The Special Reviewer on Global Finance and Cooperation will remain in their role. The Prime Minister has decided that responsibilities for women and girls policy is being led at Cabinet by the Minister for Women and Equalities. The role of the Prime Minister's Adviser on Women and Girls will therefore end.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) collects information on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) in England.

The table below shows the number of fires attended by Fire and Rescue Services in England in buildings recorded as churches, chapels or cathedrals in each of the last five financial years.

The number of fires attended in churches, chapels and cathedrals has fluctuated over the last five years. While there were 80 such fires in in 2025/26, compared with 72 in 2021/22, the highest number of incidents during this period was recorded in 2022/23, when Fire and Rescue Services attended 94 fires in churches, chapels and cathedrals.

The figures are derived from the Department's Incident Level Datasets (ILDs), which are published as part of the Fire Statistics collection. Specifically, the analysis is based on the Other Building Fires dataset and identifies incidents where the buildingtype variable is recorded as "Church / Chapel / Cathedral".

Further information on fire incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services is available at:

Fire statistics collection

Fire statistics data tables

Fire statistics incident level datasets

The Department recognises the importance of responding to correspondence from Honourable and Right Honourable Members in a timely manner.

The Hon. Member's letters of 26 June and 3 September have been received and were carefully considered. The Hon. Member has now received a response, and I apologise for the delay.

We do not comment on the management of prisoners transferred into secure hospitals from custody, including on allegations about their actions. Such matters fall to the detaining hospital to address either through their own security procedures or where appropriate with their local police force.

Section 47 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (the 1983 Act) provides for the transfer of prisoners from custody to secure psychiatric hospitals to receive treatment under the 1983 Act. Such transfers require clear clinical evidence provided by at least two registered medical practitioners, ordinarily consultant-level psychiatrists, who are recognised by the Secretary of State as having special experience in the diagnosis or treatment of mental disorders.

When deciding to transfer a prisoner to hospital, the Secretary of State will closely scrutinise the medical evidence to assess whether the criteria for a transfer under section 47 of the 1983 Act are met.

At the point a prisoner, who has been transferred to hospital, no longer meets the criteria for detention under the 1983 Act, they will return to prison to continue serving their custodial sentence.

A transfer under section 47 of the 1983 Act has no effect on the sentence a prisoner will serve. In Axel Rudakubana’s case, only the Parole Board can direct his release, and the Board will not consider that until the expiry of his 52-year tariff in 2076.

The Public Appointments Diversity and Outreach Strategy 2026 outlines how the Ministry of Justice will improve diversity, fairness and transparency in public appointments through strengthened outreach, recruitment processes and data-driven decision making. The Department will assess progress biannually, with a full evaluation in 2028.

The Sentencing Act 2026 contains provisions which change the proportion of a standard determinate sentence that must be served in custody before an offender is automatically released on licence. In June 2026, letters were issued to victims engaged with the Probation Service Victim Contact Scheme to notify them of changes to prisoner release arrangements introduced by the Act.

Eligibility to receive these letters was not determined by the offence group relating to the victim's case. Rather, victims were eligible to receive the letters where they were engaged with the Victim Contact Scheme and the offender in their case was serving a standard determinate sentence and was not subject to recall.

Victims were not eligible to receive the initial notification letter where they had not chosen to receive the services provided under the Victim Contact Scheme, or where the offender in their case was not serving a standard determinate sentence, including where the offender was serving another sentence type or was subject to recall.

Following the Prime Minister's announcement on 30 August 2026, sentence recalculations are being reviewed and, where necessary, recalculated. Victims will be contacted once this process has concluded to confirm whether the changes affect the offender in their case and, where applicable, to provide a revised release date.

I refer the Hon Member to pages 180 to 181 of the Treasury Minutes Progress Report dated June 2026, available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a2008d6d40a060bb9809cdc/Treasury_Minutes_Progress_Report_Accessible.pdf

The programme business case is also scheduled to be published on the GOV.UK website later this year.

The UK Health Security Agency engages regularly with Harlow Council regarding the delivery of the Health Security Campus in Harlow.

On 1 September, we announced a package of criminal justice reforms intended to maintain sustainable prison capacity while protecting the public and victims. As part of that package, the Government set out its ambition to reduce the number of women in prison where it is safe and appropriate to do so. Repurposing a women’s prison requires reducing demand for places.

Women make up just a small proportion of those in custody – in June 2026, women comprised 4% of the prison population – yet they often have more complex needs than men. Many have experienced mental ill-health, substance misuse, trauma and abuse. Many women in prison are mothers and their imprisonment can have significant consequences for their children.

We are exploring options to reduce the number of pregnant women and mothers of young children in custody alongside taking forward a cross-government agenda of reform to address the drivers of women’s offending.

On 1 September, my Rt Hon Friend the Lord Chancellor announced in a statement on criminal justice reform that, to help relieve some of the adult prison capacity challenges, a decision had been taken to hold some 18-year-olds for longer in the youth estate, on a careful case-by-case basis. This is an interim arrangement, subject to regular review, which we will look to end as soon as possible. We have not taken this decision lightly: we judge it to be a necessary part of the response to the prison capacity crisis which this Government inherited.

Retaining some 18-year-olds in the youth estate, on a case-by-case basis, is a longstanding practice.

The interim policy decision announced will be subject to several key safeguards. The proportion of 18-year-olds in the youth custody population must never exceed 25 per cent. In addition to the assessment of individual young people and of site safety, existing safeguarding, behaviour-management and risk-assessment arrangements will continue to apply. These will monitor any concerns about risks posed by or to an individual young person. Where an unmanageable risk to other young people, or to the stability of the establishment, is identified, an earlier transition to the adult estate will be arranged.

As regards the longer term, the Youth Custody Transformation Plan, which is planned for publication in the coming months, will include consideration of how we best support young people transitioning from the youth estate to adult prison.

Whether individuals are prosecuted is rightly a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service and is independent of Government. Given the nationwide scope of the Infected Blood Inquiry, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has engaged experienced senior investigators to conduct a review of available evidence.

Since the review began following the Infected Blood Inquiry’s May 2024 report, the NPCC has published regular updates on its progress. The review’s initial scope was limited to chapters 1 and 2, but the NPCC’s most recent statement in August explained that it will be extending the scope of the review to all 7 chapters of the Inquiry’s May 2024 report. The Government has committed to making any and all relevant information around the Infected Blood Inquiry available to the relevant authorities where requested.

The Ministry of Justice publishes a range of FNO statistical breakdowns as part of its Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ) which covers prisons and probation data Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK.

Last year, we expanded the range of available data on FNOs to include FNO data by offence type and sentence status. At present we do not publish conviction data as part of our Official Statistics.

The Ministry of Justice keeps the contents of its Official Statistics under continuous review.

No final decision has been made as to whether to use MOD Barnham for asylum accommodation.

Large sites (such as former MOD sites) offer a sustainable solution for housing asylum seekers. Accommodation on former military sites is designed to be largely self-sufficient, with essential services being provided on site to minimise impacts on the local community and upon local services and offer better longer-term value for money. They reduce pressure on communities whilst also giving us greater oversight and control at critical points in the asylum decision making process.

The Home Office routinely undertakes due diligence when considering potential accommodation sites. Suitability assessments are ongoing and will consider a range of factors including safety, security, operational deliverability, planning requirement and the impact on local services and communities.

Throughout the development of potential accommodation sites, information is managed in accordance with normal government requirements, including obligations relating to security, commercial sensitivity, policy development and procurement activity where applicable.

The Home Office has submitted an Urgent Crown Development application to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in relation to the proposed use of MOD Barnham for asylum accommodation. Documents may be released in due course as part of that process.

The Government welcomed both parts of Jonathan Fisher KC’s Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences. Following receipt of Part Two in December 2025, the report's wide-ranging findings and recommendations were considered by relevant government departments and officials before publication of Part Two in July 2026.

Professor Christina Pagel of University College London was appointed as an unpaid adviser on court efficiency and modernisation on 21 January 2026 along with her colleague Professor Martin Utley. Her appointment will conclude on 21 January 2027.

Professor Pagel was appointed due to her expertise in operational research. She served as Vice President of the UK Operational Research Society from 2021-2025. She is also President Elect of the Operational Research Society for 2026, with her Presidential term running 2027-2029. Together with her colleague, Professor Martin Utley, she has significant expertise and experience in applied mathematical research and public policy.

Direct Ministerial Appointments have been made under successive administrations, and those holding these roles play a vital role in providing expert, independent advice to the Government of the day on a range of matters. For all Direct Ministerial Appointments, a formal declaration of interest is completed by the candidate and, if necessary, any mitigations are considered by the senior civil servant sponsor to manage any potential, actual or perceived conflicts. Professor Pagel’s friendship with the Minister was declared through this process.

The information requested is provided in the attached tables. These tables include data covering the period 2024 on:

- The number of offenders who were convicted of a specified offence type (theft or violence against the person) and did receive an immediate custodial sentence, by the number of previous convictions for that specified offence.

- The number of offenders convicted of specific offences who did not receive an immediate custodial sentence, who were also convicted of another of the listed offence types without receiving an immediate custodial sentence.

This data is not regularly published or held in an easily accessible format. The information supplied has been sourced from a bespoke retrieval from the Ministry of Justice extract of the Police National Computer.

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent judiciary. When deciding what sentence to impose, courts must consider the circumstances of the case, including the culpability of the offender, the harm they caused or intended to cause, and any aggravating and mitigating factors, in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines, developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.

Previous convictions are a statutory aggravating factor, with Sentencing Guidelines being clear that sentencers must consider the nature and relevance of previous convictions, and the time elapsed since the previous convictions.

The information requested is provided in the attached tables. These tables include data covering the period 2024 on:

- The number of offenders who were convicted of a specified offence type (theft or violence against the person) and did receive an immediate custodial sentence, by the number of previous convictions for that specified offence.

- The number of offenders convicted of specific offences who did not receive an immediate custodial sentence, who were also convicted of another of the listed offence types without receiving an immediate custodial sentence.

This data is not regularly published or held in an easily accessible format. The information supplied has been sourced from a bespoke retrieval from the Ministry of Justice extract of the Police National Computer.

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent judiciary. When deciding what sentence to impose, courts must consider the circumstances of the case, including the culpability of the offender, the harm they caused or intended to cause, and any aggravating and mitigating factors, in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines, developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.

Previous convictions are a statutory aggravating factor, with Sentencing Guidelines being clear that sentencers must consider the nature and relevance of previous convictions, and the time elapsed since the previous convictions.

The information requested is provided in the attached tables. These tables include data covering the period 2024 on:

- The number of offenders who were convicted of a specified offence type (theft or violence against the person) and did receive an immediate custodial sentence, by the number of previous convictions for that specified offence.

- The number of offenders convicted of specific offences who did not receive an immediate custodial sentence, who were also convicted of another of the listed offence types without receiving an immediate custodial sentence.

This data is not regularly published or held in an easily accessible format. The information supplied has been sourced from a bespoke retrieval from the Ministry of Justice extract of the Police National Computer.

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent judiciary. When deciding what sentence to impose, courts must consider the circumstances of the case, including the culpability of the offender, the harm they caused or intended to cause, and any aggravating and mitigating factors, in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines, developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.

Previous convictions are a statutory aggravating factor, with Sentencing Guidelines being clear that sentencers must consider the nature and relevance of previous convictions, and the time elapsed since the previous convictions.

The Secretary of State has visited a range of justice sites across the country since taking office in July, of which one was an operational prison.