Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 11 September 2026 to question 28100 on Prisons: construction, what is the total amount allocated to further investment to purchase new land to secure potential sites for future prisons between now and 2029/30.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We remain committed to ensuring that the prison estate can meet future capacity requirements and are progressing work to identify and assess potential sites for future prison development.
Decisions on future investment in land acquisition, including the allocation of funding through to 2029/30, will be informed by the outcome of ongoing feasibility and due diligence.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to give police forces routine access to the database holding location data from electronic monitoring tags for use in criminal investigations.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Relevant electronic monitoring information is shared with the police where appropriate. This includes sharing non-compliance information in court-imposed bail cases, where police are the Responsible Agency, and notifying the police of individuals subject to electronic monitoring in the community where monitoring is delivered by EMS.
Responsible Agencies can make an external agency request for information regarding a device wearer to EMS, and this response can be provided within 2 hours and sometimes more quickly, when necessary.
As part of our Acquisitive Crime approach, we also share location data to help the police identify whether wearers were at the scene of a specific acquisitive crime, such as a burglary or vehicle theft, during the minimum window of opportunity to assist with their investigation. Acquisitive Crime will be made available to all remaining forces by the end of this Parliament.
Meanwhile, we are working with the National Police Chiefs Council to explore what further opportunities there might be to improve data sharing.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made in delivering alcohol tagging.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Alcohol Monitoring Abstinence Requirement was introduced in courts as part of a Community Sentence in Wales in October 2020 and England in March 2021. The Alcohol Monitoring on Licence scheme was fully introduced in Wales in November 2021 and England in June 2022.
The Alcohol Monitoring on Licence: Process and Interim Impact Evaluation was published on 30 October 2025. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcohol-monitoring-on-licence-process-and-interim-impact-evaluation. A further impact evaluation will be published late 2027. This will consider the longer-term outcome measure ‘reoffending’, which considers behaviour change after the order has ended for some individuals.
Compliance is strong and our published statistics show that, in June 2026, 98.3% of days on alcohol monitoring were sober days: Electronic Monitoring Statistics Publication, England and Wales: June 2026 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of taking legislative steps to prohibit non-consensual intimate audio-recordings.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
There is a lack of consensus about what constitutes ‘intimate audio’ as a concept. However, depending on the circumstances, this type of abuse may already fall within a number of existing offences where audio recordings are used to harass or blackmail. Communications offences may also apply.
The Government routinely keeps the criminal law under review. We recognise the concerns about intimate audio abuse and will continue to engage with law enforcement agencies and third sector groups to better understand the nature of the problem and any challenges in addressing it.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of powers available to sentence perpetrators who abuse victims through the dissemination of non-consensual intimate audio recordings.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
There is a lack of consensus about what constitutes ‘intimate audio’ as a concept. However, depending on the circumstances, this type of abuse may already fall within a number of existing offences where audio recordings are used to harass or blackmail. Communications offences may also apply.
The Government routinely keeps the criminal law under review. We recognise the concerns about intimate audio abuse and will continue to engage with law enforcement agencies and third sector groups to better understand the nature of the problem and any challenges in addressing it.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to protect victims of abuse relating to non-consensual intimate audio recordings from further abuse and dissemination of such recordings.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
There is a lack of consensus about what constitutes ‘intimate audio’ as a concept. However, depending on the circumstances, this type of abuse may already fall within a number of existing offences where audio recordings are used to harass or blackmail. Communications offences may also apply.
The Government routinely keeps the criminal law under review. We recognise the concerns about intimate audio abuse and will continue to engage with law enforcement agencies and third sector groups to better understand the nature of the problem and any challenges in addressing it.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the time taken for domestic abuse cases to reach a court hearing on the number of victims withdrawing support for a prosecution before trial.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Delays in the criminal justice system can have a significant impact on victims of domestic abuse. This Government is taking decisive action to revive our criminal court system to reduce delays and the impact they have on all victims, including those involved in domestic abuse.
We are investing heavily in Crown Court capacity, court infrastructure, uncapped sitting days, technology and legal aid. We are driving greater efficiency in the courts through measures such as responsible AI innovation, case coordinators for every Crown Court centre, and close collaboration with the judiciary on their reforms to listing practices and virtual hearings guidance.
We have also brought forward structural reforms via the Courts and Tribunals Bill which is currently before Parliament. Measures in the Bill are designed ease pressure on the Crown Court, ensure proportionate allocation of resource, and redress the balance between victims and defendants. These measures make a commitment to reduce the Crown Court backlog and get victims their day in court more quickly.
Alongside wider support measures, pre-recorded cross-examination (section 28) can help reduce the impact of delays by enabling victims to give evidence earlier. The Ministry of Justice’s 2025 section 28 impact evaluation found that, between January 2019 and September 2022, the measure reduced the time between an alleged offence and cross-examination by around five months.
We are separately committed to improving the criminal court response to domestic abuse and as recommended by the Independent Sentencing Review. This includes looking at how to expand the use of Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts to achieve better outcomes for victims.
Furthermore, the Government is committed to ensuring all victims have access to the information and support they need to navigate the criminal justice system. The Ministry of Justice is supporting victims with the largest ever investment of over £550 million in victim support services over the next three years. This includes Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to commission local victim support services for all victims of crime, based on their assessment of local need, including those affected by domestic abuse.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that survivors and domestic abuse specialist services are involved in shaping the proximity-monitoring pilot scheme.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has committed to piloting proximity monitoring technology as part of its wider work to strengthen protections for victims of violence against women and girls. Officials are engaging with key partners across the victims sector, including victims’ commissioners and domestic abuse organisations, to ensure that the pilot is informed by the experiences and needs of victim survivors.
We have established ongoing engagement with victims’ organisations to provide advice and challenge as the pilot is developed.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken to resolve private-law Children Act proceedings.
Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice is committed to improving timeliness in child arrangement proceedings, and the Family Justice Board regularly monitors timeliness data against performance targets it has set both regionally and nationally. We are also working towards publishing a family justice strategy which will set out system-wide actions to support earlier resolution of private law proceedings and reduce demand and delays.
The Government has committed to national rollout of Child Focused Courts across England and Wales by March 2029. The model represents a significant reform to family private law and families benefit from a streamlined, problem-solving approach which enables the court to make safe decisions without delay. Data from the 10 areas already operating the Child Focused Model shows cases are being resolved up to twice as fast as the national average, and outstanding caseloads have fallen by up to 50%.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Independent - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Office of the Public Guardian.
Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Public Guardian is appointed by the Lord Chancellor to carry out statutory responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. These include registering Lasting Powers of Attorney, supervising deputies and addressing concerns when raised.
The Office of Public Guardian’s (OPG) effectiveness against these responsibilities is kept under review by the Ministry of Justice through various mechanisms based on a proportional approach to the requirements set out in the Cabinet Office’s Arm’s Length Body Sponsorship Code of Good Practice and MoJ/OPG Framework Document.
These include: