Written questions by Snowden.

If she will consider reviewing sentencing guidelines to increase the severity of the punishment for repeat offenders of graffiti.

The maximum sentences available for criminal offences are set by Parliament and the maximum penalty for the offence of criminal damage is ten years’ imprisonment.The independent judiciary will determine the appropriate sentence in individual cases within the maximums set by Parliament, and in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines issued by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.In October 2019, the Council issued guidelines on criminal damage, which provides sentencers with guidance on factors that should be considered, which may affect the sentence given. They set out different levels of sentence based on the harm caused and how culpable the offender is. This is available at: https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/crown-court/item/criminal-damage-other-than-by-fire-value-exceeding-5000-racially-or-religiously-aggravated-criminal-damage/.Whilst the Government has no current plans to ask the Council to consider reviewing the criminal damage guidelines, it is open to individuals to approach the Council to ask that they do so.

With reference to the Law Commission report entitled Building families through surrogacy: a new law, published on 28 March 2023, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of implementing the recommendation on taking away a mother’s parental rights at birth* on levels of risk of adverse mental health effects for the mother should she change her mind after birth.

The Ministry of Justice has not carried out an assessment of the potential impact of implementing this recommendation. The Government will publish a response in due course. Any consideration of this specific recommendation and its implications would form part of this wider work.

What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on increasing the number of convictions for tool theft.

The Lord Chancellor regularly engages with the Home Secretary on a range of criminal justice matters and recognises the serious impact that tool theft has on tradespeople and small businesses. The Ministry of Justice and Home Office are working closely through the National Vehicle Crime Group, which brings together all police forces in England and Wales to coordinate efforts to reduce vehicle-related thefts, including the theft of tools from vans. With regards to individual cases, convictions and sentences is a matter for the courts based on the evidence in the case before them.

If she will review sentencing guidelines for animal cruelty offences in connection with (a) confining an animal in a hot vehicle and (b) other cases of causing unnecessary suffering to animals.

Sentencing guidelines are developed and reviewed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, in fulfilment of its statutory duty to do so.In July 2023, the Council issued guidelines on animal cruelty, which provide the Court with guidance on factors that should be considered, which may affect the sentence given. They set out different levels of sentence based on the harm caused and how culpable the offender is. This is available on its website at: https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/crown-court/item/animal-cruelty/.Whilst the Government has no current plans to ask the Council to consider reviewing the animal cruelty guidelines, it is open to individuals to approach the Council to ask that they do so.

What information her Department holds on when the Legal Aid Agency's online services will be restored following the cyber attack on 23 April 2025.

This is an unprecedented event involving sophisticated organised crime. It is an evolving situation and every effort is being made to restore systems following the criminal attack on our services. The Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) digital services have been taken offline to negate the serious criminal threat and prevent further exposure of legal aid providers and users. We will not reopen the system until the appropriate steps have been taken to enable us to do so. We have been able to return some to internal use, enabling an improved ability to support criminal legal aid applications and payments. The Government are committed to ensuring that operational delivery of legal aid continues. We have put in place business contingency plans to ensure that those most in need of legal support can continue to access the help that they need and that those providing vital legal services can be confident they will continue to receive payments whilst systems are offline. In this way we are continuing to provide legal aid to those who need in without interruption. The recent data breach is the result of heinous criminal activity, but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of the long years of underinvestment under the last Conservative Government. By contrast, since taking power this Government has prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.

How many prosecutions have been brought under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 in the last three years for incidents involving dogs left in dangerously hot vehicles.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of prosecutions under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics. However, data held centrally does not include information on whether defendants were prosecuted for offences related to “incidents involving dogs left in dangerously hot vehicles”. This information may be held in court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.

How many prosecutions related to illegal immigration have been initiated in Fylde constituency in the past year.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions for immigration offences at criminal courts in England and Wales by Police Force Area in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics. Prosecutions data held by the Ministry of Justice relates to the location of the court which delivered the outcome of that prosecution, not where the case was initiated.

What steps she is taking to protect people whose criminal histories were made public as a result of the recent Legal Aid data breach.

To reach as many potentially impacted individuals as possible, the Ministry of Justice published a notice at 08:15 on 19 May on GOV.UK. The statement provides information about the cyber-attack and directs concerned members of the public to the National Cyber Security Centre’s webpage.Further, the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) has set up a dedicated helpline that will be available from Tuesday 27 May for members of the public who are concerned they may have been affected by the LAA data breach. HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) is working with the LAA to facilitate this by standing up an operational call centre team to handle telephone calls.In the days following the discovery, we took immediate action to inform all legal aid providers that some of their details, including financial information, may have been compromised. Further updates, including the decision to temporarily take the LAA's portal offline and contingency measures implemented have been provided by email and a dedicated information page relating to the cyber-attack has been set up: Legal Aid Agency cyber-security incident - GOV.UK.The cyber-attack is subject to an ongoing investigation and the LAA continues to work closely with the National Crime Agency and National Cyber Security Centre. Appropriate actions have been taken to mitigate the impact of the attack and contingency measures have been put in place to ensure those most in need of legal support and advice can continue to access the help they need during this time, as outlined on LAA’s dedicated information page.At the current time, no information about previous or current legal aid service users, such as criminal histories, has been made public as a result of the cyber attack.This data breach is the result of heinous criminal activity, but it was enabled by the long years of neglect and mismanagement of the justice system under the last Conservative Government. The previous Government knew about the vulnerabilities of the Legal Aid Agency digital systems, but did not act. By contrast, since taking office, this Government have prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.

What steps her Department is taking to support residents of Fylde who were impacted by the recent Legal Aid data leak.

To reach as many potentially impacted individuals as possible, the Ministry of Justice published a notice at 08:15 on 19 May on GOV.UK. The statement provides information about the cyber-attack and directs concerned members of the public to the National Cyber Security Centre’s webpage.Further, the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) has set up a dedicated helpline that will be available from Tuesday 27 May for members of the public who are concerned they may have been affected by the LAA data breach. HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) is working with the LAA to facilitate this by standing up an operational call centre team to handle telephone calls.In the days following the discovery, we took immediate action to inform all legal aid providers that some of their details, including financial information, may have been compromised. Further updates, including the decision to temporarily take the LAA's portal offline and contingency measures implemented have been provided by email and a dedicated information page relating to the cyber-attack has been set up: Legal Aid Agency cyber-security incident - GOV.UK.The cyber-attack is subject to an ongoing investigation and the LAA continues to work closely with the National Crime Agency and National Cyber Security Centre. Appropriate actions have been taken to mitigate the impact of the attack and contingency measures have been put in place to ensure those most in need of legal support and advice can continue to access the help they need during this time, as outlined on LAA’s dedicated information page.At the current time, no information about previous or current legal aid service users, such as criminal histories, has been made public as a result of the cyber attack.This data breach is the result of heinous criminal activity, but it was enabled by the long years of neglect and mismanagement of the justice system under the last Conservative Government. The previous Government knew about the vulnerabilities of the Legal Aid Agency digital systems, but did not act. By contrast, since taking office, this Government have prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.

What steps she is taking to support victims of domestic abuse in (a) Fylde and (b) other rural and coastal areas.

The Government is committed to ensuring that all victims of domestic abuse, including those in rural and coastal areas such as Fylde, can access the support they need. Through the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, we are strengthening the rights of all victims and improving their access to services, such as consulting on a new and improved Victims’ Code, or introducing a duty on local commissioners to better collaborate when commissioning victim support services.The Ministry of Justice provides funding to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to commission local victims support services tailored to community needs, allowing PCCs in rural and coastal communities to best support victims in their area. This includes Lancashire PCC, which currently funds 15 domestic abuse organisations, five of which cover the Fylde constituency and other rural areas. These include;Victim Support – National organisation with services across England, including Lancashire and Fylde.Fylde Coast Women’s Aid (FCWA) – Explicitly supports victims of domestic abuse in Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde.Empowerment – Provides a range of services across Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre, including mental health, advocacy, and domestic abuse support.Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – Covers the Fylde coast area, including Fylde.Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board – Oversees health services across the region, including Fylde and other rural areas.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce court backlogs for residents in Fylde constituency.

This Government inherited a record and rising courts backlog. For this financial year (25/26), this Government is funding a record allocation of Crown Court sitting days to deliver swifter justice for victims – 110,000 sitting days this year, 4,000 higher than the last Government funded. However, the scale of the challenge is beyond what increasing sitting days can achieve.That is why we have commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to conduct a review of efficiency that will propose once-in-a-generation reform to deliver swifter justice for victims.In civil justice, courts and tribunals are sitting at, or close to maximum judicial capacity in every jurisdiction.In the Fylde constituency:Crown Jurisdiction:We continue to operate all 13 Crown courtrooms across the Lancashire estate to maximise use of sitting days. Along with a robust case management approach Lancashire runs an Expedited Domestic Abuse trial scheme where Domestic Abuse cases are prioritised and given a trial date within 16 weeks.Magistrates Jurisdiction:Over the last 12 months we have successfully recruited 6 Trainee Legal Advisers which has meant we have been able to increase the number of courts held each week from 30 to 65, reducing waiting times across Lancashire.Family Jurisdiction:Our focus across Lancashire is to progress the family cases in as timely a way as possible whilst balancing the individual circumstances and needs of each case. The Designated Family Judge, along with HMCTS, has implemented a robust case progression initiative. Cases are reviewed and cases that are suitable for the hearing date to be brought forward are prioritised. This is achieved by utilising courtroom capacity that becomes available from other cases resolving.