Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps they are taking to help ensure that their Department (a) gives sufficient attention to long term strategic challenges, (b) does not allow current events to slow down work on long term strategic issues and (c) consistently undertakes horizon scanning.

The Government has a clear vision for the justice system, including focusing on protecting the public and reducing reoffending. The Ministry of Justice is investing record sums in long term infrastructure programmes – notably the 20,000 prison places portfolio. The Ministry of Justice hosts dedicated resource involved in long-term strategy planning and horizon scanning, including a Futures, Insights, and Emerging Technology team that actively engages in cross-government horizon scanning networks.