Written questions by Snowden.

How many cases in the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal have been reviewed following the discovery of the IT system bug.

Given the important and sensitive work undertaken across the civil, family and tribunal jurisdictions, and the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) Tribunal in particular, it is entirely understandable that there will be concern at reports of an IT bug. It is important to reaffirm the Ministry of Justice’s commitment to a fair, open, and transparent justice system. Public trust in our courts is paramount, and any suggestion that this trust may have been compromised is taken extremely seriously.There is no evidence of any impact on case outcomes to date. However, actions are underway by HMCTS and the Ministry of Justice to ensure that the technical error has not resulted in adverse outcomes or materially influenced judicial decisions. Recognising the importance of the effective running of HMCTS’s digital case managements systems, a technical fix was applied as a priority within the relevant jurisdictions with the final fix applied in January 2025.In 2023, under the previous Government, HMCTS identified that a technical issue in the Civil, Family and Tribunals case management system was having an impact on some services because of the way that services were interacting with the Core Case Data (CCD) database. This technical issue had the potential to cause some documents and data fields to be hidden from view in certain cases across Civil, Family, and Tribunal jurisdictions.Following a risk-based assessment, HMCTS initially undertook targeted investigations, which have since been significantly expanded. In Tribunals, the area affected was SSCS cases. In recent weeks, HMCTS has carried out additional work which has continued to assure that the technical issue was indeed of very low incidence and confirmed that there is no evidence of any impact on case outcomes to date. Further assurance work is ongoing.In Civil and Family jurisdictions, no impact on judicial decisions has been identified to date. In Family Public Law, operational mitigations – such as local authorities supplying full bundles directly to the court – reduce the risk of missing documents on the CCD system affecting case outcomes.Due to the sensitivity of these matters, further re-assurance work is still under way. Any further steps will be determined and communicated to parties should this work identify any cases of concern.HMCTS follows established escalation protocols to ensure that technical issues are assessed and, where appropriate, disclosed to judges and legal professionals. In light of this episode, Ministers have asked that these processes are strengthened, including improvements to incident management and governance structures to update the risk assessment criteria on which HMCTS considers communication about technical problems to relevant affected partners or users, and strengthening the systematic handling of cross-cutting or architectural risks.HMCTS staff can raise concerns through internal whistleblowing channels, which are managed independently and in line with departmental policy. All concerns are investigated and escalated appropriately.The internal report referenced in media coverage was part of a whistleblowing investigation conducted in line with Ministry of Justice policies. In line with standard practice, we do not publish internal HR and whistleblowing reports. Likewise, it would not be appropriate to comment on questions about specific internal disciplinary investigations, other than to confirm that departmental policy and process are followed as required.There are no plans to pause court digitisation. While technical challenges are an inevitable part of digital transformation, they are investigated and triaged according to risk. We are continuing to digitise and improve our services to support swift access to justice.Over the span of the HMCTS Reform Programme there will have been many organisations involved in the development of the HMCTS case management systems, of which there are several. Major delivery partners are listed in Reform Programme documentation and procurement records, which are publicly available. The main suppliers which have worked on the development of the Civil, Family and Tribunals Platform (that includes Core Case Data) during the period of 2016 to present are:AtosCapgeminiCGICognizantMethodsPA ConsultingScrumconnectTransform UKSolirius ConsultingVersion 1This includes the provision of any services in the development of the case management system, such as: development, quality assurance testing, architecture, user-centred design, data architecture, delivery management amongst others.

What steps she has taken to notify people whose cases may have been impacted by missing or corrupted evidence due to the IT failures.

Given the important and sensitive work undertaken across the civil, family and tribunal jurisdictions, and the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) Tribunal in particular, it is entirely understandable that there will be concern at reports of an IT bug. It is important to reaffirm the Ministry of Justice’s commitment to a fair, open, and transparent justice system. Public trust in our courts is paramount, and any suggestion that this trust may have been compromised is taken extremely seriously.There is no evidence of any impact on case outcomes to date. However, actions are underway by HMCTS and the Ministry of Justice to ensure that the technical error has not resulted in adverse outcomes or materially influenced judicial decisions. Recognising the importance of the effective running of HMCTS’s digital case managements systems, a technical fix was applied as a priority within the relevant jurisdictions with the final fix applied in January 2025.In 2023, under the previous Government, HMCTS identified that a technical issue in the Civil, Family and Tribunals case management system was having an impact on some services because of the way that services were interacting with the Core Case Data (CCD) database. This technical issue had the potential to cause some documents and data fields to be hidden from view in certain cases across Civil, Family, and Tribunal jurisdictions.Following a risk-based assessment, HMCTS initially undertook targeted investigations, which have since been significantly expanded. In Tribunals, the area affected was SSCS cases. In recent weeks, HMCTS has carried out additional work which has continued to assure that the technical issue was indeed of very low incidence and confirmed that there is no evidence of any impact on case outcomes to date. Further assurance work is ongoing.In Civil and Family jurisdictions, no impact on judicial decisions has been identified to date. In Family Public Law, operational mitigations – such as local authorities supplying full bundles directly to the court – reduce the risk of missing documents on the CCD system affecting case outcomes.Due to the sensitivity of these matters, further re-assurance work is still under way. Any further steps will be determined and communicated to parties should this work identify any cases of concern.HMCTS follows established escalation protocols to ensure that technical issues are assessed and, where appropriate, disclosed to judges and legal professionals. In light of this episode, Ministers have asked that these processes are strengthened, including improvements to incident management and governance structures to update the risk assessment criteria on which HMCTS considers communication about technical problems to relevant affected partners or users, and strengthening the systematic handling of cross-cutting or architectural risks.HMCTS staff can raise concerns through internal whistleblowing channels, which are managed independently and in line with departmental policy. All concerns are investigated and escalated appropriately.The internal report referenced in media coverage was part of a whistleblowing investigation conducted in line with Ministry of Justice policies. In line with standard practice, we do not publish internal HR and whistleblowing reports. Likewise, it would not be appropriate to comment on questions about specific internal disciplinary investigations, other than to confirm that departmental policy and process are followed as required.There are no plans to pause court digitisation. While technical challenges are an inevitable part of digital transformation, they are investigated and triaged according to risk. We are continuing to digitise and improve our services to support swift access to justice.Over the span of the HMCTS Reform Programme there will have been many organisations involved in the development of the HMCTS case management systems, of which there are several. Major delivery partners are listed in Reform Programme documentation and procurement records, which are publicly available. The main suppliers which have worked on the development of the Civil, Family and Tribunals Platform (that includes Core Case Data) during the period of 2016 to present are:AtosCapgeminiCGICognizantMethodsPA ConsultingScrumconnectTransform UKSolirius ConsultingVersion 1This includes the provision of any services in the development of the case management system, such as: development, quality assurance testing, architecture, user-centred design, data architecture, delivery management amongst others.

How many buildings managed by her Department have been found to have reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

We have undertaken a substantial programme of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) inspections across the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) estate and, as a result of this work, RAAC was found in one MoJ property in Lancashire. No MoJ properties in Flyde were found to contain RAAC.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the probation service in Lancashire.

Lancashire is part of the North West region of the Probation Service. The North West region has developed a Quality Improvement Plan that prioritises and focuses improvement activity. It includes actions derived from internal audits and reports by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation. Progress is regularly monitored, assured and supported by regional and national, Performance, Assurance and Risk functions.Data on probation performance are published at regional and national level. Performance statistics for Probation Delivery Units in Lancashire in 2023-24 are shown in the table below:Performance MeasureTarget (%) Lancashire Performance (%)PS02 SL004 Initial appointment for community sentences95.0%97.0%PS02 SL005 Initial appointment for releases from custody95.0%96.7%PS02 SL006 Initial sentence plan for community sentences and releases95.0%73.1%PS02 SL007R Monthly appointments offered95.0%91.3%PS02 SL010 Timely risk management plans (recall reports part B)90.0%93.2%PS02 SL011 Timely parole reports90.0%94.9%PS02 SL012R Completion of targeted interventions for people convicted of sexual offences70.0%66.8%PS02 SL013 Requirements completed by sentence expiry85.0%82.4%PS02 SL014 Housed on release from custody90.0%85.1%PS02 SL015a Settled accommodation at 3 months post release or disposal (custodial sentences)80.0%72.6%PS02 SL015b Settled accommodation at 3 months post release or disposal (community sentences)80.0%86.6%PS02 SL016 Employed at 6 weeks post release from custody19.0%23.1%PS02 SL017a Employed at 6 months post release or disposal (custodial sentences)32.0%34.9%PS02 SL017b Employed at 6 months post release or disposal (community sentences)37.0%44.4%PS02 SL023 Pre-release sentence plans for enhanced cases59.0%33.9%PS03 SL022R POM/COM handover meeting93.0%61.9%PS04 SL026 Unpaid work assessment90.0%91.6%PS04 SL027 Unpaid work starts within 15 business days of sentence80.0%89.1%PS04 SL028 Unpaid work stand downs2.5%[x]PS04 SL029 Unpaid work completions within 12 months75.0%62.0%PS05 SL031 Accredited programme starts [targeted]89.0%[x]PS05 SL033 Accredited programme completions [targeted]57.0%[x]PS09 SL040R Recording protected characteristics95.0%100.0%Note:These data are the aggregated outcomes from the four Probation Delivery Units in Lancashire (PDU Central Lancashire; PDU East Lancashire; PDU North West Lancashire; PDU Blackburn and Darwen).PS04 SL028 Unpaid work stand downs performance is not available at PDU level for this area.PS05 SL031 (Accredited programme starts [targeted]) and PS05 SL033 (Accredited programme completions [targeted]): performance for these measures are not available at PDU level. A number of cases are assigned to an organisational level PDU in the region, and are therefore not reflected in these geographic PDUs. This has been marked by “[x]”.Outcomes for the North West Region and National probation (including scorecard rating) can be found at: Community Performance Annual, update to March 2024 - GOV.UK.

If she will take steps to improve access to legal aid for residential park home residents involved in disputes with site owners.

The statutory framework governing the provision of legal aid is set out in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, and its supporting secondary legislation.Legal aid is available for possession, homelessness and disrepair claims (when there is a serious risk of illness or injury) subject to a financial means and a merits test. Legal aid is additionally available for people facing the loss of their home on a non-means tested basis through the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service. Legal aid is also generally in scope for judicial reviews that have the potential to produce a benefit for the individual, a member of their family, or the environment. Proceedings related to consumer law are not in scope of legal aid.Where an issue falls outside the scope of legal aid, individuals can apply for Exceptional Case Funding (ECF), which will be granted where they can show that failure to provide legal aid will risk breaching their human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. ECF applications are considered by the Legal Aid Agency on an individual basis and are subject to the individual qualifying on means and merits testing.

If she will consider reviewing sentencing guidelines to increase the severity of the punishment for repeat offenders of graffiti.

The maximum sentences available for criminal offences are set by Parliament and the maximum penalty for the offence of criminal damage is ten years’ imprisonment.The independent judiciary will determine the appropriate sentence in individual cases within the maximums set by Parliament, and in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines issued by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.In October 2019, the Council issued guidelines on criminal damage, which provides sentencers with guidance on factors that should be considered, which may affect the sentence given. They set out different levels of sentence based on the harm caused and how culpable the offender is. This is available at: https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/crown-court/item/criminal-damage-other-than-by-fire-value-exceeding-5000-racially-or-religiously-aggravated-criminal-damage/.Whilst the Government has no current plans to ask the Council to consider reviewing the criminal damage guidelines, it is open to individuals to approach the Council to ask that they do so.

With reference to the Law Commission report entitled Building families through surrogacy: a new law, published on 28 March 2023, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of implementing the recommendation on taking away a mother’s parental rights at birth* on levels of risk of adverse mental health effects for the mother should she change her mind after birth.

The Ministry of Justice has not carried out an assessment of the potential impact of implementing this recommendation. The Government will publish a response in due course. Any consideration of this specific recommendation and its implications would form part of this wider work.

What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on increasing the number of convictions for tool theft.

The Lord Chancellor regularly engages with the Home Secretary on a range of criminal justice matters and recognises the serious impact that tool theft has on tradespeople and small businesses. The Ministry of Justice and Home Office are working closely through the National Vehicle Crime Group, which brings together all police forces in England and Wales to coordinate efforts to reduce vehicle-related thefts, including the theft of tools from vans. With regards to individual cases, convictions and sentences is a matter for the courts based on the evidence in the case before them.

If she will review sentencing guidelines for animal cruelty offences in connection with (a) confining an animal in a hot vehicle and (b) other cases of causing unnecessary suffering to animals.

Sentencing guidelines are developed and reviewed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, in fulfilment of its statutory duty to do so.In July 2023, the Council issued guidelines on animal cruelty, which provide the Court with guidance on factors that should be considered, which may affect the sentence given. They set out different levels of sentence based on the harm caused and how culpable the offender is. This is available on its website at: https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/crown-court/item/animal-cruelty/.Whilst the Government has no current plans to ask the Council to consider reviewing the animal cruelty guidelines, it is open to individuals to approach the Council to ask that they do so.

How many prosecutions have been brought under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 in the last three years for incidents involving dogs left in dangerously hot vehicles.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of prosecutions under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics. However, data held centrally does not include information on whether defendants were prosecuted for offences related to “incidents involving dogs left in dangerously hot vehicles”. This information may be held in court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.

What information her Department holds on when the Legal Aid Agency's online services will be restored following the cyber attack on 23 April 2025.

This is an unprecedented event involving sophisticated organised crime. It is an evolving situation and every effort is being made to restore systems following the criminal attack on our services. The Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) digital services have been taken offline to negate the serious criminal threat and prevent further exposure of legal aid providers and users. We will not reopen the system until the appropriate steps have been taken to enable us to do so. We have been able to return some to internal use, enabling an improved ability to support criminal legal aid applications and payments. The Government are committed to ensuring that operational delivery of legal aid continues. We have put in place business contingency plans to ensure that those most in need of legal support can continue to access the help that they need and that those providing vital legal services can be confident they will continue to receive payments whilst systems are offline. In this way we are continuing to provide legal aid to those who need in without interruption. The recent data breach is the result of heinous criminal activity, but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of the long years of underinvestment under the last Conservative Government. By contrast, since taking power this Government has prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.

How many prosecutions related to illegal immigration have been initiated in Fylde constituency in the past year.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions for immigration offences at criminal courts in England and Wales by Police Force Area in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics. Prosecutions data held by the Ministry of Justice relates to the location of the court which delivered the outcome of that prosecution, not where the case was initiated.

What steps she is taking to protect people whose criminal histories were made public as a result of the recent Legal Aid data breach.

To reach as many potentially impacted individuals as possible, the Ministry of Justice published a notice at 08:15 on 19 May on GOV.UK. The statement provides information about the cyber-attack and directs concerned members of the public to the National Cyber Security Centre’s webpage.Further, the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) has set up a dedicated helpline that will be available from Tuesday 27 May for members of the public who are concerned they may have been affected by the LAA data breach. HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) is working with the LAA to facilitate this by standing up an operational call centre team to handle telephone calls.In the days following the discovery, we took immediate action to inform all legal aid providers that some of their details, including financial information, may have been compromised. Further updates, including the decision to temporarily take the LAA's portal offline and contingency measures implemented have been provided by email and a dedicated information page relating to the cyber-attack has been set up: Legal Aid Agency cyber-security incident - GOV.UK.The cyber-attack is subject to an ongoing investigation and the LAA continues to work closely with the National Crime Agency and National Cyber Security Centre. Appropriate actions have been taken to mitigate the impact of the attack and contingency measures have been put in place to ensure those most in need of legal support and advice can continue to access the help they need during this time, as outlined on LAA’s dedicated information page.At the current time, no information about previous or current legal aid service users, such as criminal histories, has been made public as a result of the cyber attack.This data breach is the result of heinous criminal activity, but it was enabled by the long years of neglect and mismanagement of the justice system under the last Conservative Government. The previous Government knew about the vulnerabilities of the Legal Aid Agency digital systems, but did not act. By contrast, since taking office, this Government have prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.

What steps her Department is taking to support residents of Fylde who were impacted by the recent Legal Aid data leak.

To reach as many potentially impacted individuals as possible, the Ministry of Justice published a notice at 08:15 on 19 May on GOV.UK. The statement provides information about the cyber-attack and directs concerned members of the public to the National Cyber Security Centre’s webpage.Further, the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) has set up a dedicated helpline that will be available from Tuesday 27 May for members of the public who are concerned they may have been affected by the LAA data breach. HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) is working with the LAA to facilitate this by standing up an operational call centre team to handle telephone calls.In the days following the discovery, we took immediate action to inform all legal aid providers that some of their details, including financial information, may have been compromised. Further updates, including the decision to temporarily take the LAA's portal offline and contingency measures implemented have been provided by email and a dedicated information page relating to the cyber-attack has been set up: Legal Aid Agency cyber-security incident - GOV.UK.The cyber-attack is subject to an ongoing investigation and the LAA continues to work closely with the National Crime Agency and National Cyber Security Centre. Appropriate actions have been taken to mitigate the impact of the attack and contingency measures have been put in place to ensure those most in need of legal support and advice can continue to access the help they need during this time, as outlined on LAA’s dedicated information page.At the current time, no information about previous or current legal aid service users, such as criminal histories, has been made public as a result of the cyber attack.This data breach is the result of heinous criminal activity, but it was enabled by the long years of neglect and mismanagement of the justice system under the last Conservative Government. The previous Government knew about the vulnerabilities of the Legal Aid Agency digital systems, but did not act. By contrast, since taking office, this Government have prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce court backlogs for residents in Fylde constituency.

This Government inherited a record and rising courts backlog. For this financial year (25/26), this Government is funding a record allocation of Crown Court sitting days to deliver swifter justice for victims – 110,000 sitting days this year, 4,000 higher than the last Government funded. However, the scale of the challenge is beyond what increasing sitting days can achieve.That is why we have commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to conduct a review of efficiency that will propose once-in-a-generation reform to deliver swifter justice for victims.In civil justice, courts and tribunals are sitting at, or close to maximum judicial capacity in every jurisdiction.In the Fylde constituency:Crown Jurisdiction:We continue to operate all 13 Crown courtrooms across the Lancashire estate to maximise use of sitting days. Along with a robust case management approach Lancashire runs an Expedited Domestic Abuse trial scheme where Domestic Abuse cases are prioritised and given a trial date within 16 weeks.Magistrates Jurisdiction:Over the last 12 months we have successfully recruited 6 Trainee Legal Advisers which has meant we have been able to increase the number of courts held each week from 30 to 65, reducing waiting times across Lancashire.Family Jurisdiction:Our focus across Lancashire is to progress the family cases in as timely a way as possible whilst balancing the individual circumstances and needs of each case. The Designated Family Judge, along with HMCTS, has implemented a robust case progression initiative. Cases are reviewed and cases that are suitable for the hearing date to be brought forward are prioritised. This is achieved by utilising courtroom capacity that becomes available from other cases resolving.

What steps she is taking to support victims of domestic abuse in (a) Fylde and (b) other rural and coastal areas.

The Government is committed to ensuring that all victims of domestic abuse, including those in rural and coastal areas such as Fylde, can access the support they need. Through the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, we are strengthening the rights of all victims and improving their access to services, such as consulting on a new and improved Victims’ Code, or introducing a duty on local commissioners to better collaborate when commissioning victim support services.The Ministry of Justice provides funding to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to commission local victims support services tailored to community needs, allowing PCCs in rural and coastal communities to best support victims in their area. This includes Lancashire PCC, which currently funds 15 domestic abuse organisations, five of which cover the Fylde constituency and other rural areas. These include;Victim Support – National organisation with services across England, including Lancashire and Fylde.Fylde Coast Women’s Aid (FCWA) – Explicitly supports victims of domestic abuse in Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde.Empowerment – Provides a range of services across Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre, including mental health, advocacy, and domestic abuse support.Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – Covers the Fylde coast area, including Fylde.Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board – Oversees health services across the region, including Fylde and other rural areas.