Asked by: Baroness Sugg (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks to public safety arising from the early release of prisoners, including registered sex offenders, under the current early release scheme.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. Without the changes this Government made, courts would have had to halt trials and the police cancel arrests, undermining public safety.
Whilst measures like the SDS40 change provided the intended medium-term relief to the system, this was only ever a temporary change as a bridge to a more sustainable solution. That is why the Sentencing Act has been passed, to deliver a more sustainable solution to the prison capacity crisis we inherited.
Following a review, the Prime Minister and Lord Chanceller have decided that rape and certain child sex offences will be excluded from the progression model and these sentences will retain their current release points. This is in addition to the 18,000 offenders who are already ineligible for earlier release under the model given they have either been found by a court to be the most dangerous or are serving a life sentence.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks to public safety arising from the early release of prisoners, including registered sex offenders, under the current early release scheme.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. Without the changes this Government made, courts would have had to halt trials and the police cancel arrests, undermining public safety.
Whilst measures like the SDS40 change provided the intended medium-term relief to the system, this was only ever a temporary change as a bridge to a more sustainable solution. That is why the Sentencing Act has been passed, to deliver a more sustainable solution to the prison capacity crisis we inherited.
Following a review, the Prime Minister and Lord Chanceller have decided that rape and certain child sex offences will be excluded from the progression model and these sentences will retain their current release points. This is in addition to the 18,000 offenders who are already ineligible for earlier release under the model given they have either been found by a court to be the most dangerous or are serving a life sentence.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of changes to jury trials proposed in the Courts and Tribunals Bill on the Crown Court backlog.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The published Impact Assessment for the Courts and Tribunals Bill shows that the structural reform package in the Bill is expected to reduce incoming demand on Crown Court time by almost 20%. The Impact Assessment can be found here: (Courts and Tribunals Bill (Structural Criminal Court) Impact Assessment).
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of prisoner awareness and understanding of what to do when a fire occurs; and what steps they are taking to ensure prisoners are aware of what to do when fires occur.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Upon arrival, all prisoners receive a comprehensive fire safety induction covering the actions to take in the event of a fire and the risks and consequences associated with fire-setting behaviour. The quality and effectiveness of the induction process are subject to quarterly audits to ensure compliance and consistency across the prison estate.
All prisons have an adequate level of fire suppression. In the closed prison estate, 11 prisons are equipped with both fixed automatic and manual water misting systems: four of these have automatic systems in all cells, and seven have automatic systems installed in some cells, with manual provision in the remainder. The other 101 closed prisons are equipped with manual water misting systems.
H M Prison & Probation Service’s technical standards require all new closed prisons and secure accommodation blocks to be fitted with fixed automatic water misting systems in prison cells.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prisons are equipped with (1) automatic water misting systems only, (2) manual handling water misting systems only, or (3) both automatic and manual handling water systems.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Upon arrival, all prisoners receive a comprehensive fire safety induction covering the actions to take in the event of a fire and the risks and consequences associated with fire-setting behaviour. The quality and effectiveness of the induction process are subject to quarterly audits to ensure compliance and consistency across the prison estate.
All prisons have an adequate level of fire suppression. In the closed prison estate, 11 prisons are equipped with both fixed automatic and manual water misting systems: four of these have automatic systems in all cells, and seven have automatic systems installed in some cells, with manual provision in the remainder. The other 101 closed prisons are equipped with manual water misting systems.
H M Prison & Probation Service’s technical standards require all new closed prisons and secure accommodation blocks to be fitted with fixed automatic water misting systems in prison cells.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to trial the removal of vapes in prisons.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Prison Service has established a national working group to consider future policy options relating to vaping in prisons. This work remains at an early stage of development, and no decisions have been made. Several prisons in the north of England are also considering the practical implications of vape removal.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there are trials in any prisons in the north of England regarding preventing prisoners from accessing vapes; and, if so, when they expect the evaluation of those trials to be published.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Prison Service is considering the practical implications of vape removal. There are currently no active trials to prevent prisoners accessing vapes in prisons in the north of England.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the provisions in the Public Office (Accountability) Bill on the functions of the security services.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has worked closely with the UK Intelligence Community and with the Intelligence and Security Committee to assess the impact of any measures on the functions of the intelligence and security services.
The Bill includes measures designed to ensure that sensitive information is handled securely and can be protected from inappropriate disclosure. This includes information related to the functions of the intelligence and security services.
As for all public authorities, there will be some limited costs for the intelligence and security services in preparing for the application of the duty and in adapting existing practice to meet its requirements. The Bill’s impact assessment sets out that the extent of ‘new’ costs in the support of these investigative processes is likely to be low.
The Government will continue to review the impact assessment of the Bill as the Bill is amended.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the appropriateness of current sentences for sexual offences.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent judiciary. They must sentence within the legislative framework set by Parliament, and in line with the relevant Sentencing Council guidelines, unless not in the interest of justice to do so.
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 establishes a comprehensive framework of serious offences with robust maximum penalties. These penalties reflect the gravity with which such offending is treated.
The Government keeps criminal offences and the associated penalties under review to ensure that the legislative framework remains effective, proportionate and responsive to the seriousness of offending. The legislation has recently been further strengthened through the creation of specific sexual offences against children under 16, which carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. This demonstrates the Government’s commitment to ensuring that the law provides the highest level of protection for children and reflects the seriousness of these crimes.
Asked by: Baroness Sugg (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of specialist courts to fast-track rape cases.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We remain committed to fulfilling our manifesto commitment to introduce specialist rape courts. We are working with criminal justice partners and external stakeholders to develop plans for what form such courts should take. This includes a consideration of case timelines and progression, victim experience, the use of special measures and the effective operation of the courts.
The Government is already taking decisive action to revive our criminal court system and address long-standing issues that impact all victims, particularly those of rape and other serious sexual offences.
The uncapping of Crown Court sitting days in the 26/27 financial year means that more rape and other sexual offence cases can be heard more promptly. Judges will continue to prioritise cases involving vulnerable victims and witnesses, including rape and other sexual offences. Under the judiciary's new National Listing Framework published in July 2026, RASSO cases will be prioritised in listing and, crucially, the practice of floating these cases will end.
Lengthy delays can be particularly difficult for victims of rape and sexual violence and so we are taking forward a range of measures to improve the experience of these victims through the criminal justice system. This includes introducing independent legal advisors for adult rape victims, rolling out trauma-informed training to all court staff, and delivering legislative reforms to protect victims, particularly victims of sexual offences, from unnecessary and intrusive cross-examination about their personal lives at court.