Written questions by Hayes.

If she will take steps to introduce mandatory prison sentences for people convicted of drug driving offences in cases where no accident has occurred.

The safety of our roads is an absolute priority for this Government. That is why the Department for Transport is committed to delivering a new Road Safety Strategy – the first in over a decade. They will set out next steps on this in due course.While independent judges decide sentences, we are committed to making sure the courts have the sentencing powers to ensure punishments fit the severity of the crime.Provisions in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (the Act) increased the maximum penalty from 14 years’ imprisonment to life for the offences of causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs, and causing death by dangerous driving.We continue to work alongside the Department for Transport to ensure sentencing law for driving offences is appropriate.

Whether she has had discussions with the Victims Commissioner on the recommendations of the Independent Sentencing Review: Final report, published 22 May 2025.

The Victims’ Commissioner met with the Lord Chancellor, Minister Dakin and the Chair of the Independent Sentencing Review, David Gauke, to discuss the recommendations.The Department continues to engage a range of representatives of the victims’ sector on the Government’s response to the Review.

How many and what proportion of people eligible for automatic release from prison after serving 75 per cent of their sentence were convicted of (a) actual bodily harm and (b) grievous bodily harm.

No prisoners are eligible for automatic release at the 75% point.

How many and what proportion of people eligible for automatic release from prison after serving 75 per cent of their sentence were convicted of carrying a knife or blade.

No prisoners are eligible for automatic release at the 75% point.

How many and what proportion of people who are eligible for automatic release from prison after serving 75 per cent of their sentence were convicted of rape.

No prisoners are eligible for automatic release at the 75% point.

What estimate her Department has made of the male estate prison capacity in 2028.

This Government inherited a prison system in crisis due to the previous government only adding 500 places to the estate in 14 years. If our prisons collapse, courts are forced to suspend trials. The police must halt their arrests, crime goes unpunished, and we face the breakdown of law and order in this country.We are building the largest expansion of the prison estate since the Victorians, with 14,000 places by 2031. We have already delivered 2,400 places since taking office.But it is clear that given the rate of demand, we cannot build our way out of this. As the Lord Chancellor set out this week on current forecasts by early 2028, we will be 9,500 places short without further action.That is why she commissioned and published the Independent Sentencing Review to ensure that we never again run out of prison places and that there will always be space to lock up dangerous offenders.

What steps she is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in her Department.

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, the ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various Departments, starting from January 2026.

What steps she has taken to increase provision of legal aid in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands.

This Government recognises that legal aid is a vital part of the justice system. It enables those individuals, who need it most, to have access to publicly funded legal assistance in order to uphold their legal rights.We have recently consulted on uplifts to housing and immigration legal aid fees which would inject an additional £20 million into the sector each year once implemented.In December 2024, we announced that criminal legal aid solicitors will receive up to £92 million more a year, subject to consultation, to support the sustainability of the criminal legal aid market. The consultation is now live and closes on 4 July 2025. This funding is in addition to the £24 million increase we announced in November 2024 for criminal solicitors. This latest commitment reflects the vital work that is undertaken by those who provide criminal legal aid. We are committed to continuing to work with the criminal legal aid profession, on further opportunities to support the overall sustainability, diversity, and efficiency of the system.The Legal Aid Agency is responsible for commissioning legal aid services in England and Wales. Procurement for legal aid contracts is now operated under the ‘always on principle’ so that the procurement remains open during the life of the contract. This is a significant change from the previous approach where firms could only bid to join at the initial tender of what typically was a five-year contract term. This new approach enables new entrants to apply for a contract at any time and for existing providers to expand their services. It is a more flexible approach, removing hard deadlines and maximising the available supply of services.There is currently an adequate supply of services in Lincolnshire and the East Midlands across all categories of civil legal aid, and under the relevant criminal duty solicitor schemes serving the area.

With reference the Supreme Court judgement in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025, whether her Department plans to amend its policy on the use of women only spaces in its buildings by transgender women.

The Supreme Court ruling made it clear that the provision of single-sex spaces is on the basis of biological sex. Providers and Government Departments should note and follow the ruling.It is important that we ensure dignity and respect for all. Trans people should have access to services they need but in keeping with the ruling.The Government is considering the implications of the Court’s judgment, including what this means for Government buildings. We will follow external advice from relevant advisory bodies.

If she will conduct a review into the effectiveness of the Sentencing Council.

The proper role of the Sentencing Council, and the process for making guidelines, must be considered further and in greater depth. The Lord Chancellor has committed to reviewing the role and powers of the Council over the coming months.

If she will take steps to override the Sentencing Council's guidance entitled Imposition of community and custodial sentences - Effective from 1 April 2025.

This Government’s position is clear: we are seeking to remove the unequal treatment before the law in these guidelines.In the first instance, the Lord Chancellor used her power under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and asked the Sentencing Council to reconsider their guidance. On 01 April, we introduced legislation to address the specific issue with these guidelines.The Sentencing Council have now put the guidelines on pause – we are grateful for their constructive engagement on this issue.We will also consider a broader review of the Sentencing Council’s role and powers over the coming months. It is right that we take the time to consider more fundamental reforms.

How many people convicted of drug driving offences were given the maximum sentence in each of the last five years.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on drug driving offence convictions. This is available in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.The number of convictions and the type of sentence related to drug driving offences can be accessed by navigating to the ‘Sentence Outcomes’ tab, using the sentencing outcome filter and filtering the “HO offence code” drop down for:00413 - Cause death by driving without due care / consideration while over prescribed limit - specified controlled drug (MOT)80310 - Driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle whilst unfit through drink or drugs (impairment) - drugs (MOT)80312 - Being in charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle whilst unfit to drive through drink or drugs (impairment) - drugs (MOT)80313 - Drive a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)80314 – Aid/abet driving of a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)80315 - In charge of a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)80316 - Attempt to drive a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)

How many people have been convicted of drug driving offences in Lincolnshire in each of the last 10 years.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on drug driving offence convictions. This is available in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.The number of convictions and the type of sentence related to drug driving offences can be accessed by navigating to the ‘Prosecutions and Convictions’ tab, using the “Police Force Area” filter to select ‘Lincolnshire’ and filtering the “HO offence code” drop down for:00413 - Cause death by driving without due care / consideration while over prescribed limit - specified controlled drug (MOT)80310 - Driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle whilst unfit through drink or drugs (impairment) - drugs (MOT)80312 - Being in charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle whilst unfit to drive through drink or drugs (impairment) - drugs (MOT)80313 - Drive a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)80314 – Aid/abet driving of a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)80315 - In charge of a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)80316 - Attempt to drive a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)The resulting numbers of prosecutions are for offenders appearing at courts in Lincolnshire and the offence may not have originated in Lincolnshire.

What the total amount of fines resulting from drug driving convictions was in each of the last five years.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on fines for drug driving offences. This is available in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.The drug driving offences used in the table are below:00413 - Cause death by driving without due care / consideration while over prescribed limit - specified controlled drug (MOT)80310 - Driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle whilst unfit through drink or drugs (impairment) - drugs (MOT)80312 - Being in charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle whilst unfit to drive through drink or drugs (impairment) - drugs (MOT)80313 - Drive a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)80314 – Aid/abet driving of a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)80315 - In charge of a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)80316 - Attempt to drive a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)

What proportion of food procured by her Department is sourced in the UK.

To date, the Government has not held information on where publicly procured food is sourced from.Starting right away, for the first time ever, this Government will review the food currently bought in the public sector to determine the standards that it is meeting, where it is bought from and look to introduce monitoring for transparency and accountability within those supply chains to ultimately get the best food for the consumer.This work will be a significant first step to inform any future changes to public sector food procurement policies as we want to help make it an equal playing field for British producers to bid into the £5 billion spend each year on public sector catering contracts.

How many people have been (a) charged and (b) prosecuted with communications offences under the Online Safety Act 2023 by offence.

The Online Safety Act introduced a number of communication offences, which were commenced in January 2024. These offences were introduced to criminalise cyberflashing, fake news intended to cause non-trivial harm and other online abuse.The Ministry of Justice publishes data on offenders prosecuted with communications offences under the Online Safety Act 2023. This is available in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.The number of prosecutions for communications offences can be accessed by navigating to the ‘Overall Volumes’ tab, and filtering the “HO offence code” drop down for:13852 – Send false communication with intent to cause harm00528 – Send communication threatening death or serious harm00529 – Send electronic communication with flashing images with intent to harm an individual

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the number of coroners working in Lincolnshire.

Coroner services are locally funded and administered across 77 coroner areas in England and Wales. Statutory responsibility for coroner appointments lies with the funding local authority in each area, and the assessment of resource is based on local caseload and other relevant factors. The Chief Coroner has published guidance and advice to support local authorities in this context.The Government is committed to supporting an inquest process which is as swift as possible and which puts bereaved families at the heart of the process. We recognise the impact of delays on bereaved families and wider systems and we will continue to work closely with the Chief Coroner, local authorities and other key partners to reform and deliver a framework for the future development of coroner services.

For what purposes the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country. CICA has not used AI technology for any live or past applications for compensation. It is exploring the use of AI to enable the extraction of key information from large documents to add further efficiency to its decision-making process.

For what purposes the Office of the Public Guardian has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country. A small number of staff in Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) are trialling the use of Microsoft 365 Co-pilot as part of a Ministry of Justice wide pilot, looking to reduce time spent on repetitive administrative tasks. OPG does not use AI in its decision-making processes. OPG can draw on a range of resources, published on GOV.UK, to inform AI usage. For example, the Generative AI Ethics Framework, the Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Framework, the Data Ethics Framework, the AI Opportunities Action Plan and the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard.

For what purposes His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.Staff in His Majesty’s Prison and Probation service are part of a controlled pilot that is testing the use of Microsoft 365 Copilot.All use of artificial intelligence in the Ministry of Justice is undertaken in line with the Ministry’s AI Ethics Framework and aligned with the Generative AI Framework for government and the Algorithmic Transparency Reporting Standard.