Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

Pursuant to the answer of 20th October 2025, to question 79734 on Prison Accommodation: Procurement, which projects previously supplied by ISG have now been taken over.

Pursuant to the answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 79734, new replacement contractors have been appointed on all the projects previously supplied by ISG and ESS across the Houseblocks and Refurbishments and Category D Expansion Programmes in line with contingency plans.Work is underway to enable us to recommence delivery across these projects. We are committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places and are on track to do so by 2031, with places fully operational by 2032. We have already delivered c.2,600 of these since taking office.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2025 to Question 82447 on Ministry of Justice: ICT, how many of the 1026 devices lost were (a) secure laptops, (b) secure mobile phones and (c) authentication devices.

Of the 1026 devices lost, 317 were laptops (30.9%), and 709 were mobile phones (69.1%). There were 0 authentication devices.All of these devices were secured to HMG standards, using encryption and other methods to ensure that data on them remains inaccessible if the device is lost or stolen.

Pursuant to the answer of 20th October 2025 to question 79734 on Prison Accommodation: Procurement, by when a programme is planned to be developed to recommence delivery.

Pursuant to the answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 79734, new replacement contractors have been appointed on all the projects previously supplied by ISG and ESS across the Houseblocks and Refurbishments and Category D Expansion Programmes in line with contingency plans.Work is underway to enable us to recommence delivery across these projects. We are committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places and are on track to do so by 2031, with places fully operational by 2032. We have already delivered c.2,600 of these since taking office.

How many prisoners have been released from prison early in error since 5 July 2024.

Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government.While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are clamping down on those releases in error that do occur. As the Deputy Prime Minister set out to the House, immediate measures have been introduced to strengthen release checks across prisons – making them the strongest release checks to ever be in place.We have gripped this chaos – by building more prison places, ending the last Government’s early release scheme, being transparent with the public, immediately making changes to sentences to ease pressure on the system and, now, taking landmark reforms through our Sentencing Bill to make sure that prisons never run out of places again.Annual totals for releases in error are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via Prison and Probation Performance Statistics - GOV.UK, and provide data up to March 2025.The total number of releases in error from 5 July 2024 to 31 March 2025 is 193.The number of people who have been released in error since April 2025 cannot be provided because it would form a subset of releases in error data which underpins future versions of these Official Statistics.

How many prison officers have been suspended for mistakenly releasing prisoners early since 5 July 2024.

The Ministry of Justice cannot provide the information requested. The internal HR system records details of staff suspensions but does not include the reasons for those suspensions. It is therefore not possible to identify, from centrally held data, which suspensions may relate specifically to the mistaken early release of prisoners.

How many (a) phones, (b) laptops and (c) other electronic devices have been lost by staff in his Department between (i) 5 July 2024 and 4th July 2025 and (ii) since 5th July 2025.

Between 5 July 2024 and 4 July 2025, 807 devices were reported as lost or stolen, totalling 0.47% of the estate. Since 5 July 2025, 219 devices (0.13% of the estate) have been reported as lost or stolen.Strong safeguards are in place to protect Ministry of Justice data and we continually review our processes.

How many children were murdered by other children by (a) age and (b) gender in each year since 2015.

The information requested on the number of children prosecuted for the offences listed (all forms of violent assault, battery, actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm, murder and sexual assault offences) by age and gender, can be found at: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: December 2024 - GOV.UK.The Ministry of Justice does not hold data on the number of children arrested and charged as this is a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service. However, some information on arrests and charges can be found within the Crime Outcomes in England and Wales produced by the Home Office.Data centrally held does not include the number of children who were victims of crimes committed by other children, beyond information included in the offence type, nor how many children were murdered by other children, beyond infanticide. Whilst this information may be held in court records, examining individual records would incur disproportionate costs.

With reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of funding for (a) talent, (b) training and (c) proactive workforce planning to accelerate AI adoption.

The Ministry of Justice has not made a specific cost estimate for funding talent, training, or proactive workforce planning to accelerate AI adoption.In establishing the Justice AI Unit, we are focused on delivering value for money by building internal capability and reducing reliance on external consultancies. This includes the launch of the Justice AI Fellowship to attract top digital and AI specialists, the Justice AI Academy to develop graduate skills, and the AI Talent Accelerator to upskill existing staff. These initiatives form part of the Department’s wider workforce and digital capability programmes, funded within existing departmental resources.

With reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the embedding of AI in the criminal justice system on the personalised rehabilitation of offenders.

AI shows great potential to help deliver swifter, fairer, and more accessible justice for all and this includes improving rehabilitation outcomes. The Ministry of Justice’s AI Action Plan for Justice sets out our ambition to target high-value use cases, which includes enabling personalised education and rehabilitation (e.g. tailored training for our workforce and offenders).

With reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the early results of the AI rollout.

We have received positive qualitative feedback from staff who have used general purpose productivity tools rolled out to the Ministry of Justice workforce. Staff have cited that these tools have helped them draft documents and summarise information at pace, freeing up time for higher-value work.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2025 to Question 46175 on Sexual Offences Act 2003, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to remove the requirement for the accused to have a penis in order to be charged with rape.

The Sexual Offences Act 2003 provides a robust framework of very serious offences criminalising non-consensual sexual penetration. The offence of rape under section 1 of that Act is committed whenever there is intentional penile penetration of a person’s mouth, anus or vagina without consent or reasonable belief in consent. Intentional sexual penetration of a person’s vagina or anus with something other than a penis and without consent or reasonable belief in consent is criminalised by the offence of assault by penetration under section 2 that Act. “Forced penetration”, where a person forces another to penetrate them with their penis (or something else) is covered by the offence of “causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent” under section 4 of that Act. These three sexual offences are equally serious under the law where penetration is involved and all attract a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The law in this area is rightly robust, well understood and working effectively. We therefore have no plans to amend the legal definition of section 1 rape, but we continue to keep the criminal law under review.

How many children were (a) arrested, (b) charged and (c) prosecuted for (i) all forms of violent assault, (ii) battery, (iii) actual bodily harm and (iv) grievous bodily harm by (A) age and (B) gender in each year since 2015.

The information requested on the number of children prosecuted for the offences listed (all forms of violent assault, battery, actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm, murder and sexual assault offences) by age and gender, can be found at: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: December 2024 - GOV.UK.The Ministry of Justice does not hold data on the number of children arrested and charged as this is a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service. However, some information on arrests and charges can be found within the Crime Outcomes in England and Wales produced by the Home Office.Data centrally held does not include the number of children who were victims of crimes committed by other children, beyond information included in the offence type, nor how many children were murdered by other children, beyond infanticide. Whilst this information may be held in court records, examining individual records would incur disproportionate costs.

How many children were (a) arrested, (b) charged and (c) prosecuted for sexual assault, including rape but excluding statutory rape, by (i) age and (ii) gender in each year since 2015.

The information requested on the number of children prosecuted for the offences listed (all forms of violent assault, battery, actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm, murder and sexual assault offences) by age and gender, can be found at: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: December 2024 - GOV.UK.The Ministry of Justice does not hold data on the number of children arrested and charged as this is a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service. However, some information on arrests and charges can be found within the Crime Outcomes in England and Wales produced by the Home Office.Data centrally held does not include the number of children who were victims of crimes committed by other children, beyond information included in the offence type, nor how many children were murdered by other children, beyond infanticide. Whilst this information may be held in court records, examining individual records would incur disproportionate costs.

With reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of using AI to improve scheduling on prison capacity.

AI tools can quickly create the best schedules by analysing real-time data about staff, capacity, risks, and priorities. We are exploring how this could help with managing prison capacity and other scheduling challenges such as listing in courts and tribunals.

With reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, when he expects the Assessing Risks Needs and Strengths tool to come into use.

The Assessing Risks, Needs and Strengths (or ARNS) tool is being tested by a small group of practitioners across four probation regions currently, to support its ongoing design and development. Elements of ARNS will begin to roll out nationally from March 2026, with further capabilities being released over time.

With reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, what progress he has made in delivering a dedicated AI communications plan.

Transparency of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used is fundamental to earning public trust and ensuring the responsible use of AI. We are making progress against our aim to deliver a dedicated AI Communications Plan, which includes establishing internal and external-facing channels that showcase the department’s ethical use of AI. For the internal workforce, we have established a dedicated ‘AI for All’ hub which provides access to training sessions, webinars, and practical resources to support safe, responsible use of AI tools. Separately, our public-facing online hub at ai.justice.gov.uk serves as a central point of engagement for the public and provides updates on the Ministry of Justice’s ethical use of AI.

With reference to the policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2024, what the timetable is for the establishment of a dedicated Justice AI Unit.

The Justice AI Unit was established in November 2024.

How many children were (a) arrested, (b) charged and (c) prosecuted for murder by (i) age and (ii) gender in each year since 2015.

The information requested on the number of children prosecuted for the offences listed (all forms of violent assault, battery, actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm, murder and sexual assault offences) by age and gender, can be found at: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: December 2024 - GOV.UK.The Ministry of Justice does not hold data on the number of children arrested and charged as this is a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service. However, some information on arrests and charges can be found within the Crime Outcomes in England and Wales produced by the Home Office.Data centrally held does not include the number of children who were victims of crimes committed by other children, beyond information included in the offence type, nor how many children were murdered by other children, beyond infanticide. Whilst this information may be held in court records, examining individual records would incur disproportionate costs.

With reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, what progress he has made in exploring new funding mechanisms to support AI adoption.

The Ministry of Justice is working with existing suppliers to leverage their AI capabilities to support the delivery of services and will continue to explore the opportunities available in the supplier market that will support the delivery of the AI Action Plan. Through Procurement framework including Crown Commercial Services Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Spark DPS frameworks and leveraging the benefits of Memorandums of Understanding in place between HMG and supplier in the marketplace, the Ministry of Justice will develop AI capabilities for the future. The Department is also exploring funding mechanisms for AI and digital with the Department of Science, Innovation & Technology.

How many children were victims of sexual assault excluding statutory rape by other children in each year between 2015 and 2025 by (a) age and (b) gender.

The information requested on the number of children prosecuted for the offences listed (all forms of violent assault, battery, actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm, murder and sexual assault offences) by age and gender, can be found at: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: December 2024 - GOV.UK.The Ministry of Justice does not hold data on the number of children arrested and charged as this is a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service. However, some information on arrests and charges can be found within the Crime Outcomes in England and Wales produced by the Home Office.Data centrally held does not include the number of children who were victims of crimes committed by other children, beyond information included in the offence type, nor how many children were murdered by other children, beyond infanticide. Whilst this information may be held in court records, examining individual records would incur disproportionate costs.