Written questions by Hendrick.

How many convictions for manslaughter there have been in (a) Lancashire, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) Liverpool in cases involving suicide where domestic abuse was a contributing factor.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for manslaughter by Police Force Area in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool. The latest data is available up to December 2024. This can be downloaded at the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page: Criminal justice statistics quarterly - GOV.UK. However, it is not possible to provide the number of convictions for manslaughter involving suicide where domestic abuse was a contributing factor, as this information is not held centrally in the Court Proceedings Database.

How many court cases listed for trial in a Crown Court were (a) cancelled and (b) rescheduled in (i) Lancashire, (ii) Cumbia and (iii) Greater Manchester in the last three years.

The Ministry of Justice publishes information concerning trials which are rescheduled (ineffective) but does not have a measure of trials “cancelled” - rather we publish information concerning trials which are cracked.A cracked trial is a trial that does not go ahead on the day as an outcome is reached and so does not need to be re-scheduled. This occurs when an acceptable plea is offered by the defendant, or the prosecution offers no evidence against the defendant.This data regarding trial effectiveness at the Crown Court including cracked and ineffective trials by LCJB area is published in the “Trial effectiveness in the courts” data tool (latest to March 2025). This can be downloaded from the Criminal Court Statistics landing page here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-court-statistics.

What comparative assessment her Department has made of the rate of re-offending (a) in Preston and (b) nationally; what steps she is taking to reduce this rate in Preston.

The overall proven reoffending rate for Preston was 34.5% for the July 22 - June 23 cohort (the latest reoffending data available by geography). By comparison, for the same cohort, the overall proven reoffending rate for England and Wales was 26.7%.The Government is committed to tackling the causes of reoffending by giving people the tools to move away from crime. That's why we're investing in a wide range of interventions to directly support a prisoner’s rehabilitation journey, including employment, accommodation and substance misuse services.We have, for example, recently launched regional Employment Councils, which for the first time will bring businesses together with probation services and the Department for Work and Pensions to support offenders in prison and the community. Preston is covered by the Cumbria & Lancashire Employment Council.We are also delivering a transitional accommodation service (CAS3) to provide prison leavers who are under probation supervision and at risk of homelessness with up to 12 weeks of accommodation on release, and have recruited Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators to strengthen the links between substance misuse and health services in prisons and the community to support access to treatment. Both CAS3 and the Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators are in place across all 12 probation regions in England and Wales, with Preston falling under the North West probation region.