Written questions by Shannon.

What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on support for victims of rape and sexual assault who are under 18 and in the education system.

This Government is committed to ensuring that all victims of crime, including child victims of rape and sexual assault, have the support that they need to cope with their experiences and move forward with their lives. My Department provides funding to over 60 specialist support organisations through the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund. This supports the delivery of tailored support programmes for all victims and survivors, including child victims. I regularly meet with the Minister for Children and Families (DfE). This includes a recent joint meeting with her and the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls (HO) where we discussed matters relating to Violence Against Women and Girls.

How many people have been convicted of drink driving offences in the last 12 months.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number convicted for drink driving offences 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: Crimina...

What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on reviewing powers of entry for social workers.

The Ministry of Justice has no remit for powers of entry for social workers. Therefore, there have been no discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the issue. Any review of such powers would be a matter for the Department of H...

Whether she plans to review legal protections around the (a) abuse and (b) neglect of older people.

Any form of elder abuse or neglect is unacceptable. Whilst the Government has no immediate plans to conduct a specific review of the range of legal protections already in place around the abuse and neglect of older people, it continues to engage with part...

How many people have been convicted of online fraud in the last 12 months.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences, including fraud up to and including June 2024 in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Crimina...

How many convictions for burglary there were in the last 12 months.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions for a wide range of offences, including burglary up to and including June 2024 in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Cri...

If she will make an estimate of the number of 15-21 year olds that have been prosecuted for violent crime involving a weapon in the last 12 months.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of defendants prosecuted, which can be filtered to specific offences and broken down by age range of defendants. This can be obtained in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, which can be downloaded from ...

How many people have been convicted of attacks involving acid in the last 12 months.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions and convictions for a wide range of offences, including violence against the person, in the Outcomes by Offences data tool. This can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page her...

How many people have been convicted of theft offences involving (a) cars and (b) motorcycles in the last 12 months.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of offenders convicted of theft offences, including theft of/from a motor vehicle. This can be obtained in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, which can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistic...

If she will make it her policy to ensure that ongoing mental health support is available to victims of rape (a) before, (b) during and (c) after criminal trials relating to their case.

This Government is committed to ensuring that all victims and survivors of rape and sexual abuse have the information and support they need. This is irrespective of whether they engage with the criminal justice system or not. If they do engage, support is...

What recent guidance her Department has provided to the judiciary on the use of custodial sentences in the context of prison capacity.

Sentencing decisions are a matter for the independent judiciary, and judges are able to take into account a range of factors when handing down sentences.

What recent discussions she has had with the Justice Minister in Northern Ireland on backlogs in court cases.

The Lord Chancellor has not yet had the opportunity to discuss the courts and tribunals across England and Wales, including the backlogs that some jurisdictions face, with the Northern Ireland Justice Minister. Ministry of Justice ministers are hopeful th...

What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of recent changes to the early release scheme.

SDS40 is a necessary measure to avoid the collapse of the Criminal Justice System. In designing the measure, we took every possible step to mitigate risk including an 8-week implementation period, clear offence exclusions, and a huge amount of collaborati...

Whether she has had discussions with her Northern Irish counterpart on the release from prison of convicted murderers.

The Lord Chancellor has not yet had discussions with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive, however Ministers wish to meet counterparts soon. Officials regularly discuss a broad range of release policy issues through meetings such as the 5 Nations F...

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of prison workforce numbers.

We know that sufficient and skilled frontline staffing is fundamental to delivering safe, secure, and rehabilitative prison regimes. In England and Wales, we are currently above our target staffing levels for prison officers, although challenges remain in...

Whether she has had discussions with the devolved Administrations on ensuring value for money in legal aid provision.

Legal aid is a devolved matter in Scotland and Northern Ireland. My Rt. Hon. friend the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice has not yet had the opportunity to discuss legal aid with the devolved governments. Ministers look forward to working with their counterparts in the devolved governments on a range of issues, including legal aid.

How many people under the age of 21 were convicted of sexual abuse in the last 12 months.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences, including sexual offences and various ages of defendants/offenders in the Outcomes by Offence tool: December 2023. This can be accessed by navigating to the ‘Prosecutions and convictions’ tab and using the Age Range filter and the Offence Group filter to select relevant offences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool.