theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Dan Norris:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of families which will receive 30 hours of free childcare in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency in 2025. \p Olivia Bailey: It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.

The latest January 2025 statistics relating to funded early education and childcare were published on 11 July 2025. Statistics at constituency level are not readily available. Figures on the number of 3 and 4 year-olds registered for the 30-hour working parent entitlement in Bath and North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/440c7635-9b30-45ae-7a83-08de11c58191.

Following the expansion from September 2025, figures on the number of children aged 9 months to 2 years registered for the 30-hour working parent entitlement, at local authority, regional, and national level, will be published in next year’s January 2026 statistics on GOV.UK.
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Sarah Bool:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the meal rate for Universal Free School Meals to cover the costs school face in providing them. \p Olivia Bailey: The department spends around £600 million annually supporting the provision of free and nutritious meals to around 1.3 million infants and almost £1 billion supporting around 2.2 million of the most disadvantaged pupils. In addition to this, we have set aside over £1 billion over the multiyear spending review period to back our significant expansion of free meals support to all households on Universal Credit, taking effect from September 2026. This will benefit over half a million children.

For the 2025/26 academic year, we have allocated a meal rate of £2.61 for universal infant free school meals. As with all policies, we continue to keep free meals policy, including funding, under review to ensure that nutritious meals continue to be deliverable. Departmental officials meet regularly with the sector, including the school catering industry, and use these insights to inform our work.
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Charlie Maynard:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support specialist independent SEND schools. \p Georgia Gould: ​​Independent special schools can play an important role in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, particularly in meeting the needs of children and young people with highly complex needs. We recognise the expertise and value that many offer. However, independent special schools have higher costs than their maintained equivalents and we need to ensure that placements are used appropriately and deliver value for money.

​The department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special and alternative provision schools cater to those with the most complex needs. We want to encourage stronger partnerships and sharing of best practice across specialist and mainstream schools. We are considering how best to achieve this as part of our wider SEND reform plans.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to help tackle gender disparities in the (a) identification and (b) provision of Education, Health and Care Plans. \p Georgia Gould: ​​The department is committed to strengthening the education, health and care (EHC) plan system so that children and young people get the support they need to help them achieve and thrive.

​There are urgent issues to be addressed, and our priority will be to improve outcomes for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities so that they get the life chances they deserve.

​We must ensure that needs are identified more effectively and that the right support is put in place, regardless of the gender of the child or young person. We recognise that currently 71% of children and young people with an EHC plan are male and 29% female.

​The department is actively working with parents and experts to consider how best to resolve the current challenges in the system and will be setting out further steps in the Schools White Paper.
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Luke Taylor:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that children from lower-income backgrounds are not disadvantaged in access to grammar school places. \p Georgia Gould: Schools are not permitted to charge parents for their children’s admission or education. This includes charges for children to sit a school’s entrance test. However, they can charge for optional extras such as familiarisation tests.

The department and the Grammar School Heads Association (GSHA) entered into a memorandum of understanding in 2018, which runs until 2027, through which the GSHA agreed to work with its members to increase access for disadvantaged children.

Some local authorities and schools provide free test familiarisation materials for all children, including for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
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Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with parent-led organisations in (a) Yeovil constituency and (b) Somerset on the planned Special Educational Needs and Disabilities white paper. \p Georgia Gould: The department funds the Participation and Family Support programme, which ensures we can gather lived experience and insights from children, young people, parents and carers within the special educational needs and disabilities system from across England. A key aim of the work is to strengthen the involvement of parent carers and improve communication between local authorities and families, which is why we fund annual grants to all parent carer forums (PCFs) across England.

The National Network of Parent Carer Forums is the strategic voice of PCFs across England. The steering group is made up of 9 regional PCF leads, which includes the south west, working strategically in co-production with government departments.

The department is continuing to engage closely with children, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children get the outcomes and life chances they deserve.
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Dan Norris:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of progress in ineasing levels of teacher recruitment. \p Georgia Gould: ​​As part of the Plan for Change, the government has a commitment to recruit an additional 6,500 expert teachers across secondary and special schools and further education colleges by the end of this Parliament to ensure a high quality teacher in every classroom. Our measures are already having an impact, with the workforce in England having grown by 2,346 full-time equivalents in secondary and special schools in the 2024/25 academic year compared to the previous year.

​Our work to improve recruitment and retention has been supported by a near 10% pay award for teachers and leaders over the past two years and our investment of a further £590 million for colleges and other 16 to 19 providers in the 2025/26 financial year.

​We have also confirmed a package of financial incentives to support teacher recruitment in the 2026/27 academic year, including tax-free bursaries and scholarships worth up to £31,000 each for teachers of priority subjects in both schools and colleges. The best recruitment strategy starts with a retention strategy, which is why we have also confirmed targeted retention incentives worth up to £6,000 after tax.
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is talking to promote the education of animal welfare in schools. \p Georgia Gould: The government recognises the importance of teaching children about animal welfare in schools and this topic can already be covered within science and citizenship. As with other subjects, the national curriculum in England provides a broad framework within which schools have the flexibility to develop the content of their own school curriculum.
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Munira Wilson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students with qualified teacher status (a) have and (b) have not secured an early career teaching post after completing training in the last 12 months. \p Georgia Gould: ​​In the 2023/24 academic year, 25,845 trainees achieved qualified teacher status. The department provisionally estimates that 18,910 of these were teaching in a state-funded school in England within 16 months of the end of the 2023/24 academic year and 6,935 trainees were not. These numbers include both postgraduate and undergraduate trainees. Some trainees will also have entered the education sector through a different type of academic institution, such as an independent school or further education college.

​This information is available in the initial teacher training performance profiles publication, which is available here: ​https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/initial-teacher-training-performance-profiles-2023-to-2024.

​This publication provides information about the outcomes for teacher trainees in England in the 2023/24 academic year. Outcomes for teacher trainees for the 2024/25 academic year will be published in July 2026.
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Sir Ashley Fox:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had on ensuring that the Music and Dance Scheme continues to support the same number of students for future scholarships. \p Georgia Gould: The government fully supports the arts and the development of a skills pipeline into the creative industries. The department is providing £36.5 million for the Music and Dance Scheme (MDS) this academic year. The MDS currently provides bursaries for over 2,000 students. The number of students supported in future will be considered in due course. Any introduction of multi-year funding agreements will also be considered in due course.
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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that specialist music and dance schools have enough funding to provide funded places for talented children from all socio-economic backgrounds; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing a multi-year grant settlement for those schools. \p Georgia Gould: ​​The government fully supports the arts and the development of a skills pipeline into the creative industries. ​The department is providing £36.5 million for the Music and Dance Scheme this academic year. ​Any introduction of multi-year funding agreements will be considered in due course.
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Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking improve the experience of parents and carers when using the Special Educational Needs and Disability system in Yeovil constituency. \p Georgia Gould: A local area inspection of Somerset’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services, undertaken by Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) in March 2020, identified nine areas of significant weakness. They revisited in November 2022 and confirmed that seven had made sufficient progress. To address the remaining two areas, Somerset developed an accelerated progress plan, supported by the department and NHS England (NHSE) SEND Advisors. Progress was closely monitored and, by February 2025, the plan was stepped down following sufficient improvement.

The department and NHSE continue to engage with the Somerset SEND Partnership to discuss the local SEND system. Somerset Parent Carer Forum (PCF) representatives are valued strategic members at these meetings, which ensures their voices are heard, support to families continues, their issues are addressed, and true co-production takes place. We also engage with the regional and national PCF Networks to share information, escalate concerns and celebrate success.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to maintain the legal right to additional support for children with SEND. \p Georgia Gould: This government’s ambition is that every child or young person in our country deserves the best possible educational experience, one that is academically stretching, where every child or young person feels like they belong, and that sets them up for life and work. There will always be a legal right to the additional support that children with SEND need.

This government is determined to deliver reform that stands the test of time and rebuilds the confidence of families, which is why we are launching a further period of listening and engagement, testing our proposals with parents, teachers and experts in every region of the country, so that lived experience and partnership are at the heart of our solutions.

We know that families need change, and that is exactly why it is critical we get this right. The department will set out the full Schools White Paper in the new year, building on existing work to create a system rooted in inclusion, where children receive high-quality support early on and can thrive at their local school.
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Ian Sollom:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support access to a broad curriculum for state pupils. \p Georgia Gould: ​The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review wants to ensure a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work. It is also looking closely at the key challenges to attainment for young people, and the barriers which hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve.

​The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published shortly with the government’s response.
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Gareth Thomas:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that young people are taught about co-operatives as part of the national curriculum. \p Georgia Gould: ​​A high quality citizenship education helps to provide pupils with the knowledge, skills and understanding to prepare them to play a full and active part in society. The citizenship curriculum is compulsory within the national curriculum at secondary and primary schools can choose to teach citizenship at key stages 1 and 2, following the non-statutory framework for citizenship.

​Pupils should be taught about the roles played by public institutions and voluntary groups in society, which could include co-operatives, and the ways in which citizens work together to improve their communities.

​The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review is seeking to deliver a curriculum that ensures children and young people leave compulsory education ready for life and work, building the knowledge, skills and attributes young people need to thrive. The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published shortly with the government’s response.
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Sir Andrew Mitchell:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help support the retention of (a) primary and (b) secondary school teachers in Sutton Coldfield constituency. \p Georgia Gould: This government is committed to re-establishing teaching as an attractive profession, which is why the department announced a 4% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools from September 2025, on top of a 5.5% pay award for 2024/25, resulting in a near 10% pay award since this government came to power.

The department also announced targeted retention payments worth up to £6,000, with eligible teachers of chemistry, computing, mathematics and physics in The Royal Sutton School in Sutton Coldfield constituency qualifying for these.

To further boost retention, the department worked with the sector to develop the ‘Improve workload and wellbeing for school staff’ service, which contains a range of supportive resources for schools to review and reduce workload, and improve staff wellbeing.

The education staff wellbeing charter, which sets out commitments from government, schools and colleges to improve staff wellbeing and workload, has over 4,200 signatories, including two schools in Sutton Coldfield.
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Ben Goldsborough:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to allow (a) local authorities and (b) schools to change the dates on which they receive the Dedicated Schools Grant. \p Georgia Gould: The department provides dedicated schools grant (DSG) allocations to local authorities on a financial year basis, from April to March. That is in line with the financial reporting cycle for all local authorities’ funding streams.

The department has previously consulted on the appetite for changing the funding year for maintained schools, from a financial year to an academic year basis. The responses to the consultation at that time were mixed. One disadvantage, noted by a number of respondents, was that it would lead to increased administrative burdens, since the funding cycle would then differ from the financial reporting cycle which would need to remain on a financial year basis for local authorities.

The consultation is detailed here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/funding-policy-unit/completing-our-reforms-to-the-nff/supporting_documents/Fair%20Funding%20For%20All%20Consultation.pdf.

The consultation response is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/624ac1168fa8f527729bfb14/Completing_the_reforms_to_the_National_Funding_Formula_-_government_consultation_response_.pdf.

The government remains committed to keeping the school funding system under review to ensure it continues to be fair and responsive to the needs of all schools.
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Lizzi Collinge:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has considered mandating the incorporation of the National Conditions of Service for Teachers in England and Wales 2023 into employment contracts for teachers in academies. \p Georgia Gould: I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale to the answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 80414.
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Sarah Dyke:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of installing wi-fi in female prisons to facilitate access to (a) education, (b) training and (c) prepare for integration into society. \p Jake Richards: The Government recognises the distinct needs of women in custody and the critical role education plays in rehabilitation and reducing reoffending. The national education budget has not been reduced.

However, many prisons in the female estate (as well as the male estate) are having to reduce some elements of delivery due to the rising costs of provision.

Education is only one element of rehabilitation, and we continue to invest in skills and employability training for women, for example HMPPS' Future Skills Programme is supporting women in HMP/YOI Low Newton and HMP/YOI New Hall with the skills required to work in customer service roles. We also support women to desist from crime through housing support on release with a minimum of 10% of temporary accommodation beds reserved for women and nine dedicated Strategic Housing Specialists working across the female estate.

The new Prisoner Education Service includes a secure, standardised IT system across all public sector prisons in England, with Wi-Fi now available in education areas enabling improved internet access and data collection. In two women’s prisons, the Launchpad programme is now providing Wi-Fi across the whole site and in-cell laptops. These digital improvements are intended to support learning, wellbeing, and rehabilitation, better preparing women for employment on release.
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Robbie Moore:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, published in June 2025, what progress his Department has made on implementing recommendation three. \p Alex Davies-Jones: It is horrific that any person was convicted as a child for loitering and soliciting for prostitution. The Government has announced immediate steps to disregard such convictions.

Also, my officials are working with the Criminal Cases Review Commission to ensure they are properly resourced to review the applications of the wider cohort of victims of child sexual exploitation who believe they were unjustly convicted when their position as a victim was not properly understood.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the median length of service was for prison officers in the latest period for which data is available. \p Jake Richards: The median length of service for all band 3-5 prison officers in post on 30 June 2025 was 5.2 years.

The length of service in HMPPS is calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS, and therefore the median presented excludes experience in other roles, including in private prisons. Band 3-5 officers includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officers (incl specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officers, and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many vacancies are currently within HM Prison and Probation Service. \p Jake Richards: HM Prison and Probation Service holds required staffing levels which are subject to regular amendment and managed at a local and regional level. As a result of this discretion HMPPS does not present vacancy data due to variability in required staffing levels.

HM Prison and Probation does, however, publish indicative vacancies in the HMPPS Workforce stats: HM Prison and Probation Service workforce quarterly: June 2025 - GOV.UK.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average number of (a) prisoners held and (b) staff employed by HM Prison Service was in each of the last eight years. \p Jake Richards: Detailed statistics on the number of offenders in custody are published quarterly, including for the last eight years, and are available here: Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK. The average annual population can be found in Table 1_A_3 of the Annual Prison Population tables, published each July, and the June 30 snapshot population (typically used to represent the population in a particular calendar year) can be found in table 1_A_1.

The quarterly HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) workforce statistics includes headcount and Full Time Equivalent figures, as well as annual average staff in post figures for HMPPS staff. The latest data in the quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics covers the period up to the end of June 2025, and figures back to 2010 are available here: HM Prison and Probation Service workforce statistics - GOV.UK.
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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of making people convicted of murder ineligible for transfer to open prisons. \p Jake Richards: Public protection is the Government’s foremost priority when considering any progression within the custodial estate.

There are no current plans to restrict those convicted of murder from being held in open prison conditions, as long as it safe to do so.

A prisoner serving a mandatory life sentence for murder is eligible to be considered for a move to an open prison only if within three years of completing the minimum term (tariff) set by the Court at the point of sentence. Further, other than in exceptional circumstances, a life sentence prisoner will be approved for transfer to open conditions only in response to a recommendation made by the Parole Board, following a rigorous risk assessment. Even where the Parole Board makes such a recommendation, the Secretary of State is not bound by it and conducts his own risk assessment before approving the recommendation and so authorising transfer. If, following transfer, the prisoner shows signs of increased risk, s/he will be returned to closed conditions.

Following a long period of incarceration in closed conditions, a period in open conditions may provide important evidence for the purposes of the Parole Board’s determination of whether the prisoner may be safely released into the community on life licence. It also helps to acquaint the prisoner with life outside of prison, which might have changed substantially during the period of imprisonment. This Government remains committed to supporting the progression of prisoners serving life or other indeterminate sentences by supporting them to reduce their risk to a level where the Parole Board determines they may be safely released, subject to a robust risk management plan.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve the (a) recording and (b) categorisation of crimes against (i) Christian churches and (ii) other religious sites. \p Jake Richards: The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences, including violence against the person by defendant’s age, sex and ethnicity, in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK.

It is not possible to disaggregate the data to identify individuals who were convicted of offences committed against a person from specific religious backgrounds including Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Christian churches/other places of worship nor the nationality of the offender. This information may be held in court records but to examine individual court records would incur disproportionate costs.

We are committed to creating a more stable and sustainable criminal justice system, in which victims and the public can have confidence. In December 2024, Government commissioned the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, led by Sir Brian Leveson, to propose reform to improve timeliness in the courts and deliver swift justice for victims.
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Sarah Dyke:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure female prisoners receive (a) clothing and (b) personal protective equipment suitable for women. \p Jake Richards: Women’s clothing in a range of sizes is available across the women’s estate. This provision has been developed with input from women in custody. Relevant staff in each women’s prison have recently completed training on the ordering process, and a cycle of clothing orders and delivery is in operation. Each establishment has a designated staff member responsible for managing this process.

In line with Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 06/2015 National Policy, Organisation and Summary Arrangements for the Management of Health & Safety, Directors, Deputy Directors and Governors must ensure that work equipment, including personal protective equipment (PPE), provided for use in the workplace is suitable for its intended purpose. Where work undertaken by prisoners has been risk assessed as requiring PPE, appropriate and suitable equipment is provided.
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Rebecca Paul:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Independent Monitoring Board's report entitled Annual report of the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP/YOI Downview, published on 3 September 2025, what steps he is taking to safeguard biological female prisoners where biological male prisoners are not subject to constant sight and sound supervision by a dedicated prison officer on a one to one basis during shared activities at (a) HMP/YOI Downview and (b) other prisons and (c) other young offenders institutions; and what guidance he intends to issue on this matter. \p Jake Richards: Prisoners on E Wing are held separately from other prisoners at HMP & YOI Downview. They may only access the regime of the wider prison if risk assessed as being safe to do so, and under the supervision of prison staff.

Transgender prisoners at all prisons are subject to local risk management arrangements. These are determined by the establishment and take into account risks that may be posed by the prisoner and risks they may face from other prisoners. Since policy was strengthened in 2019, there have been no sexual assaults committed by transgender women in women’s prisons.

With regard to the changes to supervision noted in the Independent Monitoring Board’s Annual Report: E wing prisoners continue to be subject to supervision at all times. Following individual risk assessments carried out by the prison, it was determined that additional prison officer supervision was not necessary to manage risk in each case.

In contrast with the adult estate, the Children and Young People Estate includes mixed gender settings. Placement decisions are based on the young person’s identified needs and the risks they may present to themselves and others at the time of placement. Young people who have been identified as transgender will normally be placed in a mixed gender setting, where staff are skilled at safeguarding and supervising boys and girls in the same establishment. If a transgender young person identifying as a girl were assessed as being too high risk for management in a mixed gender setting, that young person would be placed in a male-only part of the estate, where their transgender needs would be supported. A transgender young person identifying as a boy would only be placed in a mixed gender site, not in a male-only establishment.

A review of transgender prisoner policy in the light of the Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland Ltd vs. The Scottish Ministers is in progress.
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Rebecca Paul:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the HMPPS Offender Equalities Annual Report 2022-2023, published on 30 November 2023, how many of the 225 transgender prisoners who reported their legal gender as male were convicted of a sexual offence. \p Jake Richards: Of the 225 transgender prisoners who reported their legal gender as male, 126 had been convicted of a sexual offence: this includes both contact and non-contact sexual offences. Offence data were not available for ten individuals.

HMPPS’s allocation policy is under review following the Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd vs. The Scottish Ministers. The policy will be updated to take account of this in due course.
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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people convicted of (a) murder, (b) other violent offences, and (c) sexual offences have successfully applied for parole in each of the last 3 years. \p Jake Richards: I must clarify that prisoners serving parole eligible sentences do not apply for parole. By law, the Secretary of State for Justice must refer such prisoners to the independent Parole Board at the point of earliest eligibility in line with the sentence being served.

The table below sets out the number of release directions issued by the Parole Board for the period requested, broken down by offence group:

Offence Group

2022/23

2023/24

2024/25

Sexual offences

493

638

687

Murder

308

379

344

Violent offences

986

1,255

1,178

1. 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.

In considering prisoners’ suitability for release, the independent Parole Board conducts a stringent assessment of risk based on a dossier of evidence. Public protection remains the number one priority and the Parole Board will only release prisoners where it is satisfied that any risks posed are able to be safely managed in the community under the supervision of the Probation Service.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-04)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-04 conversation_99

Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how are victims' opinions taken into account in parole decisions for prisoners before they have served their minimum term. \p Jake Richards: Prisoners may not be considered for release by the Parole Board until they have served the minimum custodial term imposed by the court. Victims have important rights when it comes to prisoners who are eligible for release via direction from the Parole Board and there are established mechanisms to enable them to exercise those rights. Victims who are eligible under the Victim Contact Scheme are contacted in advance of the prisoner’s first parole review – and any subsequent reviews. This allows them to submit a Victim Personal Statement explaining the effect that the crime has had on them and their family, which may inform the Parole Board’s consideration of licence conditions, should release be directed. However, this engagement does not influence the timing of parole eligibility.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-04)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-04 conversation_100

Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of making prisoners ineligible for parole until after they have served their minimum term in prison. \p Jake Richards: Prisoners may only be considered for release by the Parole Board once their minimum term has been served; this is known as the parole eligibility date (or tariff expiry date for indeterminate sentences). This statutory safeguard guarantees that no prisoner will be released prior to serving the minimum period of custody established by the court. Release before this point is not permitted under legislation other than the Secretary of State’s overriding power to release any prisoner early on compassionate grounds, which is rarely used.

The recent Independent Sentencing Review proposed a progression model that would allow certain offenders, namely those serving extended determinate sentences, to earn earlier consideration for release based on behaviour and rehabilitation. However, this recommendation was rejected because we do not think it would be right to allow prisoners who have been deemed dangerous by the courts to have their parole eligibility date brought forward.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-04)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-04 conversation_101

Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have successfully applied for parole before their minimum sentence has been served. \p Jake Richards: We have interpreted “eligible for parole” to mean that a prisoner must lawfully be referred to the Parole Board of England & Wales to assess whether they can be safely released into the community on licence.

The statutory framework on parole for both indeterminate and relevant determinate sentence cases is set out in the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 and the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

Prisoners are not eligible to be considered for parole until the end of the minimum custodial term which is their earliest possible release date. That date is known as the parole eligibility date (PED) or tariff expiry date (TED) depending on the type of sentence. The minimum custodial term is set by the courts when the sentence is imposed and cannot be changed by the Secretary of State.

There is no data on the number of prisoners who have successfully applied for parole before their minimum sentence has been served, because such releases are not permitted under legislation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-04)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-04 conversation_102

Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to (a) review and (b) update victim notification procedures. \p Alex Davies-Jones: The Victims’ Code is statutory guidance that sets out the minimum level of service that victims of crime should receive from the criminal justice system. Under the Code, victims have the right to information when reporting the crime, during investigation and prosecution, during the trial, and at the outcome of the trial. We will be consulting on a new Code in due course to make sure we get the foundations for victims right.

Through the Victim and Courts Bill, we will be updating the legislative framework that establishes the Victim Contact Scheme to bring victims currently served by different post-conviction communication schemes into the Victim Contact Scheme and provide a new route for other victims to request information via a dedicated helpline. This will give victims confidence about the routes available to receive information about their offender’s release.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-04)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-04 conversation_103

Euan Stainbank:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has considered establishing a cross-Governmental oversight body to monitor Departmental compliance with the legal aid elements of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill. \p Alex Davies-Jones: The Bill expands the scope of legal aid, allowing bereaved families to access legal help and advocacy for inquests whenever a public authority is an Interested Person without means testing. By bringing advocacy into scope, the Bill removes the requirement for families to navigate the Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) process to access representation at these inquests.   The legal aid provisions will be enshrined in law and administered by the Legal Aid Agency. Therefore, a cross-government oversight body to monitor compliance has not been considered during the Bill’s development.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-04)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-04 conversation_104

Robert Jenrick:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether any disciplinary action has been taken against (a) prison staff or (b) senior officials due to the erroneous release of prisoners since 1 April 2025. \p Jake Richards: Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government.

While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are clamping down on those releases in error that do occur – including through improved staff training and establishing a new specialist unit. A joint protocol between HMPPS and NPCC is in place, to ensure effective and timely communication between partner agencies when an individual is released in error to rearrest them as quickly as possible.

We have gripped this chaos – by building more prison places, ending the last Government’s early release scheme, being transparent with the public, immediately making changes to sentences to ease pressure on the system and now, taking landmark reforms through our Sentencing Bill to make sure that prisons never run out of places again.

The Ministry of Justice cannot provide the information requested. National conduct and discipline data for prison staff is published as part of the HMPPS Staff Equalities Report Official Statistics release available on gov.uk. The latest available data covers the period up to March 2024. Data for the period up to March 2025 is scheduled for publication in November 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-04)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-04 conversation_105

Joe Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussion his Department is having with relevant stakeholders to support small and medium businesses in providing apprenticeship schemes in rural areas. \p Andrew Western: Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are important to the economy and to apprenticeships; they provide valuable opportunities for younger apprentices and apprentices from disadvantaged areas.

The Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) is a group of nearly 2,500 employers and apprentices who volunteer to promote the benefits of the apprenticeship programme. It operates across all parts of England through nine regional networks. These networks provides buddying and mentoring support to small businesses to help them recruit and retain apprentices. The North-East Region of the AAN is actively engaging with SMEs across the region and is working closely with regional stakeholders to provide support to small businesses.

In addition, through Skills England the government is simplifying the skills system and strengthening support for SMEs. Skills England provide the single, authoritative view of skills needs, working closely with employers, training providers and local leaders to ensure provision reflects real labour market demand.

To ensure its work is shaped by real business experience, Skills England holds regular dialogue with the B5 group of major employer bodies, including the Federation of Small Businesses. It has a dedicated SME sponsor on its Board, and the Skills England executive team is committed to meeting SMEs across the country to ensure smaller firms have a permanent voice in the design of the skills system.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-04)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-04 conversation_106

Joe Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of foundation apprenticeships on levels of sectoral skills in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England. \p Andrew Western: New foundation apprenticeships will give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills.

Foundation apprenticeships will also support employers in key sectors to meet their current and future skills needs by developing new opportunities to engage with younger employees and build pipelines of talent.

The first seven foundation apprenticeships, which launched in August, focused on industrial strategy and priority areas - construction and the built environment, engineering and manufacturing, health and social care, and digital.

The department is working with Skills England to explore which other sectors and occupations would be most suitable for foundation apprenticeships. Further detail will be set out in due course.