Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to compensate people who carry out community service as part of a criminal sentence that is later overturned.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
There is no specific route to claim compensation related to any work or community service undertaken as part of a sentence, which is subsequently overturned.
For individuals who have suffered a miscarriage of justice, section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act provides for the Secretary of State to pay compensation to an individual, subject to meeting the statutory test. This is administrated by the Miscarriages of Justice Application Service. If an individual is deemed eligible, the level of award is determined by an Independent Assessor, and in October 2025, we increased the maximum cap for compensation by 30%.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the written answer 106063 of 14 January 2026 on Community Orders: Appeals, how many people have received compensation for work undertaken following their sentence being overturned.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
There is no specific route to claim compensation related to any work or community service undertaken as part of a sentence, which is subsequently overturned.
For individuals who have suffered a miscarriage of justice, section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act provides for the Secretary of State to pay compensation to an individual, subject to meeting the statutory test. This is administrated by the Miscarriages of Justice Application Service. If an individual is deemed eligible, the level of award is determined by an Independent Assessor, and in October 2025, we increased the maximum cap for compensation by 30%.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department's amendment of Section 288(2) of the Sentencing Code will take effect.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Sentencing Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 22 January 2026. This measure commences automatically 2 months after Royal Assent, on 22 March 2026.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of rape trials in England and Wales that were postponed in each year since 2015; and what the principal reasons were for those postponements.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes figures for the volume of ineffective trials and reasons on a quarterly basis in the ‘Trial effectiveness at the criminal courts’ tool: Criminal court statistics quarterly: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK. An ineffective trial does not take place on the scheduled trial start date and requires a subsequent rescheduled listing.
A vacated trial is one that is removed from the trial list prior to the date of trial. These trials may or may not be listed for a future date. The trial effectiveness tool also includes data on the volume of vacated trials, but the Ministry of Justice does not currently publish reasons for vacation.
The offence group field can be filtered for ‘02: Sexual offences – All Rape’ and there is also a filter for the reason for ineffective trials.
Asked by: Lee Barron (Labour - Corby and East Northamptonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the rationale for requiring separate applications for a Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney and a Property and Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney, where both powers are granted to the same individual.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) allows a person (the donor) to choose people they trust (the attorney) to make decisions for them should they lose the mental capacity to make their own decisions. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 provides the legal framework for LPAs, one for Property and Financial Affairs and one for Health and Welfare, reflecting their different scopes and use.
While donors often appoint the same attorney for both, the instruments remain separate to avoid confusion arising from the differing points to which each LPA can be used and ensures donors can make clear, informed decisions about each type of power. The Health and Welfare LPA may also contain sensitive health information which is not relevant for Property and Financial Affairs decisions. There were consultations in 2012 and 2013 which included proposals for a combined form but, in line with the responses, the Department did not proceed with this idea.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the number of convictions for violence against women and girls in England and Wales in the last 12 months.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Violence against women and girls constitutes a number of offences. The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data on convictions for a number of offences including offences related to violence against women and girls in the Outcomes by Offence data tool. This can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
The Government cannot and does not seek to influence convictions or judicial outcomes, which are rightly matters for the independent judiciary. However, as part of our mission to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, we recognise it is vital for victims to feel able to come forward and obtain the justice they deserve.
In December, we published our ‘Freedom from violence and abuse: a cross-government strategy’, which sets out the actions we are taking to achieve our VAWG mission. To support victims to come forward and feel able to stay engaged throughout the justice process, our strategy sets out a comprehensive package of measures to strengthen support at every stage of the criminal justice system. This includes court measures to protect victims from intrusive cross-examination, stronger perpetrator management through a national rollout of Domestic Abuse Protection Orders, and the largest-ever investment of £550 million into victim support services over the next three years.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of safeguarding practices on requiring parents to seek retrospective court remedies.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government is committed to protecting children from harm. The Children Act 1989 sets out specific duties for local authorities to provide services to children in their area if they are in need and to undertake enquiries if they believe a child has suffered or is likely to suffer significant harm.
Under Section 46 of the Children Act 1989, police may only facilitate a change in a child’s place of residence despite the refusal of a parent with parental responsibility if a child is at immediate risk of significant harm, by exercising Police Protection Powers. In this case, police may only remove a child or keep a child in a safe place for a maximum 72 hours before requiring a court authorisation to sustain the separation from their parent with parental responsibility.
There are already clear expectations that the local authority brings the matter before the family court within the 72-hour time limit, ensuring judicial oversight of continued change in a child’s place of residence.
Under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989, local authorities can also change a child’s place of residence with the consent of all people that hold parental responsibility for that child.
Whether an application is made prior to or after a child's change of residence, the Government recognises that involvement in family court proceedings, including when children are moved for safeguarding purposes, can be a distressing experience for the families involved. That is why the Department for Education has funded research, conducted by Birkbeck university, into the experiences of parents, children and special guardians involved in public law family court proceedings, as well as a policy and literature review of advice and information materials available to parties. The report setting out their findings and recommendations can be found here: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/56714/.
The Government welcomes this report and takes the experiences of children and families in the family court system seriously.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average length of time was from charge to completion in court for rape cases in England and Wales in each year since 2016.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes figures for Crown Court timeliness on a quarterly basis in the ‘End-to-end timeliness tool (Crown Court)’. This includes time taken from charge to completion for rape cases: Criminal court statistics quarterly: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK.
Offence group can be filtered for ‘02: Sexual offences – all rape’. Both the mean and median time from charge to completion can be found in the table, dating back to 2016.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to introduce targets for the time taken by the Office of the Public Guardian to process and register (a) amendments and (b) cancellations to existing Lasting Powers of Attorney.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) keeps its performance targets under regular review to ensure they remain appropriate and aligned with demand and operational capacity. The performance metrics focus on the registration of new Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) and the discharge of statutory responsibilities. OPG already operates published targets for the registration of LPAs, with performance reported annually.
In 2024–25, the average processing times for LPAs and Enduring Powers of Attorney reduced significantly to 49 working days, down from 76 working days in 2023–24. This improvement reflects sustained efforts to clear a backlog of applications. Amendments to, and cancellations of, existing LPAs vary in complexity, and their timeliness is monitored through internal performance management arrangements. The organisation does not collect or publish detailed operational data on the processing times for deeds of revocation. While OPG aims to process such requests within 15 working days of receipt, it does not record individual clearance times for these cases. As a result, the shortest, median and longest processing times for cancellation requests in 2025 cannot be provided.
Existing guidance on GOV.UK explains the process for revoking an LPA, including the requirement for a donor to complete a Deed of Revocation in the prescribed form. OPG keeps its published guidance under regular review. While OPG does not currently publish specific guidance on the precise legal point at which an LPA is considered revoked, the legal position is set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), an LPA is revoked once the donor has executed a valid Deed of Revocation and notified OPG. OPG will continue to review its guidance to ensure it remains clear, accessible and aligned with statutory requirements.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what is the (a) shortest, (b) median and (b) longest time taken by the Office of the Public Guardian to process a cancellation request for an existing Lasting Power of Attorney in 2025.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) keeps its performance targets under regular review to ensure they remain appropriate and aligned with demand and operational capacity. The performance metrics focus on the registration of new Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) and the discharge of statutory responsibilities. OPG already operates published targets for the registration of LPAs, with performance reported annually.
In 2024–25, the average processing times for LPAs and Enduring Powers of Attorney reduced significantly to 49 working days, down from 76 working days in 2023–24. This improvement reflects sustained efforts to clear a backlog of applications. Amendments to, and cancellations of, existing LPAs vary in complexity, and their timeliness is monitored through internal performance management arrangements. The organisation does not collect or publish detailed operational data on the processing times for deeds of revocation. While OPG aims to process such requests within 15 working days of receipt, it does not record individual clearance times for these cases. As a result, the shortest, median and longest processing times for cancellation requests in 2025 cannot be provided.
Existing guidance on GOV.UK explains the process for revoking an LPA, including the requirement for a donor to complete a Deed of Revocation in the prescribed form. OPG keeps its published guidance under regular review. While OPG does not currently publish specific guidance on the precise legal point at which an LPA is considered revoked, the legal position is set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), an LPA is revoked once the donor has executed a valid Deed of Revocation and notified OPG. OPG will continue to review its guidance to ensure it remains clear, accessible and aligned with statutory requirements.