Written questions by Johnson.

What steps she plans to take to enable post-legislative scrutiny by civil society of the Public Order Act 2023.

Post-legislative scrutiny of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023 will be carried out by the department responsible for each act and a memorandum will be submitted to the relevant departmental select committees in accordance with normal parliamentary practice.Post legislative scrutiny of the Public Order Act 2023 will occur this year, beginning in May. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 will be subject to post-legislative parliamentary scrutiny between 3 and 5 years after Royal Assent, i.e. between April 2025 and April 2027.

What steps she is taking to the reduce the time taken for domestic abuse cases to reach family courts in (a) the North West and (b) Liverpool.

It is important that the Family Court works for children and families. That is why the Government is committed to ensuring there are adequate protections in place for users and that we improve the timeliness of cases.I am aware that, due to the building’s architecture, layout and shared use there are issues in arranging separate entrances at Liverpool Family Court. To mitigate this, it is possible to arrange staggered arrival times, secure waiting rooms and separate exits. Special measures can be requested by contacting the court as soon as possible, ideally 5 days before the hearing. Liverpool Family Court's contact details can be found at: Liverpool Civil and Family Court - Find a Court or Tribunal - GOV.UK.We recognise the significant impact that delay can have on children and families. We are committed to tackling backlog of cases we inherited from the previous Government and the latest published data shows progress is being made. When comparing October to December 2024 to the same period in 2023, under the previous Government, the average duration of private law cases has fallen from 45 to 42 weeks and care proceedings over the same period have fallen from 42 weeks to 36. We know that there is more to do and the Family Justice Board has agreed system-wide targets for 2025/26 and these are focused on increasing the proportion of public law cases concluded within the statutory 26-week timeframe and closing the longest running cases in both private and public law. To support this, Cheshire and Merseyside is a designated Trailblazer area, developing and testing targeted solutions to address the biggest local drivers of delays.Our new Pathfinder courts are improving the experience and outcomes for children and parents involved in private law proceedings, and particularly those who may need additional support such as domestic abuse survivors. The pilot courts work closely with local domestic abuse agencies, including Independent Domestic Violence Advisers. The Pathfinder pilot started in February 2022 in Dorset and North Wales. It was expanded to Southeast Wales and Birmingham in 2024 and Mid and West Wales on 3 March 2025. Pathfinder will be rolled out to West Yorkshire on 3 June. Areas delivering the Pathfinder model for private family law are making significant progress in addressing delay, with the initial two pilot sites showing an 11-week reduction in average case duration and a 50% reduction in outstanding caseloads between February 2022 and November 2024.Alongside improving how cases move through the system we need to properly support those involved. Victims of domestic abuse must receive emotional and practical support to recover and rebuild their lives. The Ministry of Justice provide Police and Crime Commissioners with annual grant funding to commission local support services. This includes ring-fenced funding for sexual violence and domestic abuse community-based services and Independent Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse Advisors. Alongside this the Home Office runs the Flexible Fund, administered by Women’s Aid, which offers financial support to victims in specific circumstances.

If she will hold discussions with HM Courts and Tribunals Service on the potential merits of ensuring that domestic abuse victims attending Liverpool Family Court can use a different entrance to the building to that of their alleged perpetrator.

It is important that the Family Court works for children and families. That is why the Government is committed to ensuring there are adequate protections in place for users and that we improve the timeliness of cases.I am aware that, due to the building’s architecture, layout and shared use there are issues in arranging separate entrances at Liverpool Family Court. To mitigate this, it is possible to arrange staggered arrival times, secure waiting rooms and separate exits. Special measures can be requested by contacting the court as soon as possible, ideally 5 days before the hearing. Liverpool Family Court's contact details can be found at: Liverpool Civil and Family Court - Find a Court or Tribunal - GOV.UK.We recognise the significant impact that delay can have on children and families. We are committed to tackling backlog of cases we inherited from the previous Government and the latest published data shows progress is being made. When comparing October to December 2024 to the same period in 2023, under the previous Government, the average duration of private law cases has fallen from 45 to 42 weeks and care proceedings over the same period have fallen from 42 weeks to 36. We know that there is more to do and the Family Justice Board has agreed system-wide targets for 2025/26 and these are focused on increasing the proportion of public law cases concluded within the statutory 26-week timeframe and closing the longest running cases in both private and public law. To support this, Cheshire and Merseyside is a designated Trailblazer area, developing and testing targeted solutions to address the biggest local drivers of delays.Our new Pathfinder courts are improving the experience and outcomes for children and parents involved in private law proceedings, and particularly those who may need additional support such as domestic abuse survivors. The pilot courts work closely with local domestic abuse agencies, including Independent Domestic Violence Advisers. The Pathfinder pilot started in February 2022 in Dorset and North Wales. It was expanded to Southeast Wales and Birmingham in 2024 and Mid and West Wales on 3 March 2025. Pathfinder will be rolled out to West Yorkshire on 3 June. Areas delivering the Pathfinder model for private family law are making significant progress in addressing delay, with the initial two pilot sites showing an 11-week reduction in average case duration and a 50% reduction in outstanding caseloads between February 2022 and November 2024.Alongside improving how cases move through the system we need to properly support those involved. Victims of domestic abuse must receive emotional and practical support to recover and rebuild their lives. The Ministry of Justice provide Police and Crime Commissioners with annual grant funding to commission local support services. This includes ring-fenced funding for sexual violence and domestic abuse community-based services and Independent Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse Advisors. Alongside this the Home Office runs the Flexible Fund, administered by Women’s Aid, which offers financial support to victims in specific circumstances.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure the adequacy of the number of specialist domestic abuse services available to assist victims during the court process in Liverpool.

It is important that the Family Court works for children and families. That is why the Government is committed to ensuring there are adequate protections in place for users and that we improve the timeliness of cases.I am aware that, due to the building’s architecture, layout and shared use there are issues in arranging separate entrances at Liverpool Family Court. To mitigate this, it is possible to arrange staggered arrival times, secure waiting rooms and separate exits. Special measures can be requested by contacting the court as soon as possible, ideally 5 days before the hearing. Liverpool Family Court's contact details can be found at: Liverpool Civil and Family Court - Find a Court or Tribunal - GOV.UK.We recognise the significant impact that delay can have on children and families. We are committed to tackling backlog of cases we inherited from the previous Government and the latest published data shows progress is being made. When comparing October to December 2024 to the same period in 2023, under the previous Government, the average duration of private law cases has fallen from 45 to 42 weeks and care proceedings over the same period have fallen from 42 weeks to 36. We know that there is more to do and the Family Justice Board has agreed system-wide targets for 2025/26 and these are focused on increasing the proportion of public law cases concluded within the statutory 26-week timeframe and closing the longest running cases in both private and public law. To support this, Cheshire and Merseyside is a designated Trailblazer area, developing and testing targeted solutions to address the biggest local drivers of delays.Our new Pathfinder courts are improving the experience and outcomes for children and parents involved in private law proceedings, and particularly those who may need additional support such as domestic abuse survivors. The pilot courts work closely with local domestic abuse agencies, including Independent Domestic Violence Advisers. The Pathfinder pilot started in February 2022 in Dorset and North Wales. It was expanded to Southeast Wales and Birmingham in 2024 and Mid and West Wales on 3 March 2025. Pathfinder will be rolled out to West Yorkshire on 3 June. Areas delivering the Pathfinder model for private family law are making significant progress in addressing delay, with the initial two pilot sites showing an 11-week reduction in average case duration and a 50% reduction in outstanding caseloads between February 2022 and November 2024.Alongside improving how cases move through the system we need to properly support those involved. Victims of domestic abuse must receive emotional and practical support to recover and rebuild their lives. The Ministry of Justice provide Police and Crime Commissioners with annual grant funding to commission local support services. This includes ring-fenced funding for sexual violence and domestic abuse community-based services and Independent Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse Advisors. Alongside this the Home Office runs the Flexible Fund, administered by Women’s Aid, which offers financial support to victims in specific circumstances.

What delegated flexibilities are available to her Department for calculating (a) working hours and (b) actual hours worked.

Terms and conditions of employment outside the Senior Civil Service are delegated to departments but must be managed in the public interest and in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code, and through consultation with the Cabinet Office and His Majesty's Treasury. Where a term of employment is contractual, like working hours, it cannot be changed for existing employees other than with their expressed agreement or through collective bargaining with the trade unions.

Whether there is any flexibility in the thresholds for (a) minimum working hours and (b) actual hours worked in the context of Skilled Worker visa applications.

The general salary threshold applies regardless of the number of working hours. The occupation specific going rates are assessed according to a worker’s contracted hours, which is consistent with the approach taken in national minimum wage guidance. Some salary requirement discounts are available: www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/when-you-can-be-paid-less.The salary requirements are in place to protect resident workers from being undercut and ensure international recruits receive fair pay for skilled work. Currently, the requirements are set at the median rate of pay for UK workers in skilled occupations according to the Office of National Statistics’ (ONS) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE).

How many people serving imprisonment for public protection sentences were in Category (a) B, (b) C and (c) D prisons as of 31 December 2024.

Table 1 shows the number of prisoners serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences(1) held in predominant function Category B, C and D establishments(2), in England and Wales, as at 31 December 2024.Prison Category(2)Number of IPP Prisoners(1)Category B252Category C1,737Category D (Open)196Notes:1.The figures presented in these tables include both unreleased and recalled IPP prisoners.2. A number of prisons have multiple functions (e.g. a prison could have both "Reception" and "Category C" functions). For these prisons, the predominant function has been used.3. For more information see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prisons-and-their-resettlement-providers.4. Data sources and quality: The figures in these tables have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. Source: Prison NOMIS. It is right that the IPP sentence was abolished, and this Government is determined that those serving the sentence get all the support and opportunities they need to make further progress towards a safe and sustainable release, but not in a way that impacts public protection.On 15 November 2024, the Government published the updated IPP Action Plan, which puts a stronger emphasis on effective frontline delivery in our prisons. It will ensure that prisoners serving IPP sentences have robust and effective sentence plans, which they are actively engaging with, and that they are in the correct prison to access the right interventions and rehabilitative services.The IPP Action Plan and the commitment to deliver it have contributed to the overall reduction in the IPP population. The unreleased prison population fell from 1,227 in December 2023, to 1,045 in December 2024.The Government also acted swiftly to commence the IPP measures in the Victims and Prisoners Act, which led to the automatic termination of licence for 1,742 cases on 1 November 2024. We also commenced the new power to re-release recalled IPP offenders executively through Risk Assessed Recall Review (RARR).

What steps she is taking to support staff in her Department who are employed on Skilled Workers Visas and whose salary is below the new salary threshold.

All staff employed in the department on a skilled worker visa have a salary above the skilled worker minimum salary threshold introduced in April 2024.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact the new salary thresholds for Skilled Worker visas on staffing levels in her Department.

Whilst the impact of changes to the Skilled Worker Salary threshold are affecting a very small proportion of staff within the Department, visa expiry and potential options for obtaining a future work visa are specific to individuals’ circumstances and the Home Office legislation which applies at the time that their current visa expires. As current employees’ visa expiry dates span several years and not all will be impacted by the changes to the skilled worker salary thresholds, the department does not expect changes to the Skilled Worker salary threshold to negatively impact on service or resource levels.

How many paid support workers working in (a) prisons and (b) probation had criminal convictions in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

All support workers and volunteers in HM Prison & Probation Service are subject to vetting checks on entry, to protect the security and integrity of the organisation. This includes anyone recruited via our Lived Experience routes, such as Going Forward into Employment or Standard Plus. The vetting process includes review of any convictions that may lawfully be taken into account, in accordance with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.To obtain the information requested, it would be necessary to undertake a manual search of individual records, and to make local checks. This could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.

What the average cost is for processing (a) a fixed term and (b) an emergency recall to prison.

The process of recalling an offender to custody, whether for a fixed-term or in an emergency, involves activity and administration on the part of the Probation Service (which requests recall); officials in HM Prison and Probation Service (who revoke the offender’s licence), local police forces (which are responsible for returning the offender to prison custody) and then prisons’ reception and screening services. The costs to the bodies involved are not collated centrally. Consequently, there is no reliable basis on which to work out the average costs for either type of recall.

How many volunteer support workers working in (a) prisons and (b) probation had criminal convictions in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

All support workers and volunteers in HM Prison & Probation Service are subject to vetting checks on entry, to protect the security and integrity of the organisation. This includes anyone recruited via our Lived Experience routes, such as Going Forward into Employment or Standard Plus. The vetting process includes review of any convictions that may lawfully be taken into account, in accordance with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.To obtain the information requested, it would be necessary to undertake a manual search of individual records, and to make local checks. This could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.

How many women have been granted an exemption to the two-child limit as a result of non-consensual conception since April 2017.

The requested information is provided in the table below and shows in April of each year from 2017 to 2024, the number of households with a non-consensual conception exception to the two-child policy, who were women (if single claimants) or couples in which at least one claimant was a woman. Single UC Households, with a non-consensual conception exceptionCouple UC households, with a non-consensual conception exceptionApr-1700Apr-1810-Apr-1914010Apr-2056040Apr-211,00070Apr-221,500110Apr-232,100130Apr-242,400170 Notes:All figures are rounded to the nearest ten or to two significant figures. Where a value is marked with a dash, this indicates it has been rounded to zero. Where a value is zero, this indicates that no households meeting the criteria are recorded in our management information.Single households are counted where the household has a single female claimant.Couple households are counted where the household has at least one female claimant.If a household received the exception in more than one of the months listed above, they will appear in the figures for all of those months.If a woman moved between households and received the exception in both households, she will be counted more than once.All figures show the number of households with an assessment period ending in the corresponding month.These figures only cover UC Full Service and will not include any exceptions for UC Live Service. UC Live Service closed for new claims on 1 January 2018.This data is based on Universal Credit management information and uses a similar methodology to published statistics on the two-child policy.These statistics are based on latest data, they may not always match published statistics for previous years.Figures may not always sum to the total given, because of rounding.

What the gender breakdown is for Universal Credit claimants who are single parents.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

How many people serving imprisonment for public protection sentences were (a) classified as Category A prisoners and (b) in Category A prisons on 11 March 2025.

Category A prisoners are those that are considered to pose the highest risk to the public, the Police or national security. High security establishments are designed to mitigate those risks and to prevent escape.Some Category B prisoners are held in high security prisons, though they are not treated as Category A prisoners. They are assessed as posing a high or very high risk to the public if held in other types of establishments. High security prisons also provide specific interventions that are only provided within these establishments and therefore IPP prisoners are there to receive the support required to progress or manage the continued risk that they pose. This Government is committed to ensuring those who can make progress through their sentence are supported to do so, but not in a way that impacts public protection.The information provided below is from the latest published snapshot for breakdowns of the prison population, as at 31 December 2024. More recent data cannot be provided because it could give an early indication of future Accredited Official Statistics.Table 1: Number of IPP (Imprisonment for Public Protection) prisoners(1) classified as Category A prisoners(2), as at 31st December 2024, in England and WalesNumber of Category A IPP prisoners(3)20Table 2: Number of IPP prisoners(1) held in predominant function Category A (High security) establishments(4), as at 31st December 2024, in England and WalesNumber of prisoners154 Notes:1.The figures presented in these tables include both unreleased and recalled IPP prisoners.2. The data presented in this table includes prisoners classified as Provisional category A.3. The figure presented in this table constitute a subset of the figure presented in Table 2.4. A number of prisons have multiple functions (e.g. a prison could have both "Reception" and "Category C" functions). For these prisons, the predominant function has been used.5. For more information see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prisons-and-their-resettlement-providers.6. Data sources and quality: The figures in these tables have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. Source: Prison NOMIS.

With reference to revisions to the Immigration Rules, updated on 19 February and 14 March 2024, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the potential impact of its salary calculations on the continued employment of staff from her Department on workplace visas.

Whilst the impact of changes to the Skilled Worker Salary threshold, introduced in April 2024, is affecting a very small proportion of staff within the Department, visa expiry and potential options for obtaining a future work visa are specific to individuals’ circumstances and the Home Office legislation which applies at the time that their current visa expires. As current employees’ Visa expiry dates span several years and not all will be impacted by the changes to the skilled worker salary thresholds, the department does not expect changes to the Skilled Worker salary threshold to negatively impact on service levels.

How many single parents on maternity leave have had benefit payments capped.

The requested statistics are not available as the Department does not hold information on the maternity leave status of single parents that have had benefit payments capped.

How many complaints the Disability Confident policy team in her Department has had concerning a Disability Confident employer failing to comply with the Disability Confident criteria in the last three years.

The Disability Confident scheme has over 19,000 members and they report over 12 million employees working in their organisations. The scheme is designed as a learning journey with all employers starting at Level 1 and encouraged to progress through the scheme to Levels 2 and 3. As they progress on their learning journey, we expect they will continue to increase and share their understanding with employees and put in place effective and inclusive policies and procedures in support of disability employment.The range of suitable validators of organisations seeking Disability Confident Leader status or renewal of that status is explained in the scheme guidance. Most validations are undertaken by existing Disability Confident Leaders, although the full list is:existing Disability Confident Leadersdisabled employees, customers or people in the local communitylocal diversity and inclusion groupslocal disability organisations or network groupsdisabled people’s user led organisations (DPULOs)recognised accreditation organisations whose accreditation covers the components of the Disability Confident Employer self- assessmentdisabled stakeholder groups or forumsnational disability network groupsnational disability organisationsinternal diversity and inclusions groups/forumsThe scheme encourages businesses to choose an organisation suited to their business size, that can provide a proportionate level of challenge based on their own knowledge, lived experience, skills and expertise.Disability Confident Leaders have had their own self-assessment independently validated and demonstrated a high level of commitment and success in creating inclusive workplaces. This experience equips them to be able to support others through the process sharing their knowledge and skills, to assess and validate other organisations effectively.Other organisations able to validate businesses seeking to become or renew Disability Confident Leader status have specific expert knowledge of disability related issues in the workplace and / or have lived experience of disability.As part of the work, we have begun to strengthen the scheme, we are considering options to make the validation process more robust, including improving the guidance for validators and reviewing the types of bodies permitted to undertake validations.The overall number of complaints received by the Disability Confident policy team in the period 2022 to 2024 is approximately 220. Where the Department is made aware of any complaint raised against a Disability Confident employer for not meeting the scheme criteria, we would apply the process described in the Disability Complaints procedure. If after further examination, we consider the employer is failing to comply with any of the scheme criteria, the Department will give the employer an opportunity to remedy the situation. There have been no instances where an employer was given the opportunity to remedy the situation and failed to respond.

What steps her Department has taken to ensure that bodies providing independent validation of organisations seeking Disability Confident Leader status or to renewal of that status are fit for purpose.

The Disability Confident scheme has over 19,000 members and they report over 12 million employees working in their organisations. The scheme is designed as a learning journey with all employers starting at Level 1 and encouraged to progress through the scheme to Levels 2 and 3. As they progress on their learning journey, we expect they will continue to increase and share their understanding with employees and put in place effective and inclusive policies and procedures in support of disability employment.The range of suitable validators of organisations seeking Disability Confident Leader status or renewal of that status is explained in the scheme guidance. Most validations are undertaken by existing Disability Confident Leaders, although the full list is:existing Disability Confident Leadersdisabled employees, customers or people in the local communitylocal diversity and inclusion groupslocal disability organisations or network groupsdisabled people’s user led organisations (DPULOs)recognised accreditation organisations whose accreditation covers the components of the Disability Confident Employer self- assessmentdisabled stakeholder groups or forumsnational disability network groupsnational disability organisationsinternal diversity and inclusions groups/forumsThe scheme encourages businesses to choose an organisation suited to their business size, that can provide a proportionate level of challenge based on their own knowledge, lived experience, skills and expertise.Disability Confident Leaders have had their own self-assessment independently validated and demonstrated a high level of commitment and success in creating inclusive workplaces. This experience equips them to be able to support others through the process sharing their knowledge and skills, to assess and validate other organisations effectively.Other organisations able to validate businesses seeking to become or renew Disability Confident Leader status have specific expert knowledge of disability related issues in the workplace and / or have lived experience of disability.As part of the work, we have begun to strengthen the scheme, we are considering options to make the validation process more robust, including improving the guidance for validators and reviewing the types of bodies permitted to undertake validations.The overall number of complaints received by the Disability Confident policy team in the period 2022 to 2024 is approximately 220. Where the Department is made aware of any complaint raised against a Disability Confident employer for not meeting the scheme criteria, we would apply the process described in the Disability Complaints procedure. If after further examination, we consider the employer is failing to comply with any of the scheme criteria, the Department will give the employer an opportunity to remedy the situation. There have been no instances where an employer was given the opportunity to remedy the situation and failed to respond.

Which bodies provide independent validation of organisations seeking Disability Confident Leader status or renewal of that status.

The Disability Confident scheme has over 19,000 members and they report over 12 million employees working in their organisations. The scheme is designed as a learning journey with all employers starting at Level 1 and encouraged to progress through the scheme to Levels 2 and 3. As they progress on their learning journey, we expect they will continue to increase and share their understanding with employees and put in place effective and inclusive policies and procedures in support of disability employment.The range of suitable validators of organisations seeking Disability Confident Leader status or renewal of that status is explained in the scheme guidance. Most validations are undertaken by existing Disability Confident Leaders, although the full list is:existing Disability Confident Leadersdisabled employees, customers or people in the local communitylocal diversity and inclusion groupslocal disability organisations or network groupsdisabled people’s user led organisations (DPULOs)recognised accreditation organisations whose accreditation covers the components of the Disability Confident Employer self- assessmentdisabled stakeholder groups or forumsnational disability network groupsnational disability organisationsinternal diversity and inclusions groups/forumsThe scheme encourages businesses to choose an organisation suited to their business size, that can provide a proportionate level of challenge based on their own knowledge, lived experience, skills and expertise.Disability Confident Leaders have had their own self-assessment independently validated and demonstrated a high level of commitment and success in creating inclusive workplaces. This experience equips them to be able to support others through the process sharing their knowledge and skills, to assess and validate other organisations effectively.Other organisations able to validate businesses seeking to become or renew Disability Confident Leader status have specific expert knowledge of disability related issues in the workplace and / or have lived experience of disability.As part of the work, we have begun to strengthen the scheme, we are considering options to make the validation process more robust, including improving the guidance for validators and reviewing the types of bodies permitted to undertake validations.The overall number of complaints received by the Disability Confident policy team in the period 2022 to 2024 is approximately 220. Where the Department is made aware of any complaint raised against a Disability Confident employer for not meeting the scheme criteria, we would apply the process described in the Disability Complaints procedure. If after further examination, we consider the employer is failing to comply with any of the scheme criteria, the Department will give the employer an opportunity to remedy the situation. There have been no instances where an employer was given the opportunity to remedy the situation and failed to respond.