Tag: Ministry of Justice

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 15 August 2025.

Extra specialist staff, a bolstered senior leadership team and improved training for frontline officers will be deployed urgently at HMP Pentonville.

The jail received an Urgent Notification in July, with inspectors finding poor living conditions, prisoners not being released at the end of their sentence due to administrative errors, and inadequate support for prisoners at risk of self-harm.

The Prison Service has today (15 August) published a new action plan in direct response to the notification – with the aim of drastically driving up safety and standards at the prison.

The prison’s senior management will be bolstered with a dedicated lead responsible for overseeing work to address the inspector’s concerns. A review to minimise sentence calculation errors and ensure prisoners are released on time has already been completed.

The prison has intensified its cleaning regime and is auditing every cell to ensure it meets at least a minimum required standard. Additional specialist staff have been deployed to better support vulnerable prisoners and the regime.

Lord Timpson, Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, said:

The Chief Inspector’s findings at HMP Pentonville were deeply concerning and reflect the scale of the crisis we inherited across our prison system.

During my recent visit I saw that the prison and its staff are already working hard to deliver urgent improvements and this action plan will make sure they get the support they need.

The prison will also refurbish showers, drainage systems and other common areas.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 10 August 2025.

Foreign criminals will for the first time face immediate deportation after sentencing as the Government strengthens border security through the Plan for Change.

The new power announced today (10 August) will get foreign national offenders out of our prisons, saving money for British taxpayers and protecting the public from dangerous criminals.

The change follows legislation introduced by the Government in June, which will mean most foreign prisoners can now be deported after serving 30 percent of their prison time, rather than 50 percent.

Today, the Government has announced it will go even further—stripping back a decades-old law to introduce new powers for immediate deportation from prison. Offenders who are deported are barred from re-entering the UK, keeping their victims and the wider public safe. Terrorists, murderers and others serving life sentences will continue to have to serve their prison sentence before being considered for deportation.

Ramping up removals of foreign national offenders has been a priority for this Government with almost 5,200 deported since July 2024 – an increase of 14% compared to the same 12 months prior. We have also invested £5 million for the deployment of specialist staff to almost 80 jails with one clear mission – speeding up removals. These are all now in post.

This is part of our Plan for Change to fix the broken criminal justice system we inherited and make our streets safer. This includes building 14,000 more prison places, reforming sentencing and ensuring victims get the support they need.

Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said:

This Government is taking radical action to deport foreign criminals, as part of our Plan for Change. Deportations are up under this Government, and with this new law they will happen earlier than ever before.

Our message is clear: if you abuse our hospitality and break our laws, we will send you packing.

These measures build on broader work during the Government’s first year in office to deliver on the British public’s priorities for border security and ramp up returns which has now seen 35,000 people with no right to be here returned since the election, including over 5,000 FNOs.

The changes will apply to prisoners serving fixed-term, or determinate, sentences and discretion to not use the measure on a case-by-case basis will be retained. For example, where there is clear evidence a prisoner is planning further crimes against UK interests such as posing a threat to national security they will not be released.

Foreign offenders make up around 12% percent of the total prison population with prison places costing £54,000 a year on average.

The measures will apply to all foreign national offenders already in custody as well as those newly sentenced, ensuring that taxpayers’ money will not be wasted on incarcerating foreign criminals in the future.

We are committed to further ramping up returns activity, including exploring returns hubs, introducing a ground-breaking new returns treaty with France which will see small boat arrivals detained and returned to France, and will set out major reforms to the asylum appeals system later this year, working with a range of countries to strengthen law enforcement, border security and returns.

Our Immigration White Paper will end the addiction to cheap overseas labour that saw net migration explode to nearly one million in recent years by replacing it with an immigration system that is controlled, selective and fair and boosting opportunities for homegrown talent. The White Paper also includes plans to introduce legislation that tightens the application of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and sets out reforms to make it easier to remove foreign criminals convicted of any offence before the threat they pose escalates.

The changes to enable the immediate deportation of foreign prisoners require primary legislation and will be brought before Parliament in due course.

Further information

• In May, the Independent Sentencing Review recommended the law change so most foreign prisoners could be deported after serving 30 percent of their prison time, rather than 50 percent, and up to four years before their release, rather than the current 18 months.
• The Government laid secondary legislation in June and this is expected to come into force in September, at which point prisoners with no right to be in the country will face deportation 30% into their prison part of their sentence rather than the current 50%.
• This will be reduced to 0% once the primary legislation this power requires is in force.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 8 August 2025.

The Lord Chancellor has approved the reappointments of His Honour Jeremy Roberts KC and His Honour Peter Rook KC to the Parole Board.

His Honour Jeremy Roberts KC has been reappointed for a period of 2 years from 1 August 2025 until 31 July 2027.

His Honour Peter Rook KC has been reappointed for a period of 4 years from 1 February 2026 until 31 January 2030.

The Parole Board is an executive Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice. It works with its criminal justice partners to protect the public by risk assessing prisoners to decide whether they can be safely released into the community. It was established by the Criminal Justice Act 1967.

Parole Board members are appointed, by ministers, under the Criminal Justice Act 2003. Appointments and reappointments to the Parole Board (with the exception of judicial members) are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

Biographies

His Honour Jeremy Roberts KC

His Honour Jeremy Roberts KC has enjoyed a distinguished judicial career, including a decade of service as a judge at the Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey) from 2001 to 2011. He was called to the Bar in 1964 and took Silk in 1982. He has also served as a Recorder and Tutor Judge, demonstrating a longstanding commitment to the legal profession.

His Honour Jeremy Roberts KC was first appointed as a judicial member of the Parole Board in 2010.

His Honour Peter Rook KC

His Honour Peter Rook KC was called to the Bar in 1973 and took Silk in 1991. In June 2005, he was appointed a Senior Circuit Judge to sit at the Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey) retiring in 2017. He also sat as a judge in the Court of Appeal. He sat as a Coroner between 2017 and 2019. He sat as a judge in retirement until September 2024. He was appointed Parole Board Vice Chair in January 2020 and will serve in this role until 5 December 2025.

His Honour Peter Rook KC was Chair of the Criminal Bar Association from 2002 until 2003. He was Head of Chambers, at 18 Red Lion Chambers, from 2002 until 2005. He is the co-author of a leading textbook now in its sixth edition “Sexual Offences: Law and Practice” – seventh edition to be published in 2025.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 8 August 2025.

New restriction zones will curb the freedoms of the most serious sexual and violent offenders by ‘locking’ them into specific areas where necessary.

Under plans outlined today (Friday 8 August), offenders will be pinned down to certain areas with tough monitoring supported by proven technology – with the possibility of time behind bars for those who breach restrictions.

This will provide an additional tool to protect victims from the most serious offenders. Whilst existing “exclusion zones” are a valuable tool to stop offenders from entering a location where their victim lives, new “restriction zones” go further and instead limit the movement of offenders, who are confined to an agreed area, allowing victims to travel anywhere else without fear of meeting their offender.

Probation officers will conduct a detailed risk assessment and work hand-in-hand with victims on the creation of restriction zones, making sure zones prevent contact while giving survivors the maximum freedom to rebuild their lives.

The change was announced after Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones visited the charity Advance, which supports women and girls who have experienced trauma from domestic abuse to rebuild their lives in their communities.

Minister for Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls, Alex Davies-Jones, said:

Through our Plan for Change, we’re putting victims first.

This move will strengthen safeguards for victims. I’ve heard firsthand how this innovative approach will give them the peace of mind they deserve and rebuild their lives without fear.

Wider reforms throughout the probation system will also see tens of thousands more offenders tagged – backed by a huge boost in funding of up to £700 million by 2028/29.

In addition, at least 1,300 new trainee probation officers will be brought in next year to increase capacity and new technology will lighten the administrative burden and free up time for workers to effectively supervise the most dangerous offenders and keep the public safe.

Diana Parkes CBE and Hetti Barkworth-Nanton CBE, who are co-founders of the Joanna Simpson Foundation, said:

For far too long, victims have had to reshape their lives to avoid their offenders. Exclusion zones have made victims feel trapped as though they are the ones serving a sentence, with the victim carrying the weight of someone else’s crime.

This announcement from the Ministry of Justice is the much-needed change that has long been called for and is a powerful step forward. By placing restrictions on offenders instead, this will now give survivors the freedom they deserve to live, move and heal without fear. It will also be more cost-effective for those monitoring the perpetrators as they will be locked in specific areas rather than having to monitor the exclusion zones where the victims live.

We are proud to have campaigned for this reform over the course of many years, including in our meeting with the Lord Chancellor and Victims Minister earlier this year, and truly grateful to the Ministry of Justice for listening, for believing in change and for putting survivors first.

In order to further protect victims and ensure they see justice done, there will be further changes to:

• Increase tagging for domestic perpetrators – enabling the closer monitoring of cowardly abusers to reassure victims and remove the onus from them to prove breaches have occurred.
• Identify perpetrators of domestic abuse at sentencing – requiring judges to flag domestic abuse at sentencing so prisons, probation and police can better identify and manage abusers.
• Expand Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts – bolstering support for victims and ensuring their abusers are properly supervised and rehabilitated.
• Bolster transparency for victims at sentencing – including the provision of free copies of judges’ sentencing remarks for victims of rape and other sexual offences, and ensuring they receive the information and support they need to navigate the criminal justice system.

This builds on action the government has already taken to meet its commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, including:

• A National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection backed by £13.1 million to enable policing to better target these crimes.
• Raneem’s Law which embeds domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms in the first five police forces to improve the police response to domestic abuse.
• Nearly £20 million in funding for specialist VAWG services which support victims of abuse including a range of vital helplines.
• Introducing a new criminal offence for spiking and new spiking training for thousands of pub, club and bar staff to ensure they have the skills to support victims and prevent incidents.
• Launched new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders in select police forces and courts. These orders enable victims to obtain protection for as long as needed, cover all forms of domestic abuse and can impose tougher restrictions on perpetrators including electronic monitoring and mandating assessments for perpetrator programmes.
• New measures to tackle stalking, including giving police guidance on a victim’s right to know the identity of online stalkers for the first time and widening the use of Stalking Protection Orders.
• The roll out of The Drive Project across England and Wales which, backed by £53 million, will target high-harm, high-risk domestic abuse perpetrators – taking the responsibility for the abuse away from the victim and putting it firmly on the perpetrator where it belongs.
• Criminalising pornography that depicts acts of strangulation through the Crime and Policing Bill.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 1 August 2025.

Businesses will benefit from faster and cheaper dispute resolution as major reforms to arbitration law come into effect today.

The modernisation of the Arbitration Act is set to boost the UK economy by millions while creating new employment opportunities within the legal sector.

The new law will reinforce Britain’s position as the world’s number one destination for arbitration – building on London’s status as the globally preferred location for these services over competitors like Singapore, Hong Kong and Paris.

This will attract further investment to the UK’s £42.6 billion legal services economy and create highly-skilled jobs, supporting the sector’s existing 384,000 workforce.

Minister for Courts and Legal Services, Sarah Sackman KC MP, said:

Businesses around the world already look to the UK as the gold standard in arbitration, and this new law cements our place as the global jurisdiction of choice – competing globally and keeping British companies on top.

As part of our Plan for Change, we will continue to drive new business straight into the UK to boost jobs and support economic growth.

As the largest legal services market in Europe, international arbitration represents a major growth sector for the UK economy. England and Wales handle at least 5,000 domestic and international arbitrations annually, contributing £2.5 billion in fees alone.

From today, arbitrators have the power to dismiss weak cases quickly, preventing businesses from wasting time and money on disputes with no chance of success.

The reforms also require arbitrators to declare any potential conflicts of interest upfront, ensuring fairer outcomes for businesses.

Courts have gained new powers to better support the arbitration process, while simplified procedures will cut delays and costs for all parties involved.

The Arbitration Act received Royal Assent in February and has now been fully implemented.

Cristen Bauer, Director of External Affairs, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators

As the leading professional body globally for dispute resolvers, we are delighted to see the Arbitration Act 2025 come into force. We commend the Government’s commitment to modernise the Arbitration Act and to engage in a collaborative reform process with stakeholders from across the dispute resolution ecosystem.

Ciarb is proud to have contributed to this important reform and stands ready to support the global arbitration community in harnessing the full potential of this new framework. This milestone not only strengthens arbitration in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, but also reinforces global efforts to uphold high standards of fairness, efficiency, and integrity across the profession.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 15 July 2025.

Victims of miscarriages of justice will be eligible for greater compensation to rebuild their lives following a proposed increase in the compensation cap.

Currently, the maximum amount of compensation payable under the miscarriage of justice system in England and Wales is £1 million for 10 or more years imprisonment or £500,000 for up to 10 years.

The caps will be raised by 30%, taking the maximum amounts to £1.3 million and £650,000 respectively. This is an important part of the government’s Plan for Change, creating a fairer and better justice system.

Lord Chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, said:

Fairness is the ideal that underpins our justice system. Where it has failed to meet that ideal, victims of devastating miscarriages of justice must be able to rebuild their lives.

This uplift will ensure victims are compensated for the crimes they did not commit and the years they cannot get back.

Once eligible, the level of compensation is decided by an independent assessor. Caps on compensation were introduced in 2008 and have not been increased since.

The miscarriage of justice compensation scheme is designed to help individuals restart and rebuild their lives. It is just one route in which an individual can receive compensation for a wrongful conviction, with other options including suing public bodies.

In order to be eligible for a payment under the scheme individuals must:

• Apply within 2 years of being pardoned or having their conviction reversed as a result of a newly discovered fact
• Have been pardoned had their conviction reversed on the basis of a new fact which demonstrates beyond reasonable doubt they did not commit the offence
• Not be responsible for the non-disclosure of the new fact

This increase is also applicable to wrongful convictions in the Armed Forces.

Further information

• Statutory caps on miscarriages of justice sit in the Criminal Justice Act 1988, and the Armed Forces Act 2006.
• Previously, the cap for 10 years or more was £1 million
• For less than 10 years it was £500,000
• You can apply to Miscarriage of Justice Application Service (MOJAS) for compensation if your conviction has been quashed by the courts. These conditions apply:

1. Your appeal was successful and it was submitted 28 days or more after your conviction in the Crown Court, or 21 days or more after sentencing for a conviction in a magistrate’s court
2. Your conviction was overturned after it was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC)
3. You’ve been granted a free pardon

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 15 July 2025.

The Lord Chancellor has approved the reappointment of Mark Beaton, as a non-executive board member of the Ministry of Justice, for 3 years from 15 July 2025.

MOJ non-executive board members exercise their role through influence and advice, supporting as well as challenging the executive, and covering such issues as:

• Support, guidance and challenge on the progress and implementation of the Outcome Delivery Plan.
• Performance, operational issues, adherence to relevant standards and on the effective management of the Department.
• The recruitment, appraisal, and suitable success planning of senior executives.

The appointment and reappointments of MOJ departmental board non-executive board members are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments and reappointment process comply with the Cabinet Office Governance Code on Public Appointments.

Biography

Prior to joining the Ministry of Justice, Mark Beaton worked for 27 years for Accenture; one of the World’s leading Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing organisations.  During this time, he served on the Board of Accenture Operations and was a Global Leader in the Outsourcing business. He also led the Cloud and Security businesses for Europe. Mark spent 10 years working in the Technology, Digital and Consulting businesses as a consultant, including many years in Public Service for clients such as DWP.

Mark was also the Executive Global Sponsor for Equality, Inclusion and Diversity for 187,000 people in Accenture Operations. After retiring from Accenture, Mark has worked for the past three and a half years as a Non-Executive Director in the NHS.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 14 July 2025.

The Lord Chancellor has approved the reappointment of Habib Motani as a non-lay member of the Legal Services Board for four years from 18 April 2026.

Mr Motani qualified as a solicitor in 1980. He is a Consultant to Clifford Chance LLP having spent over 30 years as a partner in the firm’s banking and finance practice. He is a Visiting Professor at the School of Law at the University of Edinburgh and a Trustee at: The British Institute of International and Comparative Law, the Institute of Ismaili Studies and The Aga Khan University (International) in the United Kingdom. He is also a member of the Steering Group of the Canary Wharf Multi-faith Chaplaincy.

The Legal Services Board (LSB) is the independent body overseeing the regulation of lawyers in England and Wales. Its goal is to reform and modernise the legal services marketplace by putting the interests of consumers at the heart of the system. It is independent of government and the legal profession and oversees the approved regulators, which themselves regulate lawyers.

The LSB also oversees the Office for Legal Complaints and its administration of the Legal Ombudsman scheme that resolves complaints about lawyers.

Appointments and reappointments are made, by the Lord Chancellor, under the Legal Services Act 2007 and are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. This reappointment has been made in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 2 July 2025.

Businesses will save time and money on repetitive legal action thanks to new international rules in force across the UK from 1 July 2025.

I am delighted to confirm that, as of 1st July 2025, the Hague Convention of 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters – commonly known as ‘Hague 2019’ – has entered into force for the UK.

Hague 2019 means judgments from UK courts will be easily recognised and enforced in the courts of other countries that have signed up to the Convention, and vice versa.

Hague 2019 aims to reduce court costs in international cases. It will promote access to justice for UK citizens as they live, work and do business across borders and drive economic growth for UK businesses by underpinning confidence in trade.

This is a big step in strengthening the UK’s cooperation with our international partners, particularly the EU.

Hague 2019 marks the first new agreement to apply in this area of law between the UK and the EU since EU Exit.

With a potentially global reach, there are already 30 Contracting Parties to Hague 2019 with several more soon to join.

We look forward to applying the Convention with both current and future parties for the benefit of all our citizens and businesses.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 2 July 2025.

Thousands of criminals could soon be managed by revolutionary new technology to enhance how the justice system monitors offenders and cuts reoffending.

On Tuesday 01 July, seven top tech companies pitched their ideas to the Prisons and Probation’s Minister, James Timpson, as part of a Dragon’s Den style pitch, after being whittled down from over 90 submissions.

The finalists included companies developing AI home monitoring which will toughen up punishment outside of prison. Cameras would be installed inside offenders’ homes, with artificial intelligence used to analyse offenders’ behaviours ensuring they comply with licence conditions.

Other radical tech ideas included ‘smell detector’ devices which use synthetic brain cells and AI to replicate the behaviour of a human nose. The tech will help deliver enhanced surveillance and detect the use of drugs, such as Spice or Fentanyl, offering prison and probation a swift way to detect drugs and boost staff safety.

Additional proposals included software to standardise how staff input information on offenders, alongside transcription tools to cut the administrative burden and cost to taxpayers, while allowing staff to focus more of their time on cutting crime.

The successful businesses will have their proposals considered for pilot rollouts, helping staff on the front line to tackle violence in prison and monitor offenders.

This follows the Government’s response to the Independent Sentencing Review, which recommended the greater use of technology and community sentencing in a bid to tackle the inherited crisis in our prisons system.

Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending Minister, James Timpson, said:

We inherited a justice system in crisis and in need of reform. Prisons and probation are working in analogue while tech drives forward a new digital age.

That’s why we have invited companies to present bold new ideas to help us deliver tough punishment and enhanced surveillance. Embracing new technologies will help us to protect victims, reduce reoffending and cut crime as part of our Plan for Change.

In the Spending Review, the Government announced that the Probation Service will receive up to £700 million, an almost 45% increase in funding. This new funding will mean tens of thousands more offenders can be tagged and monitored in the community.

These technological solutions follow the publication of recent research that confirms curfew tags, which keep offenders at home and off the streets during certain times, can reduce reoffending by 20 per cent. This demonstrates how even older technology is supporting punishment in the community and cutting crime.