Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish an update on plans to trial chemical castration for sexual offenders.

As the Deputy Prime Minister announced on 16 September, the innovative pilot of Medication to Manage Problematic Sexual Arousal for sex offenders will continue in the South West and will be expanded to two new regions – the North West and North East of England. This will extend the service across to twenty prisons in three regions, up from the current four, as the first step towards a national rollout.

We are continuing to work closely with our partners across health and justice agencies to inform our plans for implementation of the new pilot regions in 2026. We are also continuing to explore whether we might mandate this treatment in future.