Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to respond to the report of the UK Law Commission's Criminal Appeals consultation.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Law Commission is currently reviewing the responses to its consultation, and we expect to receive the final report with recommendations by late 2026. Once we receive the report, the Government will carefully consider the findings and respond in due course.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, without further legislation or guidance, what percentage of the 80,000 families affected by the Locked Child Trust Fund issue does the government expect to be able to access their funds within the next three years.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It is a longstanding common law principle that an adult requires legal authority to manage property belonging to another adult. This principle has existed long before Child Trust Funds and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and is crucial when the individual in question is a vulnerable person.
The Mental Capacity Act facilitates access for parents and carers to matured Child Trust Funds (CTF) on behalf of young adults who lack capacity, through a legal process that provides necessary safeguards.
Where a CTF account holder lacks capacity to access matured capital funds in their account, a parent or carer can obtain legal authority to manage those funds by making an application to the Court of Protection. Authority can be obtained in advance of the account holder reaching age 18, and in many cases no court fee will be payable.
A toolkit for parents and carers Making Financial decisions for young people who lack capacity’ Making financial decisions for young people who lack capacity: A toolkit for parents and carers - GOV.UK was published in June 2023 and explains the process.
The Ministry of Justice is considering what further steps could be taken to raise awareness of the current law and improving the court process while maintaining necessary safeguards.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his department has made of the key legal or administrative obstacles to solving the Locked Child Trust fund issue.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It is a longstanding common law principle that an adult requires legal authority to manage property belonging to another adult. This principle has existed long before Child Trust Funds and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and is crucial when the individual in question is a vulnerable person.
The Mental Capacity Act facilitates access for parents and carers to matured Child Trust Funds (CTF) on behalf of young adults who lack capacity, through a legal process that provides necessary safeguards.
Where a CTF account holder lacks capacity to access matured capital funds in their account, a parent or carer can obtain legal authority to manage those funds by making an application to the Court of Protection. Authority can be obtained in advance of the account holder reaching age 18, and in many cases no court fee will be payable.
A toolkit for parents and carers Making Financial decisions for young people who lack capacity’ Making financial decisions for young people who lack capacity: A toolkit for parents and carers - GOV.UK was published in June 2023 and explains the process.
The Ministry of Justice is considering what further steps could be taken to raise awareness of the current law and improving the court process while maintaining necessary safeguards.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of prison capacity pressures on Parole Board decision-making or sentence progression, particularly in relation to risk assessments and rehabilitation pathways.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government recognises the pressures on prison capacity but can give reassurance that it has not materially affected parole outcomes. As set out in the Parole Board Annual Report, in 2024-25 the Board concluded c.17,000 cases at either paper or oral hearing, compared to c.16,000 in 2023-24. The proportion of cases reviewed where the Board has directed the offender’s release has remained broadly similar for the last few years (since 2021): around 1 in 4 cases result in a release direction. This indicates that the release rate by the Parole Board has remained broadly stable, suggesting that recent prison capacity pressures have not significantly affected it.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have identified any legacy pressures arising from the centralised prisoner allocation system in regions with higher concentrations of prisoner places; and what steps they are taking to ensure that those pressures do not hinder local investment in crime prevention and rehabilitation programmes.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
With the prison system routinely operating at 98% occupancy, central management of population movements is the only practical mechanism to ensure every legally committed prisoner is accommodated appropriately. This includes transferring prisoners from regions with deficits of prison places to regions with relative surpluses.
To put prison capacity on a sustainable footing, the Government launched an Independent Review of Sentencing on 22 October 2024, chaired by former Lord Chancellor, David Gauke. The review was published on 22 May this year and we are accepting, in principle, the following recommendations which will support effective crime prevention and rehabilitation:
Release will be earned – and the most dangerous offenders excluded.
Ramping up tagging and monitoring, with an up to £700 million uplift in annual probation budgets.
Toughening up punishment outside of prison so offenders pay back their debt to society.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many accidental prisoner releases in that past 12 months were due to (1) human error, (2) incorrect or incomplete paperwork from the courts, (3) communication failures between courts and prisons, and (4) other administrative or operational causes; and what steps they are taking to address those issues.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Release inaccuracy is yet another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government. While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are bearing down on those errors that do occur, and this includes releases in error from prisons.
On 11 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a five-point action plan setting out initial steps, which includes strengthening release checks across prisons and an independent inquiry, which will report its recommendations to prevent further inaccuracies.
The latest data on releases in error from prisons, which we published exceptionally on 11 November, showed that there have been 91 releases in error from prisons from April 2025 to October 2025. Data on releases is based on the information available at the time. It may be the case in some circumstances that information on a case is brought to light that either confirms or disproves a release in error. Future release in error data will be published in the normal way through our regular statistics and Dame Lynne Owens will be looking at data and transparency as part of her independent investigation.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing turnover-based penalties for (a) systemic and (b) repeated equality breaches.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Where a claim under the Equality Act 2010 is upheld, courts and tribunals are able to award an appropriate remedy, including compensation. The Ministry of Justice has no plans to introduce turnover-based penalties for equality breaches.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of CAFCASS in supporting children during family court proceedings who have (a) experienced or (b) witnessed domestic abuse.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
As a Non-Departmental Body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, the oversight and assurance arrangements for Cafcass are carried out in accordance with the Arms-Length Body Code of Practice. Specific areas of oversight are also covered in the Framework Document between the Ministry of Justice and Cafcass. Cafcass is subject to regular inspection by Ofsted; at the most recent inspection conducted in January 2024 Cafcass was rated as “outstanding”. The key findings of the Ofsted report are available here. Ofsted also carried out a ‘focused visit’ between 21 and 23 October 2025, which considered Cafcass’s work in relation to private law proceedings where domestic abuse is a factor. Ofsted’s findings are available here.
Cafcass Family Court Advisers complete mandatory domestic abuse training, including on using Cafcass’ Child Impact Assessment Framework which has guidance and tools for assessing when domestic abuse is a feature of the child’s case. Family Court Advisers are also trained to follow Cafcass’ Domestic Abuse Practice Policy which sets out the actions they must undertake when working with children and adults who have experienced domestic abuse.
This Government is determined to take action to improve the experience of those involved in family law children proceedings, including both adults and children who are victims of domestic abuse and other serious offences. With our partners across the family justice system, we are committed to long-term reform of the family courts and recognise the wide-ranging issues that can make the experience of private law proceedings difficult for vulnerable court users.
Asked by: Lincoln Jopp (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if there are any biological men in HMP Bronzefield.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
As of 1 November, no biological males were being held at HMP Bronzefield.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many disabled people over 18 years old are not able to access their Child Trust Funds because their parents or guardian have not applied to the Court of Protection to access the funds on their behalf.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It is not possible to provide the information requested as this data is not held by the Ministry of Justice. This is because a lack of mental capacity cannot be inferred simply from a person’s disability or condition. Capacity is decision-specific and timebound.
Many disabled young adults are able to manage their own finances, including accessing their matured Child Trust Fund (CTF), with appropriate support where needed. An application to the Court of Protection to access a CTF is only required where the account holder lacks mental capacity to make decisions about their property and affairs and does not have an existing court order or court appointed deputy in place. A deputy may be appointed to manage a range of assets, including any CTF, or the court can make a one-off order for CTF access.
The Government recognises that the transition to adulthood can be a challenging time for young disabled people and their families. To support them, guidance has been published on GOV.UK in the form of a toolkit, “Making financial decisions for young people who lack capacity”, which raises awareness on the arrangements that they need to have in place.