Written questions by Mohamed.

If he will review the cost of leasehold tribunal applications.

Most leasehold applications currently attract an application fee of £114. Fees for leasehold applications to the First-tier Tribunal of the Property Chamber are set at levels which recover only part of the cost of the service. The Government is committed to protecting leaseholders from disproportionate litigation costs. On 26 September 2025, the Government concluded a consultation with proposals to establish exemptions for landlords from seeking tribunal approval to recover litigation costs, permitting temporary suspension of this requirement for specified landlords, and defining the categories of cases in which leaseholders may apply to recover their own litigation costs. The Government is currently analysing responses and will publish the outcome in due course.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of free or pro-bono legal support for leaseholders involved in disputes with property management agents or freeholders.

There are a range of options available for leaseholders involved in disputes with property management agents or freeholders. Advice organisations, such as Citizens Advice and Shelter, may be able to provide advice or signpost to further support, and leaseholders may be able to get support from organisations that specialise in leasehold issues, such as the Leasehold Advisory Service. Alternatively, ombudsman services may be able to provide support with resolving a dispute. Leaseholders may choose to seek pro bono advice via organisations such as LawWorks or Advocate.

How many School Attendance Order (a) prosecutions and (b) fines there were under section 443 of the Education Act 1996 in each of the last 10 years.

The volume of defendants prosecuted and fined for offences under 443 of the Education Act 1996 from 2015 - 2024 (January to September) is provided in the attached table 1.Note that that this is an additional breakdown of statistics published by the Ministry of Justice on volumes of criminal proceedings.

Whether she has had discussions with stakeholders on the potential merits of in-sourcing court language services.

Through the language services stakeholder forum, the Ministry of Justice has regular conversations with stakeholders and was made aware of their view of outsourcing from these conversations. This view was used to clarify the options explored within the delivery model assessment and resulted in the consideration of insourcing, and hybrid options of insource and outsource.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of restoring the scope of cases covered by legal aid to those provided for prior to the Legal Aid, Sentencing, and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

Legal aid is a vital part of the justice system. It underpins our plans to build a justice system that works for victims, supports access to justice, and ultimately upholds the rule of law.The Government is committed to ensuring an effective and sustainable legal aid system and is keen to work closely with practitioners and their representative bodies on this. We are carefully considering options for reform following evidence gathered on the health of the system, including, for example, information gathered as part of the Review of Civil Legal Aid.To support housing legal aid work, we are providing £1.5 million in grant funding for the recruitment of trainee housing solicitors until November 2025.We also recognise the importance of the broader legal support system, beyond legal aid, in helping people to access justice. We are providing over £10 million of grant funding, up to March 2025, to identify what works best in the delivery and provision of legal support for people with social welfare legal problems. This includes the ‘Improving Outcomes Through Legal Support’ grant, which supports the work of 59 organisations to sustain and improve access to early legal support and support at court.It also includes the ‘Online Support and Advice’ Grant, which ensures the provision of online support across a range of civil, family and tribunal problems.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits providing grants to legal aid providers to help increase the accessibility of legal aid.

Legal aid is a vital part of the justice system. It underpins our plans to build a justice system that works for victims, supports access to justice, and ultimately upholds the rule of law.The Government is committed to ensuring an effective and sustainable legal aid system and is keen to work closely with practitioners and their representative bodies on this. We are carefully considering options for reform following evidence gathered on the health of the system, including, for example, information gathered as part of the Review of Civil Legal Aid.To support housing legal aid work, we are providing £1.5 million in grant funding for the recruitment of trainee housing solicitors until November 2025.We also recognise the importance of the broader legal support system, beyond legal aid, in helping people to access justice. We are providing over £10 million of grant funding, up to March 2025, to identify what works best in the delivery and provision of legal support for people with social welfare legal problems. This includes the ‘Improving Outcomes Through Legal Support’ grant, which supports the work of 59 organisations to sustain and improve access to early legal support and support at court.It also includes the ‘Online Support and Advice’ Grant, which ensures the provision of online support across a range of civil, family and tribunal problems.

Whether she plans to take steps to increase legal aid fee rates.

Legal aid is a vital part of the justice system. It underpins our plans to build a justice system that works for victims, supports access to justice, and ultimately upholds the rule of law.The Government is committed to ensuring an effective and sustainable legal aid system and is keen to work closely with practitioners and their representative bodies on this. We are carefully considering options for reform following evidence gathered on the health of the system, including, for example, information gathered as part of the Review of Civil Legal Aid.To support housing legal aid work, we are providing £1.5 million in grant funding for the recruitment of trainee housing solicitors until November 2025.We also recognise the importance of the broader legal support system, beyond legal aid, in helping people to access justice. We are providing over £10 million of grant funding, up to March 2025, to identify what works best in the delivery and provision of legal support for people with social welfare legal problems. This includes the ‘Improving Outcomes Through Legal Support’ grant, which supports the work of 59 organisations to sustain and improve access to early legal support and support at court.It also includes the ‘Online Support and Advice’ Grant, which ensures the provision of online support across a range of civil, family and tribunal problems.