Written questions by Wilson.

When he plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Twickenham with reference MW66188.

Awaiting answer.

What was the average number of days in advance that victims were informed of a Foreign National Offender's deportation in 2025.

The HMPPS Victim Contact Scheme provides a service to victims of offenders convicted of specified violent, sexual, or terrorism offences who receive a custodial sentence of 12 months or more. The Victim Contact Scheme enables eligible victims to make representations regarding licence conditions and supervision requirements, and to receive relevant information as appropriate to the circumstances of the case, such as details about the offender’s sentence.In accordance with policy, victims must be informed about the offender’s immigration status and their eligibility for schemes including the Early Removal Scheme Tariff Expired Removal Scheme, Prisoner Transfer Agreements, or extradition. Eligible victims who have opted into the Victim Contact Scheme are informed by their Victim Liaison Officer if an offender is being considered for deportation or removal, and when deportation or removal has taken place. The Home Office are responsible for the arrangements for deportation of the offender and as a result, victims are not informed of the date in advance and, therefore, the data requested cannot be provided. In addition, information relating to victim contact is not routinely collected or published.For victims not eligible or engaged with the Victim Contact Scheme, the Victims’ Code sets out that you have the Right to ask for updates regarding the immigration case of the Foreign National Offender directly from the Home Office’s Victim Support Team.Through the Victim and Courts Bill, we will be updating the legislative framework that establishes the Victim Contact Scheme to bring victims currently served by different post-conviction communication schemes into the Victim Contact Scheme and provide a new route for other victims to request information via a dedicated helpline.

Which countries the UK has prisoner transfer agreements with.

Enhancing our bilateral prisoner transfer capability is a government priority. We remain fully committed to transferring eligible foreign national offenders from the UK so they can serve the remainder of their sentences in their home country, and to repatriating British nationals imprisoned overseas.Compulsory bilateral agreements The UK has compulsory bilateral prisoner transfer agreements (PTAs) with Albania, Ghana, Libya, Nigeria and Rwanda. These agreements state that the consent of the prisoner is not required for transfer, although both States must agree to the transfer. The UK has also recently signed a compulsory bilateral PTA with Italy, which is currently undergoing parliamentary scrutiny and has not yet been ratified.Voluntary bilateral agreements The UK also has voluntary bilateral PTAs, where the consent of the prisoner to transfer is required in addition to the agreement of both States, with the following countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Brazil, Cuba, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines, India, Iraq, Laos, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Peru, Saint Lucia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Thailand and Vietnam.Multilateral arrangements The UK has multilateral prisoner transfer arrangements with all States that are party to the 1983 Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. This includes:All 27 European Union Member States.NonEU Council of Europe members: Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Türkiye and Ukraine.Non‑Council of Europe States (as the Convention is also open to non‑Council of Europe members): Australia, the Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ghana, Honduras, India, Israel, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Panama, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States of America and Venezuela.The UK also participates in the Scheme for the Transfer of Convicted Offenders within the Commonwealth, which provides prisoner transfer arrangements with: Kenya, Malawi, Maldives, Botswana, Tonga and Uganda.

How many prison cell fires there were in 2025, broken down by institution.

The information requested is provided in the following table:LocationTotal Cell FiresHM Prison Altcourse11HM Prison Ashfield0HM Prison Askham Grange0HM Prison Aylesbury14HM Prison Bedford12HM Prison Belmarsh8HM Prison Berwyn74HM Prison Birmingham76HM Prison Brinsford30HM Prison Bristol60HM Prison Brixton31HM Prison Bronzefield0HM Prison Buckley Hall6HM Prison Bullingdon18HM Prison Bure1HM Prison Cardiff4HM Prison Channings Wood8HM Prison Chelmsford15HM Prison Coldingley6HM Prison Cookham Wood0HM Prison Dartmoor0HM Prison Deerbolt31HM Prison Doncaster45HM Prison Dovegate76HM Prison Downview2HM Prison Drake Hall4HM Prison Durham16HM Prison East Sutton Park0HM Prison Eastwood Park6HM Prison Elmley51HM Prison Erlestoke31HM Prison Exeter2HM Prison Featherstone4HM Prison Feltham40HM Prison Five Wells11HM Prison Ford0HM Prison Forest Bank94HM Prison Fosse Way42HM Prison Foston Hall6HM Prison Frankland3HM Prison Full Sutton2HM Prison Garth49HM Prison Gartree30HM Prison Grendon0HM Prison Guys Marsh20HM Prison Hatfield0HM Prison Haverigg0HM Prison Hewell8HM Prison High Down12HM Prison Highpoint28HM Prison Hindley5HM Prison Hollesley Bay0HM Prison Holme House52HM Prison Hull35HM Prison Humber64HM Prison Huntercombe5HM Prison Isis20HM Prison Isle of Wight7HM Prison Kirkham0HM Prison Kirklevington Grange0HM Prison Lancaster Farms5HM Prison Leeds22HM Prison Leicester14HM Prison Lewes38HM Prison Leyhill0HM Prison Lincoln8HM Prison Lindholme74HM Prison Littlehey2HM Prison Liverpool9HM Prison Long Lartin46HM Prison Low Newton5HM Prison Lowdham Grange78HM Prison Maidstone1HM Prison Manchester35HM Prison Millsike6HM Prison Moorland28HM Prison Morton Hall3HM Prison New Hall3HM Prison North Sea Camp0HM Prison Northumberland13HM Prison Norwich20HM Prison Nottingham54HM Prison Oakwood28HM Prison Onley16HM Prison Parc63HM Prison Pentonville21HM Prison Peterborough51HM Prison Portland32HM Prison Prescoed0HM Prison Preston6HM Prison Ranby35HM Prison Risley13HM Prison Rochester13HM Prison Rye Hill0HM Prison Send0HM Prison Spring Hill0HM Prison Stafford0HM Prison Standford Hill0HM Prison Stocken39HM Prison Stoke Heath4HM Prison Styal22HM Prison Sudbury0HM Prison Swaleside77HM Prison Swansea1HM Prison Swinfen Hall36HM Prison Thameside72HM Prison The Mount29HM Prison The Verne1HM Prison Thorn Cross0HM Prison Usk0HM Prison Wakefield8HM Prison Wandsworth62HM Prison Warren Hill0HM Prison Wayland19HM Prison Wealstun69HM Prison Werrington10HM Prison Wetherby37HM Prison Whatton1HM Prison Whitemoor4HM Prison Winchester33HM Prison Woodhill88HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs7HM Prison Wymott10Total2546The overwhelming majority of the cell fires were classed as ‘minor’ and were quickly dealt with by staff. Medical assessment is provided to anyone who may have been exposed to smoke or heat. Where it is found that a fire is the result of arson, or recklessness, the prisoner responsible will face robust punitive action, which can include further criminal charges. All operational staff receive training in responding to fire incidents, including the use of specialist safety and firefighting equipment.

What steps his Department is taking to tackle family court backlogs in London.

This Government remains committed to reducing the outstanding caseload within the Family Court and is working closely with system partners to drive forward a cross-cutting programme of work to achieve this. At a national level the Family Justice Board has agreed system-wide targets for 2025/26, with a continued focus on reducing delay.In London, a dedicated Family Justice Strategy has been implemented, which brings together key partners across the three London Family Court areas. This work has included targeted investment over 2025/26 to tackle the outstanding private law caseload by providing additional court capacity and ensuring that courts follow the Public Law Outline, with clear arrangements for overseeing performance. These measures have already delivered a reduction in delays and the London model is being evaluated with a view to applying lessons learned in other regions.

What estimate he has made of the amount of court time used to pursue Palestine Action prosecutions in the last 12 months.

The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the amount of court time used to pursue Palestine Action prosecutions over the last 12 months.We have been working with the judiciary and other criminal justice partners to put in place measures to manage anticipated demand and ensure any prosecutions are dealt with efficiently and expeditiously.

When he plans to respond to the Law Commission’s report entitled Modernising Wills Law, published on 15 May 2025.

The Government is giving careful consideration to the Law Commission’s comprehensive report on the law of wills and will be announcing next steps in the near future.

Pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 62255 on Legal Aid, how many of the Public Family Law Legal Help Fee Level 1 matter starts were for clients who were children, in each of the five years.

The requested information can be found in the below table:Financial YearPublic law family Level 1 - children2020-21362021-22212022-23182023-24212024-2527 Data is derived from the Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) Official Statistics: Legal aid statistics data files - GOV.UK. The LAA also publishes a more user-friendly tool to analyse this data which can be accessed here. Please note that as Public Law Family cases are delivered as Controlled Work, legal aid providers are permitted to self-grant legal aid under delegated functions. This means there is no application to the LAA. Data is therefore derived from claim submissions sent to the LAA at the end of the case. It is possible therefore that a small number of cases reported in the table above were opened in the previous financial year.

If she will take steps to help support parents with the costs of the Family Court system.

The Government is already taking steps to ensure that financial hardship does not prevent parents from engaging with the family court system. To support access to justice, the Help with Fees scheme provides full or partial remission of court and tribunal fees for those on low incomes or in receipt of certain benefits. This includes applications made in the family courts such as applications for child arrangement orders. Legal aid is available in some private family matters, including for individuals experiencing or at risk of domestic abuse; for individuals (for example, parents) where the child who is the subject of the order is a victim of child abuse or at risk of abuse; people under the age of 18; in certain cases of international or domestic abduction; for family mediation where there is a family dispute and for certain urgent protection applications – for example, non-molestation orders. To be eligible for legal aid means and merits tests and evidence requirements also usually need to be met. Legal aid is also available for parents, those with parental responsibility, children and third parties (such as grandparents) in certain public family proceedings, subject to meeting the relevant means and merits tests. Beyond legal aid, the Ministry of Justice is providing funding to support the delivery of wider legal support services, which provide advice and support to individuals facing social welfare legal problems, including family matters. In 2025-26 the Ministry of Justice will provide over £6 million of grant funding to 60 frontline organisations to improve access to free legal support and information, both in-person and online, and to help people resolve their problems as early as possible. This includes funding for organisations including some local Citizens Advice and Law Centres, as well as AdviceNow, which provides online support on their website across a range of civil, family and tribunal issues. The Government recognises the importance of supporting separating families to, where appropriate, resolve their issues without the need to come to court. The Mediation Voucher Scheme provides up to £500 towards the cost of mediation to help families resolve their child arrangement disputes outside of court, where this is safe and appropriate. The voucher is non-means tested and is available to anyone with a private law dispute relating to children. The scheme will be in place until at least March 2026 and has helped over 44,000 families to date.

What comparative assessment she has made of the performance of the Family Court system in (a) London and (b) the rest of the country.

This Government is committed to improving performance, which is assessed against system wide targets for 2025/26, agreed by the Family Justice Board. The latest published data shows encouraging signs nationally, including a reduction in the public law open caseload. Official statistics on family courts are available here: Family Court Statistics Quarterly: January to March 2025 - GOV.UK. Performance varies across regions, and London continues to experience significant challenges which result in high outstanding caseloads and high average case durations. System partners are working collaboratively to understand and address the drivers of delay and the region is showing positive signs of improvement.

How many matter starts there have been for (a) legal help public law level one, (b) family help public law lower level two, (c) legal help private law level one and (d) family help private law lower level two in the last five years for which data is available.

The requested information can be found in the below tables:Public Family Law Financial Year Fee Level 1 Fee Level 2 2020-211,54212,3712021-221,35113,3252022-231,11013,3632023-241,23814,6382024-251,26615,623 Private Family Law Financial Year Level 1 Level 1 and 2 Level 2 2020-215,056655422021-225,541875402022-235,151776302023-245,425910552024-255,5961,00392 Data is derived from the Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) Official Statistics, which can be found at: Legal aid statistics data files - GOV.UK. The LAA also publishes a more user-friendly tool to analyse this data which can be accessed here.Please note that as Public Law and Private Law Family cases are delivered as Controlled Work, legal aid providers are permitted to self-grant legal aid under delegated functions. This means there is no application to the LAA. Data is therefore derived from claim submissions sent to the LAA at the end of the case. It is possible therefore that a small number of cases reported in the table above were opened in the previous financial year.

With reference to the Answer of 10 May 2024 to Question 24357 on Prisons: Fires, how many ignition-free safer vape pens have been introduced in each prison.

The Safer Vape Pen Initiative is designed to prevent use of these pens as an ignition source. In addition, the safer pen incorporates features that limit its scope to be used as a delivery mechanism for illicit substances. Pathfinder trials, involving 1,138 prisoners, have commenced at HMP Swaleside and HMP The Mount. Five additional prisons – HMP Belmarsh, HMP East Sutton Park, HMP Five Wells, HMP Swansea, and HMP Wormwood Scrubs – are scheduled to join the trials in June 2025.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2025 to Question 27891 on Detention and Training Orders: Children, how many and what proportion of the children identified as having SEND (a) had and (b) did not have (i) an EHC plan and (ii) other special needs support.

Children’s special educational needs are assessed when entering custody, and are regularly reviewed.To obtain the information requested, it would be necessary to undertake a detailed review of individual records, which could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.

If she will make an estimate of the number of court hearing records that were (a) lost and (b) not recorded in the last (i) 12 months and (ii) 5 years.

Data on information on audio recording failures is not collated or held centrally. Hearings across the Crown Court, Family Court, County Court, High Court, and Court of Appeal, as a matter of routine, are digitally audio recorded, among other things so as to facilitate the provision of written transcripts where, requested or required. Operational courtroom checks are undertaken daily to assure the technology used is working correctly.

Whether the pilot scheme to provide support for jurors on the most traumatic cases will be (a) continued and (b) widened to include more courts.

The pilot to test the need for enhanced support will conclude at the end of March and the results will be evaluated to help assess long term support needs for jurors. Those suffering distress as a result of their service are provided with guidance advising them of other services they can access, including the NHS 111 National Mental Health Helpline.

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2025 to Question 23432 on Prisons: Fires, how many cell fire alarms in the identified prisons were found to be (i) working and (ii) not working.

We undertake regular maintenance and inspection of cell fire detection devices to ensure that any potential issues are identified and addressed promptly. This is crucial to maintaining a safe environment within prisons.To obtain the information requested, it would be necessary to examine individually each of 2,931 fire investigations, to determine whether failure of a cell fire detection device had been reported. That could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.

How many and what proportion of children under 18 that have received detention and training orders have had an identified SEND issue since 2023.

From 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024, 429 children (under 18) were admitted into the Children and Young People Secure Estate under a detention and training order. Of these, 44% (where information is known) were identified as having special educational needs or disabilities. These figures are derived from responses gathered to inform placement decisions, and do not represent formal diagnoses.

How many prison cell fires there were in 2024, broken down by institution.

The overwhelming majority of the cell fires were considered ‘minor’ and quickly dealt with by staff, and medical assessment is provided for anyone who may have been exposed to smoke or heat. Where it is found that a fire is the result of arson, or of recklessness, the prisoner responsible will face robust punitive action, which can include further criminal charges. All operational staff receive Respiratory Protective Equipment training. Prison officers receive it as part of their Prison Officer Entry Level Training.The requested information is provided in the table below:PrisonNumber of firesHM Prison Altcourse39HM Prison Ashfield0HM Prison Askham Grange2HM Prison Aylesbury11HM Prison Bedford55HM Prison Belmarsh17HM Prison Berwyn53HM Prison Birmingham48HM Prison Brinsford49HM Prison Bristol48HM Prison Brixton19HM Prison Bronzefield36HM Prison Buckley Hall5HM Prison Bullingdon72HM Prison Bure1HM Prison Cardiff2HM Prison Channings Wood13HM Prison Chelmsford16HM Prison Coldingley4HM Prison Cookham Wood2HM Prison Dartmoor1HM Prison Deerbolt23HM Prison Doncaster45HM Prison Dovegate73HM Prison Downview2HM Prison Drake Hall1HM Prison Durham16HM Prison East Sutton Park1HM Prison Eastwood Park3HM Prison Elmley30HM Prison Erlestoke17HM Prison Exeter13HM Prison Featherstone3HM Prison Feltham31HM Prison Five Wells68HM Prison Ford0HM Prison Forest Bank137HM Prison Fosse Way33HM Prison Foston Hall7HM Prison Frankland4HM Prison Full Sutton22HM Prison Garth27HM Prison Gartree13HM Prison Grendon1HM Prison Guys Marsh78HM Prison Hatfield1HM Prison Haverigg1HM Prison Hewell10HM Prison High Down19HM Prison Highpoint37HM Prison Hindley24HM Prison Hollesley Bay1HM Prison Holme House41HM Prison Hull22HM Prison Humber67HM Prison Huntercombe15HM Prison Isis35HM Prison Isle of Wight20HM Prison Kirkham0HM Prison Kirklevington Grange0HM Prison Lancaster Farms6HM Prison Leeds31HM Prison Leicester23HM Prison Lewes42HM Prison Leyhill0HM Prison Lincoln5HM Prison Lindholme96HM Prison Littlehey3HM Prison Liverpool32HM Prison Long Lartin33HM Prison Lowdham Grange79HM Prison Low Newton0HM Prison Maidstone3HM Prison Manchester53HM Prison Moorland9HM Prison Morton Hall4HM Prison New Hall2HM Prison Northumberland9HM Prison North Sea Camp0HM Prison Norwich57HM Prison Nottingham20HM Prison Oakwood42HM Prison Onley26HM Prison Parc65HM Prison Pentonville28HM Prison Peterborough40HM Prison Portland26HM Prison Prescoed2HM Prison Preston12HM Prison Ranby49HM Prison Risley16HM Prison Rochester24HM Prison Rye Hill0HM Prison Send0HM Prison Spring Hill2HM Prison Stafford1HM Prison Standford Hill2HM Prison Stocken20HM Prison Stoke Heath6HM Prison Styal26HM Prison Sudbury2HM Prison Swaleside116HM Prison Swansea3HM Prison Swinfen Hall19HM Prison Thameside70HM Prison The Mount13HM Prison The Verne1HM Prison Thorn Cross1HM Prison Usk0HM Prison Wakefield17HM Prison Wandsworth98HM Prison Warren Hill1HM Prison Wayland22HM Prison Wealstun56HM Prison Werrington15HM Prison Wetherby23HM Prison Whatton0HM Prison Whitemoor23HM Prison Winchester23HM Prison Woodhill83HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs6HM Prison Wymott11Total2931Data source: HMPPS Fire Reporting Tool, Sphera Cloud

If she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the recommendations by Resolution in its report entitled Domestic Abuse in Financial Remedy Proceedings, published in October 2024.

Tackling violence against women and girls is a top priority for this Government, which includes addressing issues of domestic and economic abuse in financial remedy proceedings. The Government will consider Resolution’s recommendations alongside the Law Commission’s recently published scoping report on financial remedies.

What her planned timescale is for responding to the Law Commission's scoping report on Financial remedies on divorce and dissolution, published on 18 December 2024.

The Government is grateful to the Law Commission for its work on this important and complex area. We will carefully consider the details and will provide a response in due course.