Written questions by Lowe.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of polygraph testing as a tool for assessing and managing the risk posed by terrorist-connected offenders.

Awaiting answer.

How many successful civil claims for damages have been brought against public bodies in relation to family court proceedings in each of the last five years; and what the total value of compensation paid was.

The Ministry of Justice does not centrally hold data on the number of successful civil claims for damages brought against public bodies specifically in relation to family court proceedings.While individual government departments and public bodies may reco...

How many successful compensation claims have been made against the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service in each of the last five years; and what the total value of damages awarded was.

There have been no successful compensation claims made against the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) as a result of legal action in each of the last five years.Any compensation payments made by Cafcass outside of legal claim...

What estimate he has made of the total annual cost of (a) salaried judges and (b) fee-paid judges in the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) in each of the last 10 financial years.

The total spend on (a) Salaried and (b) Fee-Paid Judges in the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) in each of the last 10 financial years was:Financial YearSalaried JudgesFee-Paid Judges2016-1712.021.42017-1811.224.82018-1913.820.62019-20...

If his Department will require courts, in private family law proceedings involving allegations of domestic abuse or child protection concerns, to collect and make available anonymised and aggregated data disaggre

The Government recognises that the Family Courts must support all court users and that accurate demographic data is essential to that. That is why protected characteristics data, including data on ethnic group and religion, is routinely captured by the ne...

What mechanisms are currently used by his Department to ensure that private family law policy and guidance are evidence-based, representative of the wider population, and compliant with the Public Sector Equality

The Government recognises that the Family Courts must support all court users and that accurate demographic data is essential to that. That is why protected characteristics data, including data on ethnic group and religion, is routinely captured by the ne...

With reference to the Answer of 22 April 2026 to Question 127202, whether his Department has evaluated whether conclusions drawn from the evidence base underpinning the Cafcass harm review have been proportionate

The Government has no plans to undertake an assessment of the adequacy of the evidential basis underpinning the Harm Panel Report. The report was based on a call for evidence which received over 1200 responses from individuals and organisations, as well a...

With reference to the Answer of 22 April 2026 to Question 127202, whether his Department plans to undertake an assessment of the adequacy of the evidential base underpinning the report entitled Assessing Risk of

The Government has no plans to undertake an assessment of the adequacy of the evidential basis underpinning the Harm Panel Report. The report was based on a call for evidence which received over 1200 responses from individuals and organisations, as well a...

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the absence of routinely collected, disaggregated data on ethnicity, religion, and immigration or settlement status in private family law cases i

The Government recognises that the Family Courts must support all court users and that accurate demographic data is essential to that. That is why protected characteristics data, including data on ethnic group and religion, is routinely captured by the ne...

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 April 2026 to Question 127202, whether his Department plans to undertake an assessment of the adequacy of the evidential base underpinning the report entitled Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases, published in June 2020, including of the (a) generalisability of findings from the evidence base, (b) methodological limitations of that evidence base and (c) extent to which findings derived from specific demographic cohorts have informed wider (i) policy, (ii) guidance and (iii) statutory interpretation.

Awaiting answer.

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 April 2026 to Question 127202, whether his Department has evaluated whether conclusions drawn from the evidence base underpinning the Cafcass harm review have been proportionately and appropriately generalised to the wider private family law population, including consideration of sampling methodology, representativeness, and identified methodological limitations, and whether any review is planned to assess potential implications for policy, practice direction guidance, or decision‑making frameworks.

Awaiting answer.

What mechanisms are currently used by the Department to ensure that private family law policy and guidance are evidence‑based, representative of the wider population, and compliant with the Public Sector Equality Duty in the absence of routinely collected court data disaggregated by ethnicity, religion, and immigration or settlement status.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the absence of routinely collected, disaggregated data on ethnicity, religion, and immigration or settlement status in private family law cases involving alleged harm on his Department’s ability to discharge its Public Sector Equality Duty when developing or applying policy, practice directions, or operational guidance.

Awaiting answer.

If his Department will require courts, in private family law proceedings involving allegations of domestic abuse or child protection concerns, to collect and make available anonymised and aggregated data disaggregated by ethnicity, religion, and immigration or settlement status for parents and children, where lawful and proportionate.

Awaiting answer.

What minimum English language proficiency requirements apply to probation officers and probation services staff; and whether his Department or HM Prison and Probation Service has conducted any audits or assessments in the last five years of the ability of non‑native English‑speaking staff in those roles to communicate effectively in English with offenders under supervision.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

What minimum English language proficiency requirements apply to prison officers in England and Wales; and whether his Department or HM Prison and Probation Service has conducted any audits or assessments in the last five years of the ability of non‑native English‑speaking officers to communicate effectively in English with prisoners and colleagues.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Which external organisations Cafcass engages with in the development of its domestic‑abuse guidance and practice frameworks; and whether this includes any women’s advocacy groups or specialist women’s services.

Over the last two years as Cafcass has been developing its domestic abuse policy and updating its guidance, it has worked with key partners, including fathers’ groups.In addition to this, Cafcass works with external organisations to support the development of its domestic abuse policy and the child impact and assessment framework. This includes engagement through the Domestic Abuse Practice Reference Group. This group, established in November 2023, includes specialist domestic abuse expertise and individuals with lived experience. The group is co‑chaired by the Family Justice Young People’s Board and the domestic abuse charity SafeLives. SafeLives is a charity focused on survivors of domestic abuse regardless of the gender of either the victim or the perpetrator.Cafcass works in partnership with SafeLives, including through seconded specialist advisers, to inform ongoing practice improvement. The Government has not undertaken an assessment of the adequacy of the balance of Cafcass’ stakeholder representation.Senior leaders engage regularly with the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and her team.  As part of its commitment to learning from practice, Cafcass managers and leaders will meet with adults and children in proceedings if it is considered appropriate. This could include as part of complaints resolution, audit feedback and/or in response to an incident where the quality of practice is considered to have been less than good.Neither Cafcass nor the Ministry of Justice has entered into any contracts, awarded grants, or commissioned research projects in connection with the revision of domestic abuse practice frameworks since 2016.

Which men’s or fathers’ organisations Cafcass has consulted in the development of its domestic‑abuse guidance, safeguarding practice, and private‑law policy frameworks; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the balance of stakeholder representation in that engagement.

Over the last two years as Cafcass has been developing its domestic abuse policy and updating its guidance, it has worked with key partners, including fathers’ groups.In addition to this, Cafcass works with external organisations to support the development of its domestic abuse policy and the child impact and assessment framework. This includes engagement through the Domestic Abuse Practice Reference Group. This group, established in November 2023, includes specialist domestic abuse expertise and individuals with lived experience. The group is co‑chaired by the Family Justice Young People’s Board and the domestic abuse charity SafeLives. SafeLives is a charity focused on survivors of domestic abuse regardless of the gender of either the victim or the perpetrator.Cafcass works in partnership with SafeLives, including through seconded specialist advisers, to inform ongoing practice improvement. The Government has not undertaken an assessment of the adequacy of the balance of Cafcass’ stakeholder representation.Senior leaders engage regularly with the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and her team.  As part of its commitment to learning from practice, Cafcass managers and leaders will meet with adults and children in proceedings if it is considered appropriate. This could include as part of complaints resolution, audit feedback and/or in response to an incident where the quality of practice is considered to have been less than good.Neither Cafcass nor the Ministry of Justice has entered into any contracts, awarded grants, or commissioned research projects in connection with the revision of domestic abuse practice frameworks since 2016.

To publish a list of all external organisations, including women’s, men’s, and specialist advocacy groups, that received funding, consultancy fees, or formal engagement contracts during the development of revised domestic‑abuse guidance and safeguarding processes in private‑law children cases; and to set out the total expenditure associated with this work.

Under this Government the Ministry of Justice has not provided funding, paid consultancy fees, or entered into formal engagement contracts with external organisations in developing revised domestic abuse guidance or safeguarding processes in private law children cases.

What proportion of private‑law children cases in the last five years involved Cafcass recommending a temporary pause or restriction on a father’s contact with his child following an allegation of domestic abuse before the completion of any investigative fact‑finding process.

Cafcass does not record structured data in its case management system to enable the identification of the proportion of private-law children's cases in which a recommendation was made to pause or restrict a father’s contact following an allegation of domestic abuse prior to the completion of fact-finding proceedings. This information is not recorded centrally, and the data would only be available from individual case file review at a disproportionate cost.The Cafcass safeguarding and domestic abuse policies are clear that where existing contact arrangements are considered unsafe for children, advice will be given to the court that the contact ceases whilst an assessment of harm and risk of further harm is considered as part of the safeguarding and/or work after the first hearing.