Every parliamentary written question tabled by Andrew Snowden this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 21–40 of 115 · Ministry of Justice
Pursuant to the Answers of 29 May 2026 to Questions 2824 and 2825 on Prisons: Overcrowding, at what annual rate his Department projects delivering the remaining c.10,900 places required to meet the 14,000-place t
As set out in the December 2024 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy, we are committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places and have delivered c.3,100 since July 2024. We remain on track to meet our commitment by 2031.Projections for the annual ra...
What assessment he has made of the adequacy of issuing protective body armour to 514 named prison staff.
The 4,499 front-line officers (uniformed Bands 3 – 5) who are employed across the long-term high security estate are among the up to 10,000 prison staff who will receive protective body armour as part of the additional provision we have announced. The pro...
If he will make it his policy to ban meat products from prison catering services which have been produced using non-stunned slaughter.
The Government encourages the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter and would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter, but we respect the rights of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs.The N...
Pursuant to the Answer of 29 May 2026 to Question 1123 on Prison Officers: Body Armour and Stun Guns, how many frontline prison officers are employed in roles classified as high-risk for the purposes of the prote
The 4,499 front-line officers (uniformed Bands 3 – 5) who are employed across the long-term high security estate are among the up to 10,000 prison staff who will receive protective body armour as part of the additional provision we have announced. The pro...
What recent assessment has been made of trends in the level of prison overcrowding.
Crowding data is published regularly in HMPPS’s Annual Digest, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmpps-annual-digest-april-2024-to-march-2025.The most recent data for the 12 months ending March 2025 shows:The crowding rate in prison...
What progress he has made on court digitisation; and what steps he is taking to ensure data processing is secure and accurate.
The HMCTS Reform Programme, which concluded in March 2025, delivered twelve digital services across the civil, family and tribunal jurisdictions and fully implemented the Common Platform across all 226 criminal courts in England and Wales.Use of these ser...
Pursuant to the answer on 29 July 2026 to question 3142 on youth reoffending rates, what comparative assessment he has made of the reoffending rate for (a) short custodial sentences, (b) longer custodial sentence
Evidence from Ministry of Justice research using matched statistical analysis suggests that custodial sentences for children are associated with higher reoffending rates than either Referral Orders or Youth Rehabilitation Orders (and where custodial sente...
What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on mental health provision in prisons.
The Deputy Prime Minister met with the previous Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in February where they discussed improving health outcomes for people in prison and on probation as a shared challenge across the Ministry of Justice, Department...
What steps he is taking to improve information-sharing between agencies involved in youth safeguarding and justice.
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 introduces an information sharing duty that requires safeguarding partners – Children’s Social Care, health, schools and early years, policing, and justice – to share information relevant to a child’s safety a...
What metrics will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of early intervention programmes in preventing youth offending.
Individual early intervention programmes are evaluated using metrics most relevant to delivery and intended outcomes. The Ministry of Justice’s Turnaround programme, which was rolled out in 2022, closely monitors data including on numbers of children prog...
How the additional £46 million investment in the Turnaround programme will be allocated across local authority areas.
In February 2026 the Ministry of Justice announced multi-year funding of £46 million until March 2029 for the Turnaround programme, having already invested £71 million between 2022 to 2026. The additional £46 million will be allocated to local authority a...
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of short custodial sentences on youth reoffending rates.
More than two-thirds of children released from custodial sentences of twelve months or less in 2023/24 went on to reoffend within a year. They provide limited time for rehabilitation and can disrupt education, family ties, and support networks, which are ...
Whether the proposed expansion of Parenting Orders will include the introduction of additional powers for courts.
We want to ensure parents work effectively with Youth Justice Services to prevent offending and support the rehabilitation of children in the justice system. To this end, we are exploring options to drive forward the effective use of parenting orders as a...
In which areas his Department plans to pilot Youth Intervention Courts.
On 18 May 2026, the Ministry of Justice launched an Expression of Interest process to identify potential sites for our Youth Intervention Court pilot.In Autumn 2026, a Statutory Instrument will be brought forward to grant the youth court in our proposed p...
What assessment his Department has made of the impact of misogynistic online content on youth offending behaviour.
Tackling violence against women and girls is a core priority for this Government and we are committed to halving it within a decade.This Government is concerned by the growth and scale of online harms, including misogynistic content, and the role that dig...
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed Youth Intervention Courts on rates of youth reoffending.
On 18 May 2026, the Ministry of Justice launched an Expression of Interest process to identify potential sites for our Youth Intervention Court pilot.In Autumn 2026, a Statutory Instrument will be brought forward to grant the youth court in our proposed p...
What steps he is taking to ensure youth justice reforms adequately address violence against women and girls.
Tackling violence against women and girls is a core priority for this Government and we are committed to halving it within a decade.This Government is concerned by the growth and scale of online harms, including misogynistic content, and the role that dig...
What plans he has to increase the number of specialist domestic violence courts.
This Government is committed to enhancing support for victims of domestic abuse and improving the criminal court’s response to domestic abuse cases.We have launched Domestic Abuse Protection Orders, combining the strongest elements of other protective ord...
What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the First-tier Tribunal in resolving park home disputes.
No specific assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the First-tier Tribunal Property Chamber in resolving park home disputes. However, the Ministry of Justice regularly considers the performance of tribunals more widely. Statistics are published on a quarterly basis and can be found at: htpps://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics
Whether the Government has considered establishing periodic review procedures for High Court injunctions granting lifelong anonymity to offenders convicted of serious crimes committed as juveniles.
The High Court has been clear that the making of an injunction to grant lifelong anonymity to protect the identity of a now adult person convicted of a serious offence as a child, should be exceptional. In practice, such injunctions are made very rarely.The court will consider whether there is a real and immediate risk of serious physical harm or death or if the offender’s rights under the European Convention on Human Rights justify making the injunction as a necessary and proportionate step. In doing so the court will balance these factors against the right of the media and others to freedom of expression.An application can be made to the High Court to end an injunction. To be successful, it must be demonstrated that the conditions justifying the making of the injunction are no longer in place.This Government has no current plans to establish periodic review procedures for these injunctions.