Written questions by Johnson.

As at 26 February 2025, how many applications to the Criminal Cases Review Commission have been open for (a) over one year, (b) over two years, (c) over five years, (d) over ten years and (e) over fifteen years.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has provided the following information, which is unpublished management information and has not been subject to the same quality checks as Official Statistics which are published by the Ministry of Justice.As at 26 February 2025, the CCRC had 1,158 open cases. Of these 351 have been open for over one year, 152 have been open for over 2 years, 9 have been open for over 5 years and none have been open for over 10 or 15 years.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a public inquiry into the policy of so-called educationally subnormal schools in the 1960s and 1970s and (a) the number and proportion of Black children placed in such schools and (b) the impact on them.

The department does not currently plan to establish a public inquiry into the policy framework surrounding placement of children in schools for the so-called “educationally subnormal” in the 1960s and 1970s, but is keen to ensure that the mistakes made in that time are never repeated, and that no children or young people today suffer from the structural barriers and entrenched racism that held too many of our young people back in previous generations.The government wants to ensure that whoever you are, wherever you come from, Britain is a country that will respect your contribution and give you a fair chance to get on in life.We want every child and young person to achieve and thrive in education, work, and life, regardless of their background. All children and young people must be treated fairly. There is no place for hate or prejudice in our education system.Additionally, under the Equality Act 2010, schools must not discriminate against a pupil in a number of respects because of a characteristic protected by the Act.The Public Sector Equality Duty also requires public bodies, including maintained schools and academies to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination and other conduct prohibited by the Act; advance equality of opportunity for people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it; and foster good relations across all characteristics.The department is also focused on driving high and rising standards in every school, helping every child to achieve and thrive. We aim to deliver improvements though excellent teaching and leadership, a high-quality curriculum and a system which removes the barriers to learning that holds too many children back.

If she will meet with representatives of trade unions to discuss the potential impact of workplace visa rules on staff in her Department.

Whilst the impact of changes to the Skilled Worker Salary threshold introduced in April 2024 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 employee’s Visa expiry dates span several years and not all will be impacted by the changes to the skilled worker salary thresholds, the DWP Visa Sponsorship Team meet with Trade Unions weekly to ensure impacted members are supported.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the number of vacancies in her Department.

DWP is a demand led organisation which determines the level of staffing resource required to deliver our services. Workforce Plans, which include recruitment, set out detailed plans to deliver the required level of resource. Workforce Plans are regularly reviewed to meet latest demand and new policy requirements, and the Department prioritises resource across operational areas.

With reference to her Department’s guidance entitled Good character: caseworker guidance, updated on 13 February 2025, whether children granted refugee status who arrived in the UK unaccompanied can naturalise as British citizens.

When assessing good character, it is normally appropriate to disregard immigration breaches if it is accepted this was outside of the applicant’s control, which will normally be the case where children are involved.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s guidance entitled Good character: caseworker guidance, updated on 13 February 2025, whether adults granted refugee status who arrived irregularly in the UK as children can naturalise as British citizens.

When assessing good character, it is normally appropriate to disregard immigration breaches if it is accepted this was outside of the applicant’s control, which will normally be the case where children are involved.

What steps he is taking to increase the availability of free period products at (a) primary care and (b) secondary care settings in England.

The Government recognises the importance of women and girls being able to access the care they need for their reproductive health, including period products.Since 2019 it has been a requirement in the NHS Standard Contract that the National Health Service must offer period products to every hospital patient who needs them. This requirement applies to inpatient services only. It does not currently apply to providers of community or ambulance services, or to primary care providers, like general practices, pharmacies, optometrists, and dentists, who generally operate outside of the NHS Standard Contract.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing free period products to learners in (a) further and (b) higher education settings in England.

Nobody should have to miss out on education because of their period, which is why the department provides free period products to girls and women in all state-maintained schools and 16 to 19 education organisations in England. Higher education (HE) institutions are independent bodies and so would be expected to make their own arrangements to ensure that pupils have access to the products that they need. Only girls and women aged 16 to 19 attending further education courses funded by the department within HE institutions would be eligible for the scheme.

How many people serving Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences on licence in the community have taken their own lives in each year since 2005.

Table: Self-inflicted deaths of offenders serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence supervised on licence in the community, financial year 2019/20 to 2023/24, England and Wales (1) (2) (3) 2019/202020/212021/222022/232023/24 (p)Total611974(p) The 2023/24 figures are provisional and may be updated in future publications to account for any changes or additions to the data since they were originally collected.(1) Apparent cause is as reported in annual returns (prior to 2020/21 only) or the national Delius case management system (nDelius), and has not been independently verified.(2) The reporting period for these statistics (financial year 1 April to 31 March) relates to when the death occurred.(3) A new set of death classifications was implemented on 1 April 2022 and, as such, figures for 2022/23 onwards are not comparable to those presented for previous years. The category of 'self-inflicted death' up to 31 March 2022 includes any death of a person who has apparently taken his or her own life, irrespective of intent. The category of 'self-inflicted death' from 1 April 2022 includes any death of a person at their own hand, including where intent is undetermined. This includes some drug poisonings (e.g. where a suicide note is found or the circumstances are suspicious) but not drug poisonings which appear to have been the accidental result of consumption for another purpose. Refer to the guide to deaths of offenders supervised in the community statistics for further details about the new set of classifications.Data Sources and QualityThe figures in this table 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: National Delius case management system.Data is only provided from April 2019 as prior to this the data was collected via manual returns and identifying IPP offenders in this data would require a manual matching exercise of thousands of offender records. Therefore, information for the period before April 2019 could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed deletion of the Gang Violence Matrix on (a) legal risks and (b) access to justice for affected people.

The now decommissioned Gang Violence Matrix (GVM) was an operational risk assessment tool used by the Metropolitan Police. The Metropolitan Police is the controller of this data and is operationally independent of Government.The Metropolitan Police has already extended the retention of the data for 12 months to enable persons seeking clarity on their inclusion on the GVM to exercise their Right of Access. Any individual who considers they may have been included on the GVM is entitled to submit a Subject Access Request to the Metropolitan Police by 13 February 2025. The Metropolitan Police advises the public of this on its website.As the GVM is a policing tool and matter, the Ministry of Justice has no input or remit in relation to its deletion.

If she will hold discussions with the Metropolitan Police on (a) the potential impact of its gang violence matrix on ethnic minority groups and (b) the steps it is taking to ensure that its policing practices are not discriminatory.

The Gangs Violence Matrix (GVM) was an intelligence tool used by the Metropolitan Police to identify and risk-assess individuals involved with gangs across London.The police are operationally independent of the government, and the GVM was devised and operated by the Metropolitan Police, independently of the Home Office. The deletion of the data held on the GVM is a matter for the Metropolitan Police as the data controller, and it is their sole responsibility to exercise their retention policies in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 and authorised professional practice from the College of Policing.Following an enforcement notice from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the Metropolitan Police made the decision to discontinue use of the GVM after 13 February 2024. The Metropolitan Police had already previously decided that GVM data would be retained for a period of 12 months, from the date of decommission (13 February 2024), as there was no policing purpose to justify the continued retention of the data. This decision was taken in order to satisfy both Right of Access requests from persons seeking clarity on their inclusion on the GVM and to ensure that any claims under Article 8 Human Rights Act could be answered. Any individual that considers they may have been included on the GVM is therefore entitled to submit a Subject Access Request to the Metropolitan Police by 13 February 2025, and the Metropolitan Police advise the public of this on their website.Any form of discrimination in policing is unacceptable. The Government is supportive of the NPCC and College of Policing’s Police Race Action Plan which aims to improve policing’s engagement with Black communities. A number of forces have developed their own local plans to address specific needs from their communities, including the MPS.

If she will hold discussions with the Metropolitan Police on taking steps to allow people who have been wrongfully included on the gang violence matrix to challenge their inclusion before the deletion deadline.

The Gangs Violence Matrix (GVM) was an intelligence tool used by the Metropolitan Police to identify and risk-assess individuals involved with gangs across London.The police are operationally independent of the government, and the GVM was devised and operated by the Metropolitan Police, independently of the Home Office. The deletion of the data held on the GVM is a matter for the Metropolitan Police as the data controller, and it is their sole responsibility to exercise their retention policies in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 and authorised professional practice from the College of Policing.Following an enforcement notice from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the Metropolitan Police made the decision to discontinue use of the GVM after 13 February 2024. The Metropolitan Police had already previously decided that GVM data would be retained for a period of 12 months, from the date of decommission (13 February 2024), as there was no policing purpose to justify the continued retention of the data. This decision was taken in order to satisfy both Right of Access requests from persons seeking clarity on their inclusion on the GVM and to ensure that any claims under Article 8 Human Rights Act could be answered. Any individual that considers they may have been included on the GVM is therefore entitled to submit a Subject Access Request to the Metropolitan Police by 13 February 2025, and the Metropolitan Police advise the public of this on their website.Any form of discrimination in policing is unacceptable. The Government is supportive of the NPCC and College of Policing’s Police Race Action Plan which aims to improve policing’s engagement with Black communities. A number of forces have developed their own local plans to address specific needs from their communities, including the MPS.

What recent estimate she has made of the number of people in the Metropolitan Police’s Gangs Violence Matrix who have been convicted under joint enterprise laws.

The Gangs Violence Matrix (GVM) was an intelligence tool used by the Metropolitan Police to identify and risk-assess individuals involved with gangs across London.The police are operationally independent of the government, and the GVM was devised and operated by the Metropolitan Police, independently of the Home Office. The deletion of the data held on the GVM is a matter for the Metropolitan Police as the data controller, and it is their sole responsibility to exercise their retention policies in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 and authorised professional practice from the College of Policing.Following an enforcement notice from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the Metropolitan Police made the decision to discontinue use of the GVM after 13 February 2024. The Metropolitan Police had already previously decided that GVM data would be retained for a period of 12 months, from the date of decommission (13 February 2024), as there was no policing purpose to justify the continued retention of the data. This decision was taken in order to satisfy both Right of Access requests from persons seeking clarity on their inclusion on the GVM and to ensure that any claims under Article 8 Human Rights Act could be answered. Any individual that considers they may have been included on the GVM is therefore entitled to submit a Subject Access Request to the Metropolitan Police by 13 February 2025, and the Metropolitan Police advise the public of this on their website.Any form of discrimination in policing is unacceptable. The Government is supportive of the NPCC and College of Policing’s Police Race Action Plan which aims to improve policing’s engagement with Black communities. A number of forces have developed their own local plans to address specific needs from their communities, including the MPS.

How many people serving custodial sentences were convicted based on evidence from the Gang Violence Matrix.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on offenders convicted and sentenced to immediate custody 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 sentenced based on information obtained from the Gang Violence Matrix. This information may be held in court records, but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate cost.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of identifying an independent body to safeguard data relating to the Metropolitan Police’s Gangs Violence Matrix.

The Gangs Violence Matrix (GVM) was an intelligence tool used by the Metropolitan Police to identify and risk-assess individuals involved with gangs across London.The police are operationally independent of the government, and the GVM was devised and operated by the Metropolitan Police, independently of the Home Office. The deletion of the data held on the GVM is a matter for the Metropolitan Police as the data controller, and it is their sole responsibility to exercise their retention policies in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 and authorised professional practice from the College of Policing.Following an enforcement notice from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the Metropolitan Police made the decision to discontinue use of the GVM after 13 February 2024. The Metropolitan Police had already previously decided that GVM data would be retained for a period of 12 months, from the date of decommission (13 February 2024), as there was no policing purpose to justify the continued retention of the data. This decision was taken in order to satisfy both Right of Access requests from persons seeking clarity on their inclusion on the GVM and to ensure that any claims under Article 8 Human Rights Act could be answered. Any individual that considers they may have been included on the GVM is therefore entitled to submit a Subject Access Request to the Metropolitan Police by 13 February 2025, and the Metropolitan Police advise the public of this on their website.Any form of discrimination in policing is unacceptable. The Government is supportive of the NPCC and College of Policing’s Police Race Action Plan which aims to improve policing’s engagement with Black communities. A number of forces have developed their own local plans to address specific needs from their communities, including the MPS.

If she will instruct the Metropolitan Police to delay the deletion of its Gangs Violence Matrix.

The Gangs Violence Matrix (GVM) was an intelligence tool used by the Metropolitan Police to identify and risk-assess individuals involved with gangs across London.The police are operationally independent of the government, and the GVM was devised and operated by the Metropolitan Police, independently of the Home Office. The deletion of the data held on the GVM is a matter for the Metropolitan Police as the data controller, and it is their sole responsibility to exercise their retention policies in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 and authorised professional practice from the College of Policing.Following an enforcement notice from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the Metropolitan Police made the decision to discontinue use of the GVM after 13 February 2024. The Metropolitan Police had already previously decided that GVM data would be retained for a period of 12 months, from the date of decommission (13 February 2024), as there was no policing purpose to justify the continued retention of the data. This decision was taken in order to satisfy both Right of Access requests from persons seeking clarity on their inclusion on the GVM and to ensure that any claims under Article 8 Human Rights Act could be answered. Any individual that considers they may have been included on the GVM is therefore entitled to submit a Subject Access Request to the Metropolitan Police by 13 February 2025, and the Metropolitan Police advise the public of this on their website.Any form of discrimination in policing is unacceptable. The Government is supportive of the NPCC and College of Policing’s Police Race Action Plan which aims to improve policing’s engagement with Black communities. A number of forces have developed their own local plans to address specific needs from their communities, including the MPS.

What steps she is taking to help improve the transparency of processes for the (a) collection, (b) retention and (c) use of data by the police.

The Gang Violence Matrix (GVM) was an operational intelligence tool used by the Metropolitan Police to identify and risk-assess individuals involved with gangs across London.The deletion of the data held on the GVM is an operational matter for the Metropolitan Police as the data controller, and it is their sole responsibility to exercise their retention policies in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 and authorised professional practice from the College of Policing. The Metropolitan Police’s use of the GVM is subject to an enforcement notice from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). We understand that since the enforcement notice the names on the GVM have been under regular review, and since its inception in 2012 over 4,000 names have been removed.Following the enforcement notice from the ICO, the Metropolitan Police made a decision that GVM data would be retained for a period of 12 months, from the date of decommission (13 February 2024), as there was no policing purpose to justify the continued retention of the data. This means that all data will permanently be destroyed on 13 February 2025. This decision was taken in order to satisfy Right of Access requests from persons seeking clarity on their inclusion on the GVM. Any individual that considers they may have been included on the GVM is therefore entitled to submit a Subject Access Request to the Metropolitan Police by 13 February 2025, and the Metropolitan Police advise the public of this on their website.Additionally, the ICO’s enforcement notice already requires that the Metropolitan Police review their sharing of information with third parties and, as the relevant supervisory authority, the ICO have the necessary powers to enforce compliance with said notice.The Home Office does not hold any data on individuals being charged, prosecuted or incarcerated based on information held on the GVM.In relation to the transparency of the process by which the Police collect retain and use data, the Police are subject to the Data Protection Act 2018 and authorised professional practice from the College of Policing. However, as part of the Home Office’s police reform agenda we will explore how best to support policing in the collection, use and management of their data for a range of operational and analytical purposes.

What steps she is taking to ensure people who were convicted using information from the Gang Violence Matrix can appeal their convictions after the database is deleted.

The Gang Violence Matrix (GVM) was an operational intelligence tool used by the Metropolitan Police to identify and risk-assess individuals involved with gangs across London.The deletion of the data held on the GVM is an operational matter for the Metropolitan Police as the data controller, and it is their sole responsibility to exercise their retention policies in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 and authorised professional practice from the College of Policing. The Metropolitan Police’s use of the GVM is subject to an enforcement notice from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). We understand that since the enforcement notice the names on the GVM have been under regular review, and since its inception in 2012 over 4,000 names have been removed.Following the enforcement notice from the ICO, the Metropolitan Police made a decision that GVM data would be retained for a period of 12 months, from the date of decommission (13 February 2024), as there was no policing purpose to justify the continued retention of the data. This means that all data will permanently be destroyed on 13 February 2025. This decision was taken in order to satisfy Right of Access requests from persons seeking clarity on their inclusion on the GVM. Any individual that considers they may have been included on the GVM is therefore entitled to submit a Subject Access Request to the Metropolitan Police by 13 February 2025, and the Metropolitan Police advise the public of this on their website.Additionally, the ICO’s enforcement notice already requires that the Metropolitan Police review their sharing of information with third parties and, as the relevant supervisory authority, the ICO have the necessary powers to enforce compliance with said notice.The Home Office does not hold any data on individuals being charged, prosecuted or incarcerated based on information held on the GVM.In relation to the transparency of the process by which the Police collect retain and use data, the Police are subject to the Data Protection Act 2018 and authorised professional practice from the College of Policing. However, as part of the Home Office’s police reform agenda we will explore how best to support policing in the collection, use and management of their data for a range of operational and analytical purposes.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the permanent deletion of the Metropolitan Police's Gang Violence Matrix database on access to justice for people who were wrongfully included on the database.

The Gang Violence Matrix (GVM) was an operational intelligence tool used by the Metropolitan Police to identify and risk-assess individuals involved with gangs across London.The deletion of the data held on the GVM is an operational matter for the Metropolitan Police as the data controller, and it is their sole responsibility to exercise their retention policies in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 and authorised professional practice from the College of Policing. The Metropolitan Police’s use of the GVM is subject to an enforcement notice from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). We understand that since the enforcement notice the names on the GVM have been under regular review, and since its inception in 2012 over 4,000 names have been removed.Following the enforcement notice from the ICO, the Metropolitan Police made a decision that GVM data would be retained for a period of 12 months, from the date of decommission (13 February 2024), as there was no policing purpose to justify the continued retention of the data. This means that all data will permanently be destroyed on 13 February 2025. This decision was taken in order to satisfy Right of Access requests from persons seeking clarity on their inclusion on the GVM. Any individual that considers they may have been included on the GVM is therefore entitled to submit a Subject Access Request to the Metropolitan Police by 13 February 2025, and the Metropolitan Police advise the public of this on their website.Additionally, the ICO’s enforcement notice already requires that the Metropolitan Police review their sharing of information with third parties and, as the relevant supervisory authority, the ICO have the necessary powers to enforce compliance with said notice.The Home Office does not hold any data on individuals being charged, prosecuted or incarcerated based on information held on the GVM.In relation to the transparency of the process by which the Police collect retain and use data, the Police are subject to the Data Protection Act 2018 and authorised professional practice from the College of Policing. However, as part of the Home Office’s police reform agenda we will explore how best to support policing in the collection, use and management of their data for a range of operational and analytical purposes.

What steps she is taking to contact people who were included on the Gang Violence Matrix to enable them to access their information before its deletion on 13 February 2025.

The Gang Violence Matrix (GVM) was an operational intelligence tool used by the Metropolitan Police to identify and risk-assess individuals involved with gangs across London.The deletion of the data held on the GVM is an operational matter for the Metropolitan Police as the data controller, and it is their sole responsibility to exercise their retention policies in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 and authorised professional practice from the College of Policing. The Metropolitan Police’s use of the GVM is subject to an enforcement notice from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). We understand that since the enforcement notice the names on the GVM have been under regular review, and since its inception in 2012 over 4,000 names have been removed.Following the enforcement notice from the ICO, the Metropolitan Police made a decision that GVM data would be retained for a period of 12 months, from the date of decommission (13 February 2024), as there was no policing purpose to justify the continued retention of the data. This means that all data will permanently be destroyed on 13 February 2025. This decision was taken in order to satisfy Right of Access requests from persons seeking clarity on their inclusion on the GVM. Any individual that considers they may have been included on the GVM is therefore entitled to submit a Subject Access Request to the Metropolitan Police by 13 February 2025, and the Metropolitan Police advise the public of this on their website.Additionally, the ICO’s enforcement notice already requires that the Metropolitan Police review their sharing of information with third parties and, as the relevant supervisory authority, the ICO have the necessary powers to enforce compliance with said notice.The Home Office does not hold any data on individuals being charged, prosecuted or incarcerated based on information held on the GVM.In relation to the transparency of the process by which the Police collect retain and use data, the Police are subject to the Data Protection Act 2018 and authorised professional practice from the College of Policing. However, as part of the Home Office’s police reform agenda we will explore how best to support policing in the collection, use and management of their data for a range of operational and analytical purposes.