Written questions by Snowden.

What assessment he has made of the risks associated with unofficial auditors accessing the open prison estate.

Awaiting answer.

If he will make an estimate of the annual cost to her Department of preparing ministers to respond to Westminster Hall Debates.

Awaiting answer.

How many new prisons have been (a) planned and (b) approved since 5 July 2024.

Awaiting answer.

How local authorities, NHS bodies and safeguarding partnerships will be involved in implementing the recommendations of the Trowler Review.

Awaiting answer.

Who will chair the YCS Safeguarding Oversight Board and how its members will be appointed.

Awaiting answer.

What proportion of staff working in youth custodial settings have current Disclosure and Barring Service checks.

Awaiting answer.

Whether he will publish an implementation plan for the recommendations contained in the Trowler Review.

Awaiting answer.

Whether guidance issued to family courts on child arrangements includes consideration of a child's routines, friendships, extracurricular activities and educational commitments.

Awaiting answer.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce unnecessary waiting times for jurors attending court.

Jurors are integral to the efficient, effective and fair running of the Crown Court system. The Ministry of Justice and HM Courts and Tribunals Service recognise the importance of making optimal use of jurors’ time, and of minimising unnecessary or avoida...

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of jury service loss-of-earnings allowances in meeting the cost of living of jurors.

Jury service is an important civic duty, and the Government is committed to ensuring jurors feel supported throughout their service. All support for jurors is kept under review to ensure that it remains appropriate and accessible. Where jury service is li...

How many staff in his Department are employed wholly or primarily to support the provision of multilingual communications and services; and what is the cost to the public purse of such staff.

The information requested is not held centrally. The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.The Ministry of Justice does not centrally record whether staff are employed wholly or primarily to support the provision of multili...

What assessment he has made of trends in the level of regional disparities in the proportion of diversionary outcomes for children in the youth justice system.

The Youth Justice Board’s recent statistical release, ‘The use of diversionary outcomes in England and Wales 2025’, includes the first official assessment of regional variation in youth diversionary outcomes. This confirmed the ‘postcode lottery’ in youth...

What steps he is taking to ensure that youth justice services have adequate resources and capacity to deliver diversionary interventions at scale.

This Government has committed to investing £15.4 million per year in the Turnaround programme until March 2029, to support Youth Justice Services (YJS) across England and Wales to intervene earlier with children on the cusp of entering the youth justice s...

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of current libel laws in the context of social media.

Defamation – which covers both libel and slander – concerns the publication of material that adversely affects a person’s reputation. Individuals who believe they have been defamed online can bring a claim under the tort of defamation, provided it meets t...

How many prisoners are currently held in cells operating above certified normal accommodation; and what proportion of the adult male closed estate is operating above 100% of certified normal accommodation.

Crowding data is published regularly in HMPPS’s Annual Digest, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmpps-annual-digest-april-2024-to-march-2025.The most recent data for the 12 months ending March 2025 shows:The crowding rate in prison...

If he will make it his policy to ban meat products from prison catering services which have been produced using non-stunned slaughter.

The Government encourages the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter and would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter, but we respect the rights of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs.The N...

Pursuant to the Answers of 29 May 2026 to Questions 2824 and 2825 on Prisons: Overcrowding, at what annual rate his Department projects delivering the remaining c.10,900 places required to meet the 14,000-place t

As set out in the December 2024 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy, we are committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places and have delivered c.3,100 since July 2024. We remain on track to meet our commitment by 2031.Projections for the annual ra...

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of issuing protective body armour to 514 named prison staff.

The 4,499 front-line officers (uniformed Bands 3 – 5) who are employed across the long-term high security estate are among the up to 10,000 prison staff who will receive protective body armour as part of the additional provision we have announced. The pro...

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 May 2026 to Question 1123 on Prison Officers: Body Armour and Stun Guns, how many frontline prison officers are employed in roles classified as high-risk for the purposes of the prote

The 4,499 front-line officers (uniformed Bands 3 – 5) who are employed across the long-term high security estate are among the up to 10,000 prison staff who will receive protective body armour as part of the additional provision we have announced. The pro...

What recent assessment has been made of trends in the level of prison overcrowding.

Crowding data is published regularly in HMPPS’s Annual Digest, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmpps-annual-digest-april-2024-to-march-2025.The most recent data for the 12 months ending March 2025 shows:The crowding rate in prison...