Written questions by Fox.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of trends in SEND Tribunal outcomes since December 2024; and whether any changes in guidance or instructions have been issued to Tribunal judges regarding the consideration of appeals.

The Ministry of Justice publishes trends in SEND Tribunal outcomes through quarterly published tribunal statistics. A link to the statistics can be found here: Tribunal Statistics Quarterly: July to September 2025 - GOV.UKThe Department and Ministers do not issue guidance or instructions to judges on how to determine appeals. Judicial office holders are independent. Since December 2024, the Chamber President of the First-tier Tribunal, Health, Education and Social Care Chamber has issued Presidential Practice Guidance No. 1 of 2025 on procedure for the preparation of appeals and claims in the Special Educational Needs and Disability, and Disability Discrimination in Schools jurisdictions. Further, the Senior President of Tribunals, with the approval of the Lord Chancellor, has issued a Practice Direction on the preparation of hearing bundles in those jurisdictions. These concern procedure and case preparation rather than the substantive consideration of appeals.

Pursuant to answer of 24 June 2025 to Question 60160 on Victim Support Schemes: Finance, how much ringfenced funding for Domestic Violence and Domestic Abuse Support will be provided in the (a) 2025-26 and (b) 2026-27 financial year.

Ensuring victims receive the right and timely support is a key part of this Government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls.We provide funding to all 42 Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) which includes ringfenced funding for domestic abuse and sexual violence services. These services are commissioned based on local need.I have protected dedicated VAWG victims spending in the Department by maintaining 2024-25 funding levels for ringfenced domestic abuse and sexual violence support this year. This includes combined ringfenced funding for PCCs to spend on domestic abuse and sexual violence support services.As announced on 2 December 2025, Ministry of Justice will be investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years of this Spending Review period – the biggest investment in victim support services to date. This includes a 2% uplift year on year for the next two years to funding for PCCs. The breakdown of grant funding is also publicly available on the Government Grants Information System (GGIS), which is released annually in March covering the previous financial period of grant spending.

What proportion of staff in her Department have flexible working arrangements; and how many of those work compressed hours.

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

What steps she has taken to ensure that there is sufficient capacity for tribunals to handle any increased caseload following the Renters' Rights Bill going into force.

His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service is undertaking a significant programme of work in preparation for an increased caseload in the tribunal following commencement of the Renters’ Right Bill. This includes streamlining case handling processes and establishing a centralised operational hub; ensuring the availability of suitable estates capacity for hearings; delivering critical improvements to the existing technology systems to increase resilience and support increased workloads; and recruitment of additional administrative staff. Plans are also in train to recruit additional judicial office holders.The Government has concluded that there is a sound case for an alternative body or mechanism to make initial determinations on rent challenge cases in the future. This would relieve some demand from the tribunals. The Government intends to establish such a body or mechanism, subject to completing a full viability assessment. Further details of this will be confirmed in due course.

Whether her Department has made an assessment ​of the potential impact of the Renters' Rights Bill on levels of capacity in (a) the civil courts and (b) tribunals.

The Ministry of Justice (including its executive agency His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service) is working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to assess the potential impact of the Renter’s Rights Bill on the justice system, to ensure that there is sufficient resource in the civil courts and tribunals to respond to demand.

What proportion of staff in her Department did not meet the minimum office attendance target in the latest period for which data is available; and what sanctions her Department issues to staff who do not meet this target.

The Ministry of Justice has over 90,000 staff with the majority having operational roles delivering vital frontline services, including in our prisons, courts and probation services.On 24 October 2024 the Cabinet Office announced that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service. Senior managers will continue to be expected to be in the office more than 60% of the time.If people do not meet that reasonable expectation, as with any management instruction it will be dealt with via existing performance management processes and ultimately with disciplinary action should there be sustained failure to comply.For data on office attendance, the Ministry of Justice data is published at: Civil Service Headquarters occupancy data.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Spending Review 2025 on the safeguarding of victims of (a) sexual and (b) domestic abuse.

The Government recognises the scale of violence against women and girls and is treating it as a national emergency. A new cross-government strategy to tackle this will be published this summer.Action has already been taken by piloting Domestic Abuse Protection Orders; introducing new offences for sexually explicit deepfakes, intimate image abuse and spiking and providing free transcripts of sentencing remarks to victims of sexual offences in the Crown Court.We will also establish specialist rape and sexual offences teams in every police force and introduce free independent legal advice for victims of adult rape.

Whether the budget for victim and witness support services will be lower in 2025-26 than 2024-25.

The Ministry of Justice remains committed to supporting victims and witnesses of crime. For the 2025–26 financial year, the Department has protected funding levels for ringfenced sexual violence and domestic abuse support, maintaining them at the same level as in 2024–25.There has been a small reduction to the core budget allocated to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), who are responsible for commissioning local victim support services based on assessed need. This decision was taken in the context of a challenging fiscal environment left behind by the previous Government.The Department continues to work closely with PCCs and sector partners to support the delivery of high-quality services.

Whether there are any requirements for civil servants to book a desk in advance in order to attend the office in person in each of (a) their Department's office workplaces and (b) the arm’s length bodies of their Department.

Ministry of Justice staff are able to attend an office location without needing to book a desk. This includes our Department’s Arm’s Length Bodies. This approach does not apply to non-operational staff based in the operational estate, which has separate access conditions and processes, due to the security requirements of these sites.

How many people convicted of causing a death have been granted parole before the halfway point in their original sentences in the last year.

No prisoners are eligible to be considered for release by the Parole Board before the half-way point in their sentence.

How many Probation Service staff are assigned to work in each office in London; and how many desks are there in each office.

Information on staff numbers at London Probation Delivery Units (PDUs) as at 30 September 2024 can be found in table 16, lines 91-108 (broken down by grade), of the HMPPS workforce statistics bulletin: September 2024 tables at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/673de4672ff787d4e01b0886/hmpps-workforce-statistics-tables-sep-2024.ods.The methodology used to calculate occupancy at Probation Buildings in London Offices does not take into account individual desk usage over specific time periods.

How many HMCTS staff, expressed as a numeric headcount, assigned to 102 Petty France, occupied a desk in 102 Petty France, on average, in the last week for which figures are available.

The new Government has recently committed to keep to the current guidance on civil service office attendance. Office occupancy data for the period July - September has been published, with further publications to now happen on a quarterly basis. The data is published at: Civil Service HQ occupancy data - GOV.UK.

How many departmental staff, expressed as a numeric headcount, assigned to 102 Petty France, occupied a desk in 102 Petty France, on average, in the last week for which figures are available.

The new Government has recently committed to keep to the current guidance on civil service office attendance. Office occupancy data for the period July - September has been published, with further publications to now happen on a quarterly basis. The data is published at: Civil Service HQ occupancy data - GOV.UK.

How many desks in 102 Petty France offices are made available for (a) HMCTS and (b) Ministry of Justice staff.

The new Government has recently committed to keep to the current guidance on civil service office attendance. Office occupancy data for the period July - September has been published, with further publications to now happen on a quarterly basis. The data is published at: Civil Service HQ occupancy data - GOV.UK.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2024, to Question 12889 on Ministry of Justice: Ministers’ Private Offices, if he will provide a breakdown of the (a) goods and services purchased and (b) cost of each.

As outlined in PQ 9269, the Ministry of Justice’s total cost spent on refurbishments to Ministerial Private Offices, including new furniture and fittings, was £13,314.73, during the period requested.The following table provides details of furniture purchased as part of the refurbishment of Ministerial offices:Item purchasedCost (£)3 x large mirrors installed in the offices of the Minister of State and Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State212.261 x freezer for kitchen area193.322 x wooden bookcases for Minister’s office64.86The following table provides a breakdown of refurbishment and redecoration works to Ministerial offices and surrounding areas. “Miscellaneous renovation works” refers to multiple works that cannot be disclosed individually, due to commercial sensitivity around pricing, but includes works such as hanging pictures on walls, and affixing blanking plates to where wires were removed from the wall.Goods or services providedCost (£)Electrical works and cabling4,107.52Addressing wear and tear to Ministerial offices7,240.66Reconfiguring furniture on the Ministerial floor651.02Miscellaneous renovation works579.11

How much and what proportion of victim support funding from the Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner is spent on support for victims of sexual offences; and on what services this funding is spent.

The 42 Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales receive annual grant funding from the Ministry of Justice’s victim and witness budget to commission local practical, emotional, and therapeutic support services for victims of all crime types.My Department has committed £154 million per annum on a multi-year basis across this spending review period, up to the end of March 2025. For 2024/25 we provided £41 million of ringfenced funding for the recruitment of Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisors, and £21 million of ringfenced funding for community-based domestic abuse and sexual violence services.These funding commitments have enabled us to provide tailored support to enable victims of sexual violence to cope and recover from the devastating effect of their crimes. Funding amounts for individual PCC areas are not routinely published.The PCC for Avon and Somerset publishes details on services commissioned in their annual reports available at: https://www.avonandsomerset-pcc.gov.uk/reports-publications/annual-reports/.

With reference to the Answer of 18 September 2024 to Question HL835 on Government Departments: Remote Working, what the requirement is for Parole Board staff to physically attend the office, in terms of average days attending across the working week.

Parole Board staff are not civil servants. As public servants, the Parole Board is independent and sets its own policies on office attendance.

How many civil servants are assigned to work in the Parole Board headquarter office; and how many individual desks are available in that office.

Parole Board staff are public servants, not civil servants. The Parole Board has 54 desks allocated to it at 10 South Colonnade, London, part of the core Ministry of Justice estate.

How many individual desks were occupied in each of the Parole Board’s headquarter offices in the most recent four weeks for which figures are available; and how many staff assigned to each of those offices attended the office in person on average in the same period.

The Parole Board is a nationally dispersed organisation with its headquarters located at 10 South Colonnade. As public servants, the Parole Board is responsible for determining the level of monitoring required on office attendance in accordance with its own HR policies and is not required to report on this to the Ministry of Justice.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2024 to Question 9268 on HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS): Buildings, how many civil servants are assigned to work in HMCTS’s main office; and how many individual desks are available in that office.

For the purposes of this reply, we have interpreted reference to the Ministry of Justice’s headquarters building and the main office for HMCTS as being 102 Petty France.The methodology used to calculate occupancy at the headquarters building at 102 Petty France does not take into account individual desk usage over specific time periods.