Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to replace custodial sentences of 12 months or fewer with community sentences.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Independent Sentencing Review has recommended that the Government limit the use of short custodial sentences, a position we support.
We know that community orders and suspended sentence orders can more effectively reduce reoffending when compared to short sentences of immediate custody. While short custodial sentences may be useful in some circumstances, they often fall short in the meaningful rehabilitation of offenders and have a limited deterrent effect. Instead, more of those individuals should be dealt with through tough community sentences that incentivise them to turn their lives around.
Following the Independent Sentencing Review, we will bring forward legislation, in the coming months.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will commission research on the potential impact of (a) first and (b) second cousin marriage on local communities.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We are aware that all aspects of weddings law, including first cousin marriage, are important. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is the Department responsible for community cohesion, including policy on faith, belief, and diasporic communities, and regularly undertakes work to understand and support local communities.
At the Ministry of Justice, we are taking the time to properly consider weddings law, before publicly setting out our position.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing funding for specialist advice services.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We recognise the importance of access to justice and the key role that legal advice and support services play in helping people resolve their legal issues.
This year we have invested over £6 million of grant funding to 60 organisations in 2025-26, via the Improving Outcomes Through Legal Support Grant and the Online Support and Advice Grant, to support the delivery of essential advice and support services.
We are also working with the advice sector to co-develop and implement a long-term strategy to make the legal support system more sustainable, effective and efficient. We have established the Legal Support Strategy Delivery Group, comprised of key stakeholders from across the advice sector, to support this work. The workplan focuses on three key themes: service delivery, data and evidence, and funding. The funding theme is exploring options for unlocking more sustainable and consistent funding streams for advice services, as well as how to drive more collaborative and joined-up funding of the advice sector across funders.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions her Department has had with the devolved Administrations on support for victims of (a) stalking and (b) coercive control.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Department regularly engages with the devolved administrations regarding support for victims.
Section 16 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 applies to England and to reserved matters in Wales. It is important that victims can expect as consistent support as possible in both nations and when engaging with agencies across the border. Ministry of Justice officials have worked with relevant officials in the Welsh Government in developing the guidance on the Independent Domestic Violence Adviser and Independent Sexual Violence Adviser roles published in May 2025. We will continue to engage with them on the Independent Stalking Advocate guidance which we will publish next year.
Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in Wales receive funding from the Ministry of Justice to commission local practical, emotional, and therapeutic support services in their areas for victims of all crime types including stalking and coercive control. Additional ringfenced funding is also provided for domestic abuse and sexual violence support services. The Department routinely engages with Welsh PCCs to monitor and understand the commissioning landscape.
The Inter-Ministerial Group for Justice (IMGJ) is a forum for ministers from all four UK governments to discuss priority justice matters and exchange best practice approaches. We anticipate that victims’ issues will be discussed at future IMGJ meetings.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions she has had with (a) organisations and (b) stakeholders on the creation of a criminal offence specifically targeting drink spiking.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government committed, in its manifesto, to create a new offence covering spiking. Our aim is to create a clear and modern offence that covers the wide range of behaviours currently associated with spiking, encourage victims to report such incidents and help the police respond effectively. In developing this new offence, included in the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government listened to the views of stakeholders, such as Spike Aware and Stamp Out Spiking, survivors and worked with other organisations, such as law enforcement and the Crown Prosecution Service.
The Government has designed the new offence to capture all incidents of spiking, including drink spiking, and where the substance is administered by other methods, such as by needle, food, vape etc.
Whilst every case will turn on its facts, if someone administers a harmful substance as a prank, they would likely be found to have intent to “injure, aggrieve or annoy” the other person. This offence is part of a package of measures designed to tackle spiking and ensure victims can receive justice.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what support her Department provides to victims of violent crimes who have been waiting more than twelve months for a decision on their Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority claim.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 (the 2012 Scheme) does not prescribe a time limit for applications to be decided.
The majority of applications are decided within 12 months. Each case must be considered on its own facts and assessed based on the information available. In almost all cases, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) needs to get information from third parties such as the police and medical authorities to help assess applications.
Some applications will by necessity take longer to decide. This could be where information is not available due to ongoing court proceedings, CICA needs time to assess the long-term impacts of complex injuries (e.g. brain injuries), or where there is an application for loss of earnings where the 2012 Scheme requires at least 28 weeks of loss.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if her Department will support the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority to reduce claim processing times.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 (the 2012 Scheme) does not prescribe a time limit for applications to be decided.
The majority of applications are decided within 12 months. Each case must be considered on its own facts and assessed based on the information available. In almost all cases, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) needs to get information from third parties such as the police and medical authorities to help assess applications.
Some applications will by necessity take longer to decide. This could be where information is not available due to ongoing court proceedings, CICA needs time to assess the long-term impacts of complex injuries (e.g. brain injuries), or where there is an application for loss of earnings where the 2012 Scheme requires at least 28 weeks of loss.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to ensure that victims of (a) spiking and (b) prank spiking have adequate access to justice.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government committed, in its manifesto, to create a new offence covering spiking. Our aim is to create a clear and modern offence that covers the wide range of behaviours currently associated with spiking, encourage victims to report such incidents and help the police respond effectively. In developing this new offence, included in the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government listened to the views of stakeholders, such as Spike Aware and Stamp Out Spiking, survivors and worked with other organisations, such as law enforcement and the Crown Prosecution Service.
The Government has designed the new offence to capture all incidents of spiking, including drink spiking, and where the substance is administered by other methods, such as by needle, food, vape etc.
Whilst every case will turn on its facts, if someone administers a harmful substance as a prank, they would likely be found to have intent to “injure, aggrieve or annoy” the other person. This offence is part of a package of measures designed to tackle spiking and ensure victims can receive justice.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) men, and (2) women, over the age of 50 received custodial sentences of 12 months or fewer for non-violent offences over the past three years.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on sentences for non-violent offences in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool. The data tool can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2024.
The number of over 50-year-old men and women who received custodial sentences of 12 months or less for non-violent offences can be found in the table below.
The number of people aged 50 and above who received a custodial sentence of 12 months or fewer for non-violent offences, in England and Wales (1,2,3,4,5)
Sentenced | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
Male | 2,650 | 2,900 | 3,630 |
Female | 215 | 225 | 269 |
| 2,865 | 3,125 | 3,899 |
Source: Court Proceedings Database
Notes:
1. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
2. These figures are presented on a principal offence basis - i.e. reporting information relating to the most serious offence that a defendant was dealt with for. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
3. These figures are presented on a principal disposal basis - i.e. reporting the most severe sentence issued for the offence.
4. The figures in the table exclude violence against the person offences but some offences that involved the use of violence can still be recorded under other offence categories.
5. The age recorded is the age at the point of sentencing.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2025 to Question 56664 on Prisoners' Transfers: Transgender People, whether E Wing at HMP Downview is considered to be in the women's or men's prison estate.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The general female estate comprises the establishments in which female prisoners are accommodated. E Wing at HMP/YOI Downview is a special unit: it is not part of the general women's estate. Prisoners on E Wing are located separately from all other prisoners at HMP/YOI Downview. They may receive supervised access to activities in the main prison’s regime, such as visits, education, work and faith services. Such access is provided only where a local risk assessment has determined this to be appropriate.
As of 1 July, seven prisoners were being held on E Wing.
We are reviewing all relevant policy in light of the Supreme Court ruling and will set out any changes to our approach in due course.