Written questions

207 written questions tabled, most recent first.

10 Jun 2026 · Department for Business and Trade

Migrant Workers: Visas

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an estimate of the cost to his Department of subsidising visa costs for foreign national workers.

14 Jan 2026 · Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Guantanamo Bay

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether any settlement discussions have been initiated with representatives of Abu Faraj al-Libi, Mustafa al-Hawsawi, or Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri.

14 Jan 2026 · Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Guantanamo Bay

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will publish a list of all current legal proceedings, including civil claims and complaints to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, brought against her Department by cur

14 Jan 2026 · Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Abu Faraj al-Libi

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department is defending a civil claim for damages brought by Abu Faraj al-Libi; and what estimate she has made of the potential liability to the public purse in r

14 Jan 2026 · Attorney General

Abu Zubaydah

To ask the Solicitor General, on what specific date the Attorney General recused himself from discussions or decisions regarding the Government’s defence and settlement of Zubaydah v Foreign and Commonwealth Office; and whether he has had any communicatio

14 Jan 2026 · Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Abu Zubaydah

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the total value is of the settlement agreed with Abu Zubaydah; and if she will provide a breakdown of (a) damages paid to the claimant and (b) legal costs paid to the cl

12 Jan 2026 · Ministry of Justice

Segregation of Prisoners: Civil Proceedings

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether there are any other live legal cases of prisoners challenging their detention in a Close Supervision Centre or Separation Centre.

9 Jan 2026 · Ministry of Justice

Prisons: Crimes of Violence

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) murderers and (b) prisoners with a history of attacking prison officers are in open prisons for which the latest data is available.

9 Dec 2025 · Ministry of Justice

HMP/YOI Chelmsford

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what dates he has officially visited HMP Chelmsford since his appointment; and whether he has met with the Governor to discuss the recent mistaken release.

9 Dec 2025 · Ministry of Justice

HMP Wandsworth

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what dates he has officially visited HMP Wandsworth since his appointment; and whether he has met with the Governor to discuss the recent mistaken release.

9 Dec 2025 · Attorney General

Crown Prosecution Service: Remote Working

To ask the Solicitor General, what the average daily office attendance rate was for Crown Prosecution Service staff in the most recent quarter for which figures are available.

8 Dec 2025 · Ministry of Justice

Prisoners: Transgender People

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many transgender prisoners with convictions for (a) sexual and (b) violent offences are housed within the general female prison estate; and how many of those prisoners have been granted a Ministerial exemptio

8 Dec 2025 · Ministry of Justice

Juries

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the proposed removal of the right to trial by jury for offences carrying a maximum sentence of less than three years will apply retrospectively to defendants who have already entered a plea of not guilty

8 Dec 2025 · Ministry of Justice

Segregation of Prisoners

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether any offenders currently detained in (a) separation and (b) close supervision centres are challenging their detention.

8 Dec 2025 · Ministry of Justice

Independent Review of Separation Centres

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons Jonathan Hall KC’s review into Separation Centres has not yet been published; and when he plans to publish that review.

5 Dec 2025 · Ministry of Justice

HMP Wandsworth

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to visit HMP Wandsworth.

26 Nov 2025 · Ministry of Justice

Juries: Crown Court

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department has spent on the construction of new Crown Court courtrooms with full jury facilities in the last year.

26 Nov 2025 · Ministry of Justice

Homicide and Rape: Crown Court

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of Crown court cases are for murder, manslaughter and rape.

26 Nov 2025 · Ministry of Justice

Homicide and Rape: Crown Court

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many murder, manslaughter and rape cases were dealt with in the Crown court in the past 12 months.

25 Nov 2025 · Ministry of Justice

Prisoner Escapes

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have absconded from or failed to return to open prisons in the past 12 months.

19 Nov 2025 · Ministry of Justice

Denny De Silva

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Sahayb Abu v Secretary of State for Justice [2025] EWHC 3026 (Admin), how much his Department has paid Mr Denny De SIlva in (a) damages, (b) other compensation, (c) ex gratia or out-of-court pay

18 Nov 2025 · Ministry of Justice

Prisoners' Release

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department waived rules against the release of prisoners on Fridays.

18 Nov 2025 · Ministry of Justice

Prisoners' Release

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, under what powers his Department waived rules against the release of prisoners on Friday.

18 Nov 2025 · Ministry of Justice

Prisoners' Release

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been released on Fridays since the suspension of standing rules against the release of prisoners on Friday.

18 Nov 2025 · Ministry of Justice

Prisoners' Release

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department intends to reinstate rules against the release of prisoners on Fridays.

13 Nov 2025 · Ministry of Justice

Prison Sentences

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been detained beyond their sentence since 1 April 2025; and whether he has made an estimate of the amount of compensation to be paid out in those cases.

13 Nov 2025 · Ministry of Justice

Life Imprisonment

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many whole life orders were handed down by courts in England and Wales in each year between 2021 and 2025.

12 Nov 2025 · Ministry of Justice

Prisoners' Release: Crimes of Violence and Sexual Offences

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.

12 Nov 2025 · Ministry of Justice

Prisoners' Release: Foreign Nationals

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.

12 Nov 2025 · Ministry of Justice

Prisoners' Release

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been accidentally released since July 2024.

Source: official written-questions record.