Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that face-to-face meetings are available to claimants during the Personal Independence Payment appeals process.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Listing appeals, including the mode of hearing, is a judicial function, and HM Courts & Tribunals Service cannot comment on decisions made by independent tribunal judiciary.
As part of the appeal process, appellants are given the option to select the most suitable hearing types for them. This includes attending a tribunal venue for a face-to-face hearing; a video or telephone hearing; or for the appeal to be determined on the papers. The Department for Work and Pensions, as Respondent to the appeal, is also given the opportunity to express their preference for the type of hearing they would like. Most hearings are currently held in person at a tribunal venue.
The President of the First-Tier Social Entitlement Chamber has published a Guidance Note on the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary Website covering the mode of hearing in Social Security and Child Support Tribunal Appeals here: Chamber President's Guidance Note No. 5 Mode of hearing in Social Security and Child Support Appeals.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department will continue to offer face-to-face meetings for Personal Independence Payment appeal hearings.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Listing appeals, including the mode of hearing, is a judicial function, and HM Courts & Tribunals Service cannot comment on decisions made by independent tribunal judiciary.
As part of the appeal process, appellants are given the option to select the most suitable hearing types for them. This includes attending a tribunal venue for a face-to-face hearing; a video or telephone hearing; or for the appeal to be determined on the papers. The Department for Work and Pensions, as Respondent to the appeal, is also given the opportunity to express their preference for the type of hearing they would like. Most hearings are currently held in person at a tribunal venue.
The President of the First-Tier Social Entitlement Chamber has published a Guidance Note on the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary Website covering the mode of hearing in Social Security and Child Support Tribunal Appeals here: Chamber President's Guidance Note No. 5 Mode of hearing in Social Security and Child Support Appeals.
Asked by: Daniel Francis (Labour - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of making (a) court transcription services (i) cheaper and (ii) more accessible for the families of victims and (b) court recordings directly available to those families.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Bereaved families of victims of murder, manslaughter, and fatal road offences can request a free transcript of the judge’s sentencing remarks. Following the conclusion of a one-year pilot, on 22 May the Lord Chancellor announced that we are continuing the provision of free transcripts of sentencing remarks for victims of rape and other sexual offences on an ongoing basis.
More widely, we are actively considering how to make court transcripts more accessible, and we continue to explore the potential for using AI to produce transcripts more quickly and at a lower cost.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) does does not currently have the technical capability to share audio files. Addressing this or expanding the provision of free transcripts would have operational and resource implications for HMCTS and the judiciary at a time when the system is under considerable pressure.
Asked by: Dan Aldridge (Labour - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will provide an update on when HM Revenue & Customs will restart processing IHT30 clearance requests.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC have not stopped processing IHT30 clearance requests. HMRC have prioritised the processing of IHT400 forms to minimise any delays for customers applying for probate through HM Courts & Tribunals Service, and this has meant that some IHT30 requests are currently being processed outside of service standard.
HMRC have trained and are recruiting more staff in this area so that they can reduce wait times
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much their Department has spent on (a) translation and (b) interpretation for languages other than (i) British Sign Language and (ii) languages native to the UK for people contacting (A) their Department and (B) its agencies in 2025.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice has a statutory duty to provide language services to enable access to justice for users for whom English is not their first language and those who require visual and tactile services, under the provisions of the Equality Act.
Language service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.
The total cost of translation and interpretation services in FY24/25 was £30,208,228.05, excluding British Sign Language and the Welsh language.
To support the answer to part b, the below tables show the split per contract and per commissioning body for FY 24/25. These tables include interpretation and translation services only.
Lot 1 Contract (Face to Face)
Excludes: English
Commissioning Body | Total FY 24/25 |
HM Courts and Tribunals Service | £25,921,301.19 |
The Probation Service | £1,116,839.04 |
Crown Prosecution Service | £316,223.31 |
Cafcass | £241,885.26 |
HM Prison Service | £105,849.83 |
Legal Aid Agency | £77,950.08 |
Office of the Public Guardian | £3,510.95 |
HM Inspectorate of Prisons | £815.90 |
Official Solicitor and Public Trustee | £189.34 |
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman | £329.20 |
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority | £50.65 |
Total | £27,784,944.75 |
Translation & Transcription Contract
Excludes Language pairs:
English (United Kingdom) > Welsh (United Kingdom)
Welsh (United Kingdom) > English (United Kingdom)
English (United Kingdom) > English (United Kingdom)
Commissioning Body | Total FY 24/25 |
HM Prison Service | £1,485,869.95 |
Official Solicitor and Public Trustee | £284,540.39 |
The Probation Service | £280,647.57 |
Crown Prosecution Service | £143,853.76 |
Cafcass | £116,820.56 |
HM Courts and Tribunals Service | £64,112.15 |
Independent Monitoring Authority | £6,057.43 |
HQ | £4,012.18 |
Office of the Public Guardian | £6,496.96 |
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority | £1,095.89 |
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman | £24,431.67 |
HMIPEW | £3,479.31 |
Independent Monitoring Board | £270.13 |
Legal Aid Agency | £11.56 |
Parole Board | £1,382.34 |
HM Inspectorate of Prisons | £201.45 |
Total | £2,423,283.30 |
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) staffing shortages and (b) interpreter availability on delays in magistrates’ courts.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice does not collect data on ineffective trials specifically caused by staffing shortages within HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). However, we monitor staffing levels closely and do not assess them to be a significant driver of ineffective trials in magistrates’ courts.
Staffing levels across HMCTS have remained broadly stable, with administrative staffing at junior grades (AA–EO) holding steady, and staffing at more senior grades (HEO–G6), including legal and administrative roles, showing an upward trend. These patterns reflect continued investment in workforce capacity and ongoing recruitment activity.
We recognise the importance of a reliable and efficient court system, and the impact on victims when trials do not proceed as planned. That is why the Lord Chancellor has appointed Sir Brian Leveson to conduct an Independent Review of the Criminal Courts. Phase 2 of the review will consider the efficiency and timeliness of processes of the criminal courts through charge to conviction/acquittal.
The Ministry of Justice regularly monitors the impact of interpreter availability on court proceedings. According to the latest data published in the “Trial effectiveness in the courts” tool (covering up to December 2024), there were 364 ineffective trials in magistrates’ courts between July and December 2024 due to the unavailability of an interpreter. This represents 4% of all ineffective trials and less than 1% of all listed trials during that period.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment she has made of the safety of judges.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Secretary of State for Justice regards judicial office holders' safety with great importance. This is a matter that the Ministry of Justice takes very seriously.
There are a range of judicial security policies and procedures in place to protect judicial office holders inside of court, outside of court and online. HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) works jointly with both the Judicial Office and the Police to deliver these. Over £20m in additional funding in 2025/26 has been allocated to a programme of works to further strengthen the existing arrangements, and Ministry of Justice and HMCTS are working with the Security Taskforce, commissioned by the Lady Chief Justice and chaired by Deputy Senior Presiding Judge Mrs Justice Yip, to consider opportunities for further improvement.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Family Court Quarterly Statistics, published on 27 March 2025, for what reason 8,150 bereaved families waited over six months for the Probate Registry to issue grants of (a) probate and (b) administration in 2024.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) retains complaint data concerning lost documentation for a period of five years. HMCTS conducts regular meetings with our bulk scanning provider to review occurrences of lost documents and is committed to continually enhancing our systems to minimize these incidents.
The open probate caseload includes individual cases that may experience delays due to various factors such as family disputes or insufficient information being provided by the applicants. HMCTS actively contacts users to facilitate the progression of cases requiring additional information. Official statistics on the open caseload are regularly published via the following link: Family Court Statistics Quarterly - GOV.UK.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information her Department holds on the number of documents lost by the Probate Registry in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) retains complaint data concerning lost documentation for a period of five years. HMCTS conducts regular meetings with our bulk scanning provider to review occurrences of lost documents and is committed to continually enhancing our systems to minimize these incidents.
The open probate caseload includes individual cases that may experience delays due to various factors such as family disputes or insufficient information being provided by the applicants. HMCTS actively contacts users to facilitate the progression of cases requiring additional information. Official statistics on the open caseload are regularly published via the following link: Family Court Statistics Quarterly - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to introduce AI integration and camera use in family law proceedings.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country. Within the Ministry of Justice, we are testing and adopting AI to improve the experience and efficiency within our courts.
AI has the potential to enable service improvements across HM Courts & Tribunals Service, and we are exploring how it can be applied responsibly to our operations and services, including to support document processing, transcription, summarisation and translation. The use of AI in the courts and tribunals will be focused on accelerating and assisting people’s work, not automating decisions.
All use of artificial intelligence in the Ministry of Justice is aligned with the AI Playbook for the UK Government and the Algorithmic Transparency Reporting Standard. The Lady Chief Justice and Senior President of Tribunals issued AI Guidance for the judiciary in December 2023.
There are currently no live AI or predictive analytics systems in use in the Family Courts.
We are running early-stage discovery and proof of concept projects to test the potential value of AI in the Family Courts as follows:
Remote hearings in family proceedings, often conducted via telephone or video conferencing, are already regularly used where the judge with conduct of the case feels it is appropriate.