Asked by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what is his Department’s timescale for the distribution of updated materials on the Victims Code to police forces; and what assessment has he made of adherence to that timescale.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We launched the consultation on a new Victims’ Code on 5 February, which will be open to responses for 12 weeks. Following consideration of the consultation responses, and any subsequent changes, we will issue a government response and then issue the new Code in accordance with the Parliamentary process set out in the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024. We will update and distribute revised materials alongside the new Code.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for a breakdown of what prison education courses, according to annual delivery plan data, were provided in January (a) 2025, and (b) 2026, by prison, level of qualification and duration.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We are committed to ensuring that prisoners can access high-quality education and skills provision that supports rehabilitation and reduces re-offending.
The curriculum delivered through core education contracts is decided at local level, as is the number of education staff employed. It would not be possible to obtain this information from each prison without incurring disproportionate cost. It should be noted that the majority of teaching staff are employed by external providers.
In the interests of transparency, we intend to publish figures for changes to core education delivery volumes at individual prison level in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison education staff, according to annual delivery plan data, were employed in January (a) 2025, and (b) 2026, by prison.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We are committed to ensuring that prisoners can access high-quality education and skills provision that supports rehabilitation and reduces re-offending.
The curriculum delivered through core education contracts is decided at local level, as is the number of education staff employed. It would not be possible to obtain this information from each prison without incurring disproportionate cost. It should be noted that the majority of teaching staff are employed by external providers.
In the interests of transparency, we intend to publish figures for changes to core education delivery volumes at individual prison level in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison education staff were employed in January (a) 2025, and (b) 2026, by prison.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We are committed to ensuring that prisoners can access high-quality education and skills provision that supports rehabilitation and reduces re-offending.
The curriculum delivered through core education contracts is decided at local level, as is the number of education staff employed. It would not be possible to obtain this information from each prison without incurring disproportionate cost. It should be noted that the majority of teaching staff are employed by external providers.
In the interests of transparency, we intend to publish figures for changes to core education delivery volumes at individual prison level in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Timpson on 3 February (HL14086), what plans they have, if any, to use the ethnicity harmonised standards in published statistics; why the Offender Management Statistics use the 6+1 identity code system; and whether they plan to start to use the 18+1 identity code system.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In accordance with the principles embodied in the Code of Practice for Statistics; Trustworthiness, Quality and Value, we keep statistics for publication under continuous review. Uniform standards across Government are applied wherever appropriate, including in the reporting of ethnicity, where it is necessary to balance the benefit of a high level of detail in data gathering, against ease of interpretation for those reporting the information, and the value of consistency in reporting over time.
In the case of Offender Management Statistics, the 18+1 classification is used for the ethnicity information published in the annual prison population tables, which supplement the 6+1 series produced quarterly.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department has issued to conveyancers, the Land Registry, or other stakeholders on the application of perpetuity rules to commercial land instruments following the enactment of the Perpetuities and Accumulations Act 2009.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
No guidance has been issued by the Ministry of Justice since the Act came into force. The explanatory notes to the legislation set out the effects of the changes to the law: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2009/18/notes/contents.
This is a complex and technical area of law. Individuals should seek independent legal advice on how the Act applies to their unique circumstances.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in the last 12 months, how many individuals convicted of (a) a violent offence and (b) homicide had a recorded history of detention under the Mental Health Act 1983.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice does not hold the information requested. While the Ministry of Justice holds data on convictions, our data relating to the Mental Health Act 1983 covers only individuals detained as restricted [Criminal Justice] patients and does not capture any prior detention under the Act.
NHS England is responsible for information relating to detentions under the Mental Health Act 1983. Any relevant information is therefore held separately by different Departments and is not linked.
As a result, we are unable to provide a breakdown of individuals convicted of violent offences or homicide who have a prior history of Mental Health Act detention.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Every child caught with a knife to get tailored support, published on 11 February 2026, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of mandatory intervention plans on reoffending rates among children convicted of knife possession.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Delivering the manifesto commitment to tackle knife possession by children will require police and Youth Justice Services to put in place more evidence-based interventions to ensure that knife possession by children is addressed swiftly, robustly and effectively. The Ministry of Justice is committing £320 million over the next 3 years to youth justice services. This multi-year certainty will give the stability to retain staff, plan more effectively with partners, and commission services more efficiently – in order to better tackle knife possession and other offence committed by children.
Of the £320 million funding settlement, £46 million will be ringfenced for Turnaround – the Ministry of Justice’s youth crime early intervention and prevention programme. The Turnaround programme was established by the Ministry of Justice in 2022 to provide additional funding to support children on the cusp of the youth justice system, with the explicit aim of preventing future offending.
The new knife possession guidance is non-statutory. Youth Justice Services (YJSs) will be required, as a condition of their Ministry of Justice funding, to have due regard to the guidance.
The Government will monitor compliance through:
the annual plans produced by Youth Justice Services as a condition of their Ministry of Justice funding;
new data requirements about Out of Court Resolutions that the Youth Justice Board has agreed to collect from YJSs from April 2026; and
upcoming inspections by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation.
If a child does not comply with their mandatory plans, Youth Justice Services must notify the police. The police may then charge and prosecute the child for the original offence.
Engagement with interventions by Youth Justice Services can provide positive outcomes for children. Evidence from the Ministry of Justice’s Turnaround programme shows that, as of December 2024, only 7% of children who completed Turnaround interventions had offended as proven by a judicial decision or caution within 12 months of completion.
The Ministry of Justice publishes information on convictions and cautions for a wide range of offences, including knife possession by age group in the Outcomes by Offences data and Out of Court Disposals tools, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page: www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly.
The Ministry of Justice publishes sentencing information following remands for a wide range of offences, including knife possession by age group, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page: www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly.
The police and Youth Justice Services will conduct assessments as soon as the child comes into their contact to assess their needs. Any child who identifies as a victim of county lines or drug distribution exploitation will receive specialist support within their mandatory targeted plans.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Every child caught with a knife to get tailored support, published on 11 February 2026, whether children identified as victims of county lines drug distribution exploitation will receive specialist support within mandatory targeted plans.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Delivering the manifesto commitment to tackle knife possession by children will require police and Youth Justice Services to put in place more evidence-based interventions to ensure that knife possession by children is addressed swiftly, robustly and effectively. The Ministry of Justice is committing £320 million over the next 3 years to youth justice services. This multi-year certainty will give the stability to retain staff, plan more effectively with partners, and commission services more efficiently – in order to better tackle knife possession and other offence committed by children.
Of the £320 million funding settlement, £46 million will be ringfenced for Turnaround – the Ministry of Justice’s youth crime early intervention and prevention programme. The Turnaround programme was established by the Ministry of Justice in 2022 to provide additional funding to support children on the cusp of the youth justice system, with the explicit aim of preventing future offending.
The new knife possession guidance is non-statutory. Youth Justice Services (YJSs) will be required, as a condition of their Ministry of Justice funding, to have due regard to the guidance.
The Government will monitor compliance through:
the annual plans produced by Youth Justice Services as a condition of their Ministry of Justice funding;
new data requirements about Out of Court Resolutions that the Youth Justice Board has agreed to collect from YJSs from April 2026; and
upcoming inspections by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation.
If a child does not comply with their mandatory plans, Youth Justice Services must notify the police. The police may then charge and prosecute the child for the original offence.
Engagement with interventions by Youth Justice Services can provide positive outcomes for children. Evidence from the Ministry of Justice’s Turnaround programme shows that, as of December 2024, only 7% of children who completed Turnaround interventions had offended as proven by a judicial decision or caution within 12 months of completion.
The Ministry of Justice publishes information on convictions and cautions for a wide range of offences, including knife possession by age group in the Outcomes by Offences data and Out of Court Disposals tools, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page: www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly.
The Ministry of Justice publishes sentencing information following remands for a wide range of offences, including knife possession by age group, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page: www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly.
The police and Youth Justice Services will conduct assessments as soon as the child comes into their contact to assess their needs. Any child who identifies as a victim of county lines or drug distribution exploitation will receive specialist support within their mandatory targeted plans.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of children remanded into custody in the last three years for carrying a knife did not receive a custodial sentence.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Delivering the manifesto commitment to tackle knife possession by children will require police and Youth Justice Services to put in place more evidence-based interventions to ensure that knife possession by children is addressed swiftly, robustly and effectively. The Ministry of Justice is committing £320 million over the next 3 years to youth justice services. This multi-year certainty will give the stability to retain staff, plan more effectively with partners, and commission services more efficiently – in order to better tackle knife possession and other offence committed by children.
Of the £320 million funding settlement, £46 million will be ringfenced for Turnaround – the Ministry of Justice’s youth crime early intervention and prevention programme. The Turnaround programme was established by the Ministry of Justice in 2022 to provide additional funding to support children on the cusp of the youth justice system, with the explicit aim of preventing future offending.
The new knife possession guidance is non-statutory. Youth Justice Services (YJSs) will be required, as a condition of their Ministry of Justice funding, to have due regard to the guidance.
The Government will monitor compliance through:
the annual plans produced by Youth Justice Services as a condition of their Ministry of Justice funding;
new data requirements about Out of Court Resolutions that the Youth Justice Board has agreed to collect from YJSs from April 2026; and
upcoming inspections by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation.
If a child does not comply with their mandatory plans, Youth Justice Services must notify the police. The police may then charge and prosecute the child for the original offence.
Engagement with interventions by Youth Justice Services can provide positive outcomes for children. Evidence from the Ministry of Justice’s Turnaround programme shows that, as of December 2024, only 7% of children who completed Turnaround interventions had offended as proven by a judicial decision or caution within 12 months of completion.
The Ministry of Justice publishes information on convictions and cautions for a wide range of offences, including knife possession by age group in the Outcomes by Offences data and Out of Court Disposals tools, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page: www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly.
The Ministry of Justice publishes sentencing information following remands for a wide range of offences, including knife possession by age group, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page: www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly.
The police and Youth Justice Services will conduct assessments as soon as the child comes into their contact to assess their needs. Any child who identifies as a victim of county lines or drug distribution exploitation will receive specialist support within their mandatory targeted plans.