theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Sarah Bool:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of further permitted development protections for registered historic battlefields in England. \p Matthew Pennycook: The government is committed to the protection of the historic environment.

We consider new permitted development rights, and amendments to existing ones, on a case-by-case basis.

Changes to permitted development rights are generally made following public consultation, including consideration of any impacts on the historic environment.

Local planning authorities can also remove national permitted development rights where it is necessary to protect local amenity or the well-being of an area by introducing an ‘Article 4’ direction.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 23 October 2025 on Housing Delivery, HCWS991, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the new time-limited planning route on the role of (a) local authorities, (b) ward councillors, and (c) planning committees. \p Matthew Pennycook: On 23 October 2025, the Secretary of State and the Mayor of London announced a new package of support for housebuilding in London. Details can be found on gov.uk here.

A consultation on these London-specific measures will be launched in November 2025, and feedback will be welcomed from local planning authorities and local councillors.
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Sir James Cleverly:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2025 to Question 81951 on Affordable Housing: Construction, whether grant funding will be provided under the Affordable Housing Programme for (a) unsold and (b) uncontracted homes provided under section 106 agreements. \p Matthew Pennycook: The Social and Affordable Homes Programme will support the delivery of social and affordable housing additional to those that developers have committed to delivering through Section 106 agreements.
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Liz Jarvis:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for complaints submitted to the Housing Ombudsman to be (a) processed and (b) resolved. \p Matthew Pennycook: The Housing Ombudsman is independent of government.

As its Sponsor Department, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government tracks its progress on delivery in line with Cabinet Office Standards for working in partnership.

The Housing Ombudsman’s Corporate Strategy for 2025-30 sets stretching KPIs (agreed by the Secretary of State) aimed at further reducing casework timescales.

Complaints and enquiries received by the Ombudsman have increased from 32,126 in 2022-23 to 40,945 in 2023-24. The organisation has grown from an average full time equivalent staff (FTE) of 187 in 2022-23 to 340 FTE in 2023-24. There was a 107% increase in the number of determinations made by the Ombudsman in 2024-24.

The Corporate Strategy sets out how the Ombudsman will continue to meet this demand by further expanding the workforce and continuing to explore new approaches to case investigations.

Work to reduce the number of complaints needing to reach the Service is also ongoing and includes the Ombudsman sharing best practice to help landlords improve their complaint handling. A transformation programme launched at the start of 2025-26 also aims to drive further efficiencies from processes and systems.
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Navendu Mishra:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in levels of (a) Hinduphobia and (b) anti-Hindu sentiment. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: There was a 3% increase in police recorded religious hate crime in the year ending March 2025. Of the total number of religiously motivated hate crimes, 2% targeted Hindus (a total of 182 hate crimes).

We are committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion and we will not tolerate anti-Hindu hatred in any form. No one should ever be a victim of hatred because of their race or religion, and the Government continues to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat this.

The Government also recognises that Hindus can experience anti-Muslim hate, and that the misidentification of Hindus as Muslims can compound the burden of religious hatred and discrimination faced by Hindus.
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Sir James Cleverly:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2025 to Question 84643 on Infrastructure: Planning Permission, if he will publish a list of planning applications that have been submitted in this Parliament but not yet had a decision by (a) name of the project, (b) local authority, (c) application date and (d) target date for a decision. \p Matthew Pennycook: Data on Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, including details such as project name, location, application date, and target decision date, is published and regularly updated on the Planning Inspectorate’s website here.
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Sir James Cleverly:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 83343 on Elections: Pilot Schemes, what his planned timetable is for announcing which local authority areas will be selected for election pilots in May 2026; how many will be selected; what the budget is for that programme; and how many bids were submitted by the deadline. \p Samantha Dixon: We are currently reviewing applications from local authorities wishing to pilot at the May 2026 elections and we will share further details in due course.
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Sir James Cleverly:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 28 October 2025, to Question 81310, on Universal Studios: Bedfordshire, if he will make it his policy to publish all online written representations to planning applications for Special Development Orders. \p Matthew Pennycook: Special Development Orders are a long-established part of the planning system, and each case is considered on its individual merits.

In July 2025, my Department set out how it intends to inform the public of its decision on a request for planning permission for an Entertainment Resort Complex and associated development in Bedford.

There is no statutory requirement to publish representations received in relation to Special Development Orders and the government has no plans to change this.
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Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of cancelling of the A12 widening scheme on sites of proposed housing developments in local plans in local authorities in Essex. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 66157 on 17 July 2025.

Local development plans should address needs and opportunities in relation to infrastructure and identify what infrastructure is required and how it can be funded and brought forward. When preparing a Local Plan, Planning Practice Guidance recommends that local planning authorities use available evidence of infrastructure requirements to prepare an Infrastructure Funding Statement. Such Statements can be used to demonstrate the delivery of infrastructure throughout the plan-period.
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Sir James Cleverly:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the incidence of unauthorised travellers frustrating Temporary Stop Notices by subdividing land into multiple plots. \p Matthew Pennycook: My Department has not made a specific estimate of the incidence of unauthorised travellers frustrating Temporary Stop Notices by subdividing land into multiple plots.
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Lisa Smart:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to review housing allocation guidance to ensure that care leavers’ (a) welfare and (b) community ties are taken into account when determining (i) local connection and (ii) housing priority. \p Matthew Pennycook: Local authorities have discretion to manage their housing registers (waiting lists) and are free to develop solutions that make best use of their social housing stock.

Many local authorities have adopted a residency or local connection test for social housing which requires people to have a well-established local association or to have lived in the area for a certain period before they can put their name on the housing waiting list. Statutory guidance also makes clear that local authorities are expected to take proper account of special circumstances, by making provision for appropriate exceptions.

We recognise that not all care leavers wish to settle in areas that they have a local connection to. As a result, we laid regulations to exempt care leavers under 25 from local connection or residency tests in order to access social housing. These regulations came into force on 10 July 2025.

Statutory guidance was also updated to strongly encourage local authorities to give the same level of priority to those care leavers who have been placed in their authority area and wish to stay, as their own care leavers whom they have a duty to provide support and assistance up to age 25. Local authorities should also consider exempting care leavers more broadly to recognise that a lack of family stability and their experiences whilst in or leaving care might mean that some care leavers may not have a tangible connection to an area.

The guidance on social housing allocations, which the government keeps under review, can be found on gov.uk here.
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Lisa Smart:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to reduce the time taken for the adoption of (a) highways and (b) drainage infrastructure on completed housing developments. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to question UIN 81305 on 24 October 2025.
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Dr Simon Opher:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of allegations of foreign interference in recent elections in Romania and Germany through social media; and what steps he is taking to help prevent foreign interference in UK elections. \p Samantha Dixon: The Government takes any attempts to intervene in democratic processes very seriously. It is, and always will be, an absolute priority to protect our democratic and electoral processes, including from foreign interference.

The Defending Democracy Taskforce brings together Whitehall departments, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies to monitor and mitigate risks, including foreign interference. The Joint Election Security and Preparedness unit (JESP) leads cross-government efforts in preparation for the 2026 elections, which are taking place across the UK.

The Government’s strategy for modern, secure and inclusive elections, published in July, sets out our plan to strengthen oversight of and safeguards against known and emerging threats, including foreign interference through covert political funding. We are introducing tougher rules on political donations to protect UK elections, striking the right balance between safeguarding against foreign interference whilst making sure that legitimate donors can continue to fund electoral campaigns.
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Sarah Hall:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to review planning requirements for converting homes into houses in multiple occupation. \p Matthew Pennycook: Local planning authorities already have planning powers to limit the concentration or proliferation of HMOs within their locality. They can remove the national permitted development right for smaller HMOs to protect the local amenity or wellbeing of an area by introducing an ‘Article 4’ direction which, once in place, requires all new HMO proposals to secure planning permission. We keep the powers to regulate HMOs under review.
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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of levels of Community Infrastructure Levy in the Borough of Waverley on the supply of new (a) residential and (b) commercial premises in that borough. \p Matthew Pennycook: My Department has made no such an assessment.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to bring forward further legislative proposals on planning reform. \p Matthew Pennycook: Any new primary legislation will be formally announced to Parliament in the usual way.
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David Taylor:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using automated parking systems to help tackle (a) congestion and (b) parking issues. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The government recognises the growth of automated vehicle technologies and services in the UK.

The government is focused on delivering the Private Parking Code of Practice, which is being developed in accordance with the Private Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019. Any technological innovations will need to be compliant with the standards in the Code which will be made public in due course.
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Sir James Cleverly:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what are the internal areas within the proposed Chinese Embassy that would be exempt from UK inspection and verification. \p Matthew Pennycook: All material planning considerations, including national and international law, will be taken into account in reaching a decision on this case. The full reasons for the decision will be set out in the final decision letter.
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Joe Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to reform estate adoption in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, and (d) the North East. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement published on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).
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Jo Platt:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to introduce a National Development Management Policy for older people’s housing. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 69042 on 24 July 2025.
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Bob Blackman:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government,  if he will meet with the Fire Brigades Union to discuss the safety of firefighters when tackling wildfires. \p Samantha Dixon: The health and safety of firefighters is of the utmost importance. The government recognises the risks that firefighters face and is grateful to them for their bravery.

Fire and rescue authorities, as employers, must take action to protect firefighter physical and mental health, this includes ensuring that firefighters receive the appropriate equipment and training they need.

The government is proactively engaging with the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) alongside other fire and rescue sector stakeholders both at Ministerial and at official level.

The FBU is also a member of the Ministerial Advisory Group on Fire and Rescue Reform (MAGFRR) which has been established under this government. The MAGFRR brings together key fire and rescue sector leaders to discuss policy and key issues.
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Sarah Owen:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure fire safety for new (a) high rise buildings, (b) complex or mixed use developments and (c) sites with known access or water-supply constraints and (d) other new build major residential developments. \p Samantha Dixon: The Department has taken steps to strengthen fire safety in all new buildings, including those that are high-rise, complex, or located on constrained sites.

The Building Safety Act 2022 established the Building Safety Regulator, which since October 2023 has acted as the Building Control Authority for Higher Risk Buildings. Fire safety is considered from the earliest design stages through Planning Gateway One and Gateway Two.

Approved Document B (Fire Safety) is subject to continuous review. Updates since 2017 include the ban on combustible materials in external walls over 18 metres, sprinkler requirements for buildings over 11 metres, evacuation alert systems, and provision for second staircases in buildings over 18 metres, which will apply to new buildings where applications are submitted after 30 September 2026.

For complex or mixed-use developments, applications are assessed by multi-disciplinary teams. Where standard guidance is insufficient, expert advice should be sought.

For sites with access or water-supply constraints, developers must demonstrate compliance with fire service access provisions or justify alternative approaches.

All new residential developments, regardless of size, must comply with the Building Regulations, including Part B (Fire Safety). Approved Document B provides statutory guidance on how these requirements may be met in common building situations, but developers may choose alternative approaches provided they can demonstrate compliance with the functional requirements of the Regulations.
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Charlotte Cane:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2025 to Question 85523 on Electoral Register: British Nationals Abroad, what steps he plans to take to ensure that overseas electors receive their ballot papers on time. \p Samantha Dixon: The responsibility for arranging the timing and dispatch of postal votes sits with the Returning Officer for each electoral area. As such, it falls to them to assess the likelihood of an elector’s postal ballot pack being dispatched, returned and completed before the close of poll. The Electoral Commission provides guidance to Returning Officers in this regard, including advising them to prioritise overseas postal ballot packs.

The Government is committed to fixing the foundations of our electoral processes, including making changes to help build more resilience into the postal voting system.

As set out in the policy paper, Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections on 17 July 2025, the Government will introduce a package of measures intended to improve the resilience and capacity of the postal voting system overall. These measures include moving the postal vote application deadline three working days earlier in time. The deadline for candidate nominations will also be moved earlier in time in order to allow Returning Officers more time to proof the ballot papers for printers, giving more time for the next part of the process to get underway, and in particular to enable postal ballot papers to be printed and issued to postal voters at an earlier point.

These changes will benefit all administrators and voters, including those living overseas.
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Siân Berry:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2025 to Question 80755 on High Rise Flats: Fires, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the adequacy of legislation on the communication of fire risk assessment information from local authorities to residents. \p Samantha Dixon: The requirement to share relevant fire safety information with residents in multi-occupied residential premises came into effect in October 2023. We ran a survey in 2023 to ascertain preparedness for this requirement and a high degree of public sector bodies that responded (such as local authorities) indicated they were aware and planned to share this information.

We plan to formally review the legislation in the future which may include a further survey or other relevant research to determine whether the above finding remains the case. Additionally, we have regular meetings with a range of stakeholders (including local authorities) on this legislation to hear how this is working in practice.
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Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of housing conditions in the (a) private rented, (b) social housing and (c) co-operative housing sector in England. \p Matthew Pennycook: The government monitors housing conditions through the English Housing Survey and the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).

The latest English Housing Survey figures show that 21% of private rented sector properties are classed as non-decent, and 10% have a Category 1 hazard under the HHSRS.

In the social rented sector, 10% of homes are non-decent, and 4% have a Category 1 hazard. Co-operative housing is not treated as a separate sector and is included within these figures.

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 will extend Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector and introduce a Decent Homes Standard for privately rented homes for the first time. Social housing already operates under the Decent Homes Standard, and enforcement is being strengthened through the Social Housing Regulation Act, under which the first phase of Awaab’s Law has come into force.
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Sir James Cleverly:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 81315 on National Identity, whether his Department is taking steps to promote (a) English and (b) British identities in people who do not speak English as a first language. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The below answer refers to funding made by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government only for English language provision. The provisions described are in addition to what other departments offer.

Councils receive a tariff of £5,900 per Homes for Ukraine arrival in their area to support guests to rebuild their lives and fully integrate into communities. Councils can use this funding flexibly which could include supporting guests to access English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision.

The department provided £11.5 million of funding for English language courses and employment support for over 12,500 Ukrainians across the UK through the ‘STEP Ukraine’ programme. Following that success, the STEP Programme launched earlier this month which will provide intensive English language lessons and employment support for up to 4,000 individuals on Ukraine schemes and Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visas. The department has also allocated £3 million in grant funding to Strategic Migration Partnerships (SMPs) in England to strengthen the capacity of ESOL teachers and expand community-based English language support for eligible Afghans, Ukrainians, and Hong Kong BN(O)s until March 2026. This builds on the £1 million SMP ESOL capacity grant delivered in 2023–24, which trained over 350 teachers and supported more than 2,500 resettled learners

The Hong Kong British National (Overseas) Welcome Programme, which is in its fifth year of funding, provides demand led funding to councils in England which can be accessed to cover the costs of English language courses. In 2024-25, the department allocated £4.5m to councils. Continued funding is available in 2025-26.
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Sir James Cleverly:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the press notice entitled Chancellor appoints infrastructure and planning adviser to clear path for new investments, published on 12 September 2025, whether (a) he and (b) the Minister for Housing and Planning have met the Chancellor’s Infrastructure and Planning Adviser since 12 September 2025. \p Matthew Pennycook: Both the Secretary of State and I regularly engage with ministerial colleagues and advisors on a range of matters. In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring councillors in principle tier authorities to obtain a DBS check. \p Alison McGovern: Criminal record checks provided by the Disclosure and Barring Service (‘DBS checks’) for local government members are currently optional; it is for individual local authorities to adopt eligible checks as they determine necessary.

I am considering options on criminal record checks for local government members.
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Mr Clive Betts:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's report of 2020 entitled Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases, what steps his Department is taking to implement recommendations from that report; and whether the Government has any plans for an alternative inquiry to take its place. \p Alex Davies-Jones: The Ministry of Justice and its partners are delivering a package of reforms aimed at improving how the family justice system supports children and families – including victims of domestic abuse.

As part of this work we have already taken forward many of the actions it committed to following the Harm Panel report. This includes expanding the Pathfinder model which aims to improve the experience of children and families involved in private law proceedings. Through delivery of Pathfinder in ten court areas, we are learning a significant amount about how the family courts can operate in line with the principles for reform set out in the Harm Panel report. We are carefully monitoring these lessons ahead of further expansion. Alongside this, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s recent report on the Family Court Review and Reporting Mechanism pilot has made further recommendations, which the Government is now considering.

In addition, following the recommendations of the Harm Panel report, we have completed a review of the presumption of parental involvement. The evidence from the review suggests that the presumption may feed into a pro-contact culture in the family courts, finding a high incidence of court-ordered contact between children and parents who have caused or posed a risk of harm. As part of our wider package of family court reforms, the Government announced on 22 October 2025 that we will repeal the presumption of parental involvement from the Children Act 1989 when Parliamentary time allows.

The Government will also be publishing our new, cross-government Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy as soon as possible, which will set out the strategic direction and concrete actions to deliver on the Government’s ambition to tackle violence against women and girls.

The Government therefore does not consider it necessary to establish an alternative inquiry at this time.
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Sarah Champion:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will take steps to review the outcomes of Family Court cases where experts unregulated by the Health and Care Professions Council were used; and to ensure that children removed from their mothers based on their diagnosis can be returned. \p Alex Davies-Jones: The Government does not recognise the concept of “parental alienation” syndrome and does not think it is capable of diagnosis. Having reviewed relevant family court judgments and published guidance by various organisations, the Government recognises that there is a need to review the role of unregulated experts in the family courts.

The Government is already taking action on concerns about unregulated experts in family court proceedings. We are working with the Family Procedure Rule Committee on this issue to make changes to the Family Procedure Rules and their associated Practice Directions to restrict the instruction of these experts.

There are existing mechanisms within the family court system for a case to be reconsidered.  A parent may apply to the family court to have an existing order varied or discharged. The court will consider all of the circumstances of the case and make any decision based on the welfare of the child, which is its paramount consideration.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been over detained in prison in the last five reported years. \p Jake Richards: Release inaccuracy is yet 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 errors that do occur, and this includes unlawful detentions.

On 11 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a five-point action plan setting out initial steps which includes strengthening release checks across prisons and an independent inquiry will report its recommendations to prevent further inaccuracies.

The Government is determined to fix release inaccuracies and ensure the public is properly protected.

The data requested comes from internal management information and is therefore not fully Quality Assured and does not meet the standard required for publication.
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Robert Jenrick:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to R (Denny De Silva) v Secretary of State for Justice [2025] EWHC 128 (Admin), how much his Department has paid Mr Denny De SIlva in (a) damages, (b) other compensation, (c) ex gratia or out-of-court payments and (d) legal costs. \p Jake Richards: With reference to R (Denny De Silva) v Secretary of State for Justice [2025] EWHC 128 (Admin):

(a), (b), (c) The damages claim is ongoing and therefore we cannot comment on compensation, ex-gratia or out-of-court payments.

(d) Legal costs for the Judicial Review were settled at £255,000, inclusive of interest and assessment costs.

HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) successfully defends around two-thirds of all litigation cases brought by prisoners. Where damages are awarded to prisoners, we seek to ensure that payments are offset against any outstanding debts owed to victims and the courts.
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Robert Jenrick:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to R (Awale) v Secretary of State for Justice [2024] EWHC 2322 (Admin), how much his Department has paid Mr Fuad Awale in (a) damages, (b) other compensation, (c) any ex gratia or out-of-court payments and (d) legal costs. \p Jake Richards: With reference to R (Awale) v Secretary of State for Justice [2024] EWHC 2322 (Admin):

(a), (b), (c) The damages claim is ongoing and therefore we cannot comment on compensation, ex-gratia or out-of-court payments.

(d) Legal costs for the Judicial Review were settled at £234,250, inclusive of interest and assessment costs.

HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) successfully defends around two-thirds of all litigation cases brought by prisoners. Where damages are awarded to prisoners, we seek to ensure that payments are offset against any outstanding debts owed to victims and the courts.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-17 conversation_351

Steve Darling:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners has Serco failed to transport from (a) magistrates courts and (b) crown courts to prisons across the south of England in each of the last five years. \p Jake Richards: We have interpreted question 90429 to relate purely to individuals with a custodial sentence and not all convicted of an offence. In the last 5 years, there have been no failures by Prisoner Escort and Custody Services (PECS) suppliers to return or take an individual to a prison following an order to do so from a Magistrates or Crown Court.
wrans/answers2025-11-17 conversation_352
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-17 conversation_352

Robert Jenrick:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners accidentally released since 1 April 2025 have a history of (a) violent and (b) sexual offending. \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; on 11 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a five-point action plan setting out initial steps to address this issue. 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.

Totals for releases in error are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2024 to March 2025 - GOV.UK, and provide data up to March 2025.

A further transparency ad hoc publication, available via Releases_in_Error_from_1_April_2025_to_31_October_2025.pdf, also cover the number of releases in error from 1 April 2025 to 31 October 2025.

The Government is determined to fix the issue of mistaken releases and ensure the public is properly protected.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-17 conversation_353

Robert Jenrick:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners accidentally released since 1 April 2025 were (a) foreign nationals and (b) asylum seekers. \p Jake Richards: The Government is determined to fix the issue of mistaken releases and ensure the public is properly protected. We have put in place a five-point plan to do that.

We regularly publish information on releases in error, but this does not include numbers of foreign nationals or asylum seekers.

Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced. Where appropriate, the Ministry of Justice will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. Between 5 July 2024 and 4 July 2025, over 5,000 FNOs were removed. This is an increase of 14% compared to the 4,532 FNO returns in the same period 12 months prior.
wrans/answers2025-11-17 conversation_354
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-17 conversation_354

Robert Jenrick:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been accidentally released since July 2024. \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. On 11 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a five-point action plan setting out initial steps to address this issue.

Totals for releases in error are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2024 to March 2025 - GOV.UK, and provide data up to March 2025.

A further transparency ad hoc publication, available via Releases_in_Error_from_1_April_2025_to_31_October_2025.pdf, also cover the number of releases in error from 1 April 2025 to 31 October 2025.
wrans/answers2025-11-17 conversation_355
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-17 conversation_355

Robert Jenrick:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to prevent terrorists from using ECHR (a) rights and (b) procedures to avoid detention in separation centres. \p Jake Richards: This Government is committed to the European Convention on Human Rights. Commitment does not mean complacency, however, and we must keep under review whether the application of the Convention is acting as a barrier to us protecting national security.

We continue to refer and place the most dangerous radicalisers in Separation Centres. We will not hesitate to use our powers under the law to use Separation Centres to protect the mainstream prison population.

The Government is carefully considering the findings of Jonathan Hall KC’s independent review into the operation of Separation Centres, which was commissioned following the attack at HMP Frankland earlier this year. We will publish Mr Hall’s report and our response in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-17)

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Kim Johnson:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications for the termination of IPP licences have been refused in each of the past 12 months; and what proportion of total applications that represents. \p Jake Richards: The process of terminating an IPP licence does not require an application to be made. Rather, the Secretary of State for Justice has a statutory obligation to refer an offender serving an IPP sentence to the Parole Board once three years have elapsed since first release (the qualifying period), in order for the Board to consider whether to terminate the licence. If the licence is not terminated by the Parole Board at the end of the qualifying period, it will be terminated automatically after a further two years, provided the offender is not recalled to custody.

The changes introduced by the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 have reduced the number of people serving IPP sentences in the community by around two thirds, including over 1,700 IPP licences being automatically terminated on 1 November 2024.

The Parole Board published its annual report for 2024/2025 on 10 July this year. The report provides the number of IPP licence terminations and refusals for those cases considered by the Parole Board for the 12-month period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. The report covers IPP termination numbers on page 16 and is available here: Parole Board for England and Wales Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25.

The Parole Board will terminate an IPP prisoner’s licence except where it judges that the continued supervision of the offender on licence is necessary for the purposes of public protection.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-17)

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Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners released on license into supported accommodation went on to reoffend in each local authority area in each year from 2015 to date. \p Jake Richards: This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Performance statistics on housing and accommodation outcomes for people supervised by the Probation Service are published annually and can be accessed via the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-accommodation-outcome-statistics

Proven reoffending statistics are published quarterly and include data broken down by the accommodation status on release under tab C3 in the ‘Proven reoffending tables’ document. The series can be accessed by the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/proven-reoffending-statistics
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-17)

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Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which countries are subject to prisoner transfer suspensions as a result of (a) human rights concerns, (b) corruption and risk bribery concerns and (c) any other reasons. \p Jake Richards: We have Prisoner Transfer Agreements (PTAs) in place with over 110 countries, both bilaterally, and multilaterally through the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons.

We do not have any suspensions in place, each individual transfer is considered on a case-by-case basis and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service will not transfer someone if they have reason to suspect their human rights will be contravened, or that they are at risk of corrupt release.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-17)

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Robert Jenrick:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners did not return to detention from day release from prisons in England and Wales in each of the last 12 months. \p Jake Richards: Data on failures to return from release on temporary licence are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2024 to March 2025 - GOV.UK. These figures cover all forms of release on temporary licence. Data for April 2025 onwards will form part of a future publication.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-17 conversation_360

Lewis Cocking:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners released early under automatic release provisions have subsequently been reconvicted. \p Jake Richards: This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We have had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe.

Whilst this change provided the intended medium-term relief, it was only ever a temporary change to bridge to a more sustainable solution. The Sentencing Bill has now been introduced to ensure we never run out of prison space again.

Our initial operational insights suggested there was not a significant change to the use and application of recall since the implementation of SDS40. We will, however, continue to monitor this.

Proven reoffending rates are published regularly on an annual and quarterly basis. The most recent rates are available at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/collections/proven-reoffending-statistics