Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help reduce intimidation and harassment of members of the legal profession.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government recognises the vital role played by the legal profession in upholding access to justice and the rule of law, which is fundamental to a fair and democratic society. The Government is clear that intimidation, harassment or threats against legal professionals or their offices are wholly unacceptable. Where such behaviour amounts to criminal conduct, it is right that those responsible should face the full force of the law.
The Government works with partners across the justice system to promote respect for the rule of law and the independence of the legal profession. Domestically, this is underpinned by a robust legal and regulatory framework designed to protect professional independence and integrity, consistent with the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers. Internationally, the UK was proud to be among the first signatories to the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer in May 2025, which sets clear international standards to ensure legal professionals can practise without harassment, intimidation, or improper interference.
In addition, there are robust security arrangements in place across courts and tribunals to protect all court users, including legal professionals. These include risk assessment measures to prevent, detect and respond to threats, such as security screening on entry, CCTV, and the powers of Court and Tribunal Security Officers to exclude, restrain or remove individuals threatening violence. The Government has also allocated over £20 million in additional funding in 2025/26 to further strengthen court and judicial security, including additional security officers and physical security systems.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the frequency of late delivery of prisoners to court by contractors Serco and GEOAmey.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The performance of the criminal justice system as a whole against the requirement for timely delivery of prisoners to court is 98.31%. The latest available annual figure (1 December 2024 to 30 November 2025) for Prisoner Escort and Custody Service contractors’ performance against the indicators on timely delivery is 99.92%. We keep the contractors’ performance under constant review.
Penalties, known as service credits, are incurred for delays attributable to failure on the part of the contractor. They are calculated from the point 15 minutes after court proceedings are ready to commence – provided it is within the agreed court start times. A service credit is incurred for every subsequent 15 minutes of delay, or part thereof (in which case the supplier is penalised for a full fifteen minutes).
During the 12 months from 1 December 2024 to 30 November 2025, out of 343,638 journeys to court undertaken by the Prisoner Escort and Custody Service, there were 273 instances of failure that resulted in service credits being paid by suppliers for late delivery of a prisoner to either the Crown Court or a magistrates’ court.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many fines of up to £625 for each 15-minute delay caused by the late delivery of a prisoner to court have been levied on contractors Serco and GEOAmey.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The performance of the criminal justice system as a whole against the requirement for timely delivery of prisoners to court is 98.31%. The latest available annual figure (1 December 2024 to 30 November 2025) for Prisoner Escort and Custody Service contractors’ performance against the indicators on timely delivery is 99.92%. We keep the contractors’ performance under constant review.
Penalties, known as service credits, are incurred for delays attributable to failure on the part of the contractor. They are calculated from the point 15 minutes after court proceedings are ready to commence – provided it is within the agreed court start times. A service credit is incurred for every subsequent 15 minutes of delay, or part thereof (in which case the supplier is penalised for a full fifteen minutes).
During the 12 months from 1 December 2024 to 30 November 2025, out of 343,638 journeys to court undertaken by the Prisoner Escort and Custody Service, there were 273 instances of failure that resulted in service credits being paid by suppliers for late delivery of a prisoner to either the Crown Court or a magistrates’ court.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with trade unions on the experiences of staff in his Department.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Secretary of State has not held discussions with Ministry of Justice trade unions specifically on the experiences of staff in the Ministry of Justice. Engagement with trade unions on workforce matters within the Department takes place through established official level employee relations arrangements.
The Secretary of State has held introductory meetings with all HMPPS recognised trade unions (Prisons and Probation) and has discussed a range of staff related issues brought forward by the respective trade union representatives on behalf of their members.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps are being taken to ensure prison leavers have housing and health plans in place before release.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We are committed to ensuring that robust pre-release plans are created for those leaving custody, so that accommodation and health needs are identified early and the right support is put in place. Dedicated Pre-Release Teams in prisons work closely with individuals to identify immediate needs, coordinate referrals to relevant services, and support continuity between custody and the community.
To support continuity of care and swift access to treatment on release, we have recruited over 67 Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators who strengthen drug and alcohol recovery pathways by building partnerships between prison, probation and treatment providers and we are enabling virtual pre-release appointments with community treatment providers via secure laptops. The Probation Notification Actioning Project, now in place across all prisons, standardises how probation staff are informed of ongoing drug and alcohol treatment needs. NHS England’s RECONNECT service also supports prison leavers with identified health needs, to engage with the right health services in the community. Services work with people up to 12 weeks before release, and 6 months post-release.
In the National Plan to End Homelessness, the Government has committed to reduce the proportion of people released from prison homeless by 50% by the end of this parliament. 50 prison-based Strategic Housing Specialists across England and Wales work with probation teams and Local Authorities to enable a multi-agency approach to securing housing before release. We are also investing in integrating digital community accommodation services to make it easier to identify and match individuals to the right housing-related support at the right time.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the training available to magistrates on stalking protection orders.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Stalking Protection Orders are civil orders introduced in 2020 by the Stalking Protection Act 2019. The orders can be applied for by the police in the magistrates’ courts. As in all cases heard in the magistrates’ courts, magistrates will sit with a legal adviser who will advise on the law, practice and procedure to be applied in each case.
To preserve judicial independence, statutory responsibility for the training of magistrates rests with the Lady Chief Justice and is exercised through the Judicial College. All magistrates and HMCTS legal advisers who support them receive induction and continuation training. This includes structured judicial decision-making and guidance and training as appropriate when new legislation is being implemented. Guidance and training are kept under review and regularly updated as appropriate to reflect legislative or other changes.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department's polices of trends in the level of costs for (a) family and (b) close friends of victims of crime for attending (i) trials and (i) sentencing.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is committed to ensuring that victims and survivors have the information and support they need. This involves understanding how best to support victims, survivors and witnesses throughout their interactions with the Criminal Justice System, including navigating court processes. The Ministry of Justice commissions a National Witness Service which provides emotional and practical support to both prosecution and defence witnesses to enable them to give their best evidence in court. This support includes providing an explanation of the court process and updates on the progress of a trial. The support is also available to families bereaved by crime. In 2023/2024, the National Witness Service supported approximately 80,000 witnesses, about 44% of whom were also victims and survivors.
Where witnesses are called to give evidence in prosecutions conducted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the CPS is responsible for paying allowances and expenses. The CPS, at their own discretion, may pay allowances and expenses for other people, where it is believed that it would assist the witness in giving best evidence. This should be agreed in advance of attendance. Examples include parents accompanying child witnesses and people accompanying elderly witnesses and survivors.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make it her policy to reimburse family members of victims with limited means the cost of attending the (a) trial and (b) sentencing.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is committed to ensuring that victims and survivors have the information and support they need. This involves understanding how best to support victims, survivors and witnesses throughout their interactions with the Criminal Justice System, including navigating court processes. The Ministry of Justice commissions a National Witness Service which provides emotional and practical support to both prosecution and defence witnesses to enable them to give their best evidence in court. This support includes providing an explanation of the court process and updates on the progress of a trial. The support is also available to families bereaved by crime. In 2023/2024, the National Witness Service supported approximately 80,000 witnesses, about 44% of whom were also victims and survivors.
Where witnesses are called to give evidence in prosecutions conducted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the CPS is responsible for paying allowances and expenses. The CPS, at their own discretion, may pay allowances and expenses for other people, where it is believed that it would assist the witness in giving best evidence. This should be agreed in advance of attendance. Examples include parents accompanying child witnesses and people accompanying elderly witnesses and survivors.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans she has to reform the court system in the light of the Renters’ Rights Bill.
Answered by Heidi Alexander - Secretary of State for Transport
The Renters Rights Bill will abolish section 21 (Housing Act 1988, no fault evictions) and amend the existing section 8 grounds, which will affect the County Court. Courts currently handle section 8 claims, however, legislative changes to section 8 that impact court processes or procedures will be subject to the necessary changes by the relevant Procedure Rule Committee.
The Government has also committed to digitise the court possession service, making it simpler and easier for landlords and tenants to use.
The Bill will also have an impact on the work of the Property Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal. My officials are working with those in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to fully understand the implications and to identify the resources required to deal with cases as they arise.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will introduce legal aid for tenants for (a) housing repair issues and (b) enforcing legal housing rights.
Answered by Heidi Alexander - Secretary of State for Transport
Legal aid is available for those facing homelessness, and disrepair claims (when there is a serious risk of illness or injury) subject to a financial means test. Tenants in this situation should contact the Civil Legal Aid telephone helpline for assistance.
Legal aid is available for anyone facing the loss of their home through the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS). HLPAS provides free early legal advice on housing, debt, council tax reduction and welfare benefits problems from the moment someone is faced with losing their home.
HLPAS also provides free legal advice and representation from a duty solicitor on the day of their court hearing. Where no face-to-face coverage is available, users can access remote early legal advice through HLPAS providers in other areas or via the Civil Legal Aid helpline or by going to https://find-legal-advice.justice.gov.uk.
There is no means or merits test for this service.