Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will ask a) HM Prison and Probation Service and b) HMP Wandsworth, to respond to the coroner's Prevention of Future Death report following the death of Daniel Beckford.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Director General of Operations for HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) responded to the coroner’s Prevention of Future Deaths report following the inquest into the death of Daniel Beckford on 8 January 2025. This response addressed the matters of concern raised in the report and a separate response from the prison was not considered necessary. For reasons that are not clear, whilst it is dated 11 June 2024, the report was not received by HMPPS until November 2024, and the response was then provided promptly.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will ask a) HM Prison and Probation Service and b) HMP Wandsworth, to respond to the coroner's Prevention of Future Death report following the death of Yuri Hatton.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Director General of Operations for HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) responded to the coroner’s Prevention of Future Deaths report following the inquest into the death on 20 January 2025. This response addressed the matters of concern raised in the report and a separate response from the prison was not considered necessary. For reasons that are not clear, whilst it is dated 11 June 2024, the report was not received by HMPPS until November 2024, and the response was then provided promptly.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what evidence his Department submitted to the Office for National Statistics' review of the ethnicity harmonised standard, including in relation to the recording of Sikhs and Jewish people as ethnic groups.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
An initial response to the public consultation is due to be published in April, followed by a full report on the consultation in late summer 2026. This report will include all formal responses to the consultation, and the names of the organisations that responded.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department intends to respond to the coroner's Prevention of Future Death report following the death of Christopher MacGillivray.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Director General of Operations for HM Prison and Probation Service responded to the coroner’s Prevention of Future Deaths report following the inquest into the death of Christopher MacGillivray in August 2024. This response addresses the matters of concern raised in the report.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, by what date will the formal investigation into the abscondment of Daniel Boakye be completed.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The formal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the escape from custody is due to be completed by 20 March.
Reports of internal investigations of this nature are not normally published.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 84672, whether his Department was asked to respond to the Prevention of Future Death report of Stephen Sleaford in its own capacity and separately from the response by HM Prison and Probation Service.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Prevention of Future Deaths report following the death of Stephen Sleaford was addressed to the Lord Chancellor and the Minister of State for Prisons. The Director General of Operations for HM Prison and Probation Service responded on their behalf because the matters of concern raised in the report were of an operational nature.
No separate response from the Ministry of Justice is considered necessary.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Government has considered establishing periodic review procedures for High Court injunctions granting lifelong anonymity to offenders convicted of serious crimes committed as juveniles.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The High Court has been clear that the making of an injunction to grant lifelong anonymity to protect the identity of a now adult person convicted of a serious offence as a child, should be exceptional. In practice, such injunctions are made very rarely.
The court will consider whether there is a real and immediate risk of serious physical harm or death or if the offender’s rights under the European Convention on Human Rights justify making the injunction as a necessary and proportionate step. In doing so the court will balance these factors against the right of the media and others to freedom of expression.
An application can be made to the High Court to end an injunction. To be successful, it must be demonstrated that the conditions justifying the making of the injunction are no longer in place.
This Government has no current plans to establish periodic review procedures for these injunctions.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to publish a report under section 4 of the Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration etc) Act 2019 on whether, and if so how, the law ought to be changed to enable or require coroners to investigate stillbirths; what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the absence of a published position on (a) accountability, (b) learning and (c) the prevention of future deaths; and if he will make an assessment of the reasons for the timing of the publication of the report.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to all parents bereaved by baby loss. Bereavement is never easy, but the loss of a child is unimaginable, and we recognise the profound and lifelong impact this has on parents and families.
As I have previously set out in correspondence with the Right Honourable Member, the wider landscape of maternity investigations has continued to evolve since the publication of the consultation on the coronial investigation of stillbirths in 2019 and the factual summary of responses published in 2023.
Most recently, this Government commissioned the independent investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal care led by Baroness Amos. As outlined in the investigation’s terms of reference, it will, amongst other issues, look to consider the potential role of coroners in the investigation of late term stillbirths (37 weeks or later).
The Department has not made a formal assessment of the delay in publishing a decision in this area. It is important that the Government’s published position on coronial investigations of stillbirths is informed by any findings and relevant recommendations the independent investigation makes, and more broadly supports the most effective model for maternity investigation, including on vital issues such as learning and accountability. We intend to communicate our position on this issue after the investigation has published its final report in June 2026.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department intends to respond to the coroner's Prevention of Future Death report following the death of Hayley Cowan.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice sent a preliminary reply, making a point of clarification, to the HM Senior Coroner for Greater Manchester on 3 October 2024, following the Prevention of Future Death report issued after the death of Hayley Cowan. No further action has been requested of the Department at this time.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the outcome of the formal investigation into the abscondment of Daniel Boakye.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The formal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the escape from custody is due to be completed by 20 March.
Reports of internal investigations of this nature are not normally published.