognises the importance of victims and survivors being able to seek redress from institutions for sexual abuse suffered during childhood and that redress can take several forms.
The Government is not currently taking forward any further steps on the IICSA proposal for a separate, national financial redress scheme for all victims and survivors of child sexual abuse with a connection to state or non-state institutions.
To support victims in seeking redress, we are removing the three-year limitation period for civil claims in cases of child sexual abuse. The Government is also working to improve awareness of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme through campaigns and consultation.
The Home Office published a Progress Update on Tackling Sexual Abuse in April 2025, where further information can be found.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when legislation will be brought forward to prohibit the use of pain compliance techniques in custodial settings where children are detained, in the context of the recommendation of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Government has been undertaking work to determine the most suitable registration framework for the youth custody estate. A final decision on this had been planned, as set out in the Tackling Child Abuse Progress Update, for March 2026. Since the Progress Update was published in April 2025, I commissioned a wider review of safeguarding in youth custody to be undertaken by a panel, led by the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families. Ensuring the correct safeguards are in place and that staff are properly equipped to be working with children, is all within remit of the panel and it is right we let this conclude. The panel will finalise its recommendations by June 2026. We will respond to its recommendations and this IICSA recommendation in autumn 2026.
The Government rejected recommendation 5 from the Inquiry and will not be introducing legislation. Where physical safety of all children and staff in custody is concerned, it is important that trained staff are able to use these techniques, as a last resort in an emergency, to bring an incident to a safe conclusion.
The Government recognises the particular vulnerabilities of children in custody, which is why staff in the Youth Custody Service continue to be appropriately trained and that there is independent oversight and transparency over all use of these techniques through an Independent Restraint Review Panel.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he is taking steps to introduce professional registration for staff working with children in (a) young offender institutions and (b) secure training centres.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Government has been undertaking work to determine the most suitable registration framework for the youth custody estate. A final decision on this had been planned, as set out in the Tackling Child Abuse Progress Update, for March 2026. Since the Progress Update was published in April 2025, I commissioned a wider review of safeguarding in youth custody to be undertaken by a panel, led by the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families. Ensuring the correct safeguards are in place and that staff are properly equipped to be working with children, is all within remit of the panel and it is right we let this conclude. The panel will finalise its recommendations by June 2026. We will respond to its recommendations and this IICSA recommendation in autumn 2026.
The Government rejected recommendation 5 from the Inquiry and will not be introducing legislation. Where physical safety of all children and staff in custody is concerned, it is important that trained staff are able to use these techniques, as a last resort in an emergency, to bring an incident to a safe conclusion.
The Government recognises the particular vulnerabilities of children in custody, which is why staff in the Youth Custody Service continue to be appropriately trained and that there is independent oversight and transparency over all use of these techniques through an Independent Restraint Review Panel.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what actions are being taken to improve compliance with the Victims’ Code for survivors of child sexual abuse, in the context of the recommendation of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government accepted recommendation 14 from the Inquiry to commission a joint inspection of compliance with the Victims’ Code in relation to victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. The Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorates have confirmed that the inspection will take place in 2026-27.
Additionally, the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 introduces a new duty on criminal justice Inspectorates to consult the Victims’ Commissioner in developing their individual and joint inspection programmes. This measure was commenced in December 2025. This will support a clearer and sharper focus on how victims and survivors are treated across the system, allowing issues to be identified and solved.
The Government is committed to ensuring that victims can access the information and support they need. The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 created a framework to monitor criminal justice agencies' compliance with the Victims' Code, including legislative duties for agencies to collect and share information on Code compliance. The framework has not yet been commenced but preparatory work is underway with criminal justice agencies on the underlying data that will support the development of the framework.
We will begin consulting on a new Victims’ Code shortly to ensure that we get the foundations for victims right. Part of the consultation will specifically look at how the Code can better support child victims.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what statutory basis compensation was paid to Fuad Awale; and what the criteria are for such payments.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Compensation and legal costs were paid in order to comply with an order of the High Court. Failure to do so would have constituted a breach of the court order.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he expects the investigation into releases in error led by Dame Lynne Owens to be (a) completed and (b) published.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Dame Lynne Owens will have completed her independent investigation and be reporting to the Deputy Prime Minister on all her findings by the end of February. We will continue to approach the issue of releases in error with an emphasis on transparency.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the investigation into releases in error led by Dame Lynne Owens has reported any interim findings.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Dame Lynne Owens will have completed her independent investigation and be reporting to the Deputy Prime Minister on all her findings by the end of February. We will continue to approach the issue of releases in error with an emphasis on transparency.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were held in custody beyond their lawful release dates in each of the past ten years; and what the total amount of compensation paid was in each year.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Release inaccuracy is yet another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government. While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are clamping down on those errors that do occur, and this includes unlawful detentions.
On 11 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a five-point action plan setting out initial steps which includes an independent inquiry which will report its recommendations to prevent further inaccuracies. The Government is determined to fix release inaccuracies and ensure the public is properly protected.
The data requested comes from internal management information and is not centrally collected. It is not quality assured and does not meet the standard required for publication.