Ben Goldsborough MP: written questions
4 Jul 2025–3 Jul 2026
How these years work
Our reporting years run from 4 July to 3 July, starting with the 2024 general election. They are not official parliamentary sessions. Office costs keep IPSA’s April–March financial years. Records may cover only part of a year; a missing record does not mean no work was done.
Read what this MP said, asked and contributed in Parliament.
27 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Prisons: HeatingMinistry of JusticeTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114426More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that heating failures on the secure estate are fixed promptly.
Answer: We continue to work with prison Governors to ensure appropriate contingency measures are in place to mitigate the impact of heating and hot water systems at a prison becoming inoperative.Contingency plans are in place with the Ministry of Justice’s Facili...
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPrisons: HeatingMinistry of JusticeTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114425More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will work with prison governors to implement appropriate contingency plans for inmate wellbeing in the event of heating failures.
Answer: We continue to work with prison Governors to ensure appropriate contingency measures are in place to mitigate the impact of heating and hot water systems at a prison becoming inoperative.Contingency plans are in place with the Ministry of Justice’s Facili...
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordHMP Holme House: HeatingMinistry of JusticeTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114424More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the safety of inmates at HMP Holme House when the heating is not functioning.
Answer: The Ministry of Justice treats any disruption to the heating and hot water supply to any prison as a priority and implements contingency measures to rectify incidents that occur as soon as practically possible.Safety and decency remained the primary focus...
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPrisoners: LoansMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99077More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his department will work with the Department for Education to legislate to allow prisoners to obtain a student loan more than 6 years from their earliest release date.
Answer: The Ministry of Justice is committed to enabling prisoners to access higher education while in custody and, alongside HMPPS, works with partners such as the Prisoners Education Trust and the Open University to widen access to higher education for prisoner...
Answered 17 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordRemand in Custody: EducationMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99076More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what consideration his department has given to making remand prisoners eligible for a) educational programmes and b) offender behaviour programmes.
Answer: The Ministry of Justice is committed to ensuring that individuals held on custody, including those on remand, have access to appropriate rehabilitative and educational support while in prison.Remand prisoners are eligible to access core education provisio...
Answered 17 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordPrisoners: VisitsMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99075More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his department will provide the average number of visitation days, per prisoner, for a) all prisoners and b) disabled prisoners.
Answer: This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.However, a report about Social Contact in Prison published 11 December provides information about visit frequencies. The report notes that in the 12 months prior to June 2024, almost two thi...
Answered 17 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordPrison AccommodationMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99074More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his department will provide the total number of prisoner days, aggregated across all prisoners, in which an individual prisoner with a disability received a) no time in open air and b) no time out of cell.
Answer: The information requested for adult prisoners is not held by the Ministry of Justice, as collecting data on time in and out of cell would require detailed monitoring of cell activity in each prison establishment.PSI 75/2011 (Residential Services), which i...
Answered 17 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordPrison AccommodationMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99073More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his department will provide the total number of prisoner days, aggregated across all prisoners, in which an individual prisoner received a) no time in open air and b) no time out of cell.
Answer: The information requested for adult prisoners is not held by the Ministry of Justice, as collecting data on time in and out of cell would require detailed monitoring of cell activity in each prison establishment.PSI 75/2011 (Residential Services), which i...
Answered 17 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordPrisons: Repairs and MaintenanceMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99072More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what action his department is taking to ensure prison estate maintenance providers are accountable for their performance.
Answer: The value and performance of the Department’s private-sector service providers is reviewed through routine contract and performance management and, in addition, ministers meet regularly with each provider’s Chief Executive Officers to hold them personally...
Answered 17 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordPrisons: E. coliMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99071More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases of e-coli were reported in each individual prison in each of the last 10 calendar years.
Answer: Statistics on prisoners’ health are the responsibility of the NHS. I am informed that the figures that are collected do not indicate whether an illness or hospitalisation relates to unhygienic conditions or show the causes of illnesses linked to E-coli.Ar...
Answered 17 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordPrisons: HygieneMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99070More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many a) reported illnesses or b) hospitalisations of prisoners in each of the last 10 calendar years have been partially or wholly attributed to unhygienic prison conditions.
Answer: Statistics on prisoners’ health are the responsibility of the NHS. I am informed that the figures that are collected do not indicate whether an illness or hospitalisation relates to unhygienic conditions or show the causes of illnesses linked to E-coli.Ar...
Answered 17 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordPrison GovernorsMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99069More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his department is taking to increase the autonomy of prison governors.
Answer: The Government recognises the value of autonomy for governors and the innovation this can drive, whilst also balancing this with the level of central control to achieve consistency between prisons.In 2023, HMPPS launched a framework for governor empowerme...
Answered 17 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordPrison Governors: Labour TurnoverMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99068More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his department will publish the average time-in-role for prison governors in each of the last 10 calendar years.
Answer: The latest published HMPPS workforce statistics covers the period up to 30 September 2025 so the latest calendar year available is for 2024. Figures showing the average length of time spent in post for public sector prison governors in England and Wales a...
Answered 17 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordPrison Governors: Labour TurnoverMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99067More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his department is taking to reduce turnover rates of prison governors.
Answer: The Enable Programme is a workforce transformation programme that aims to change how HMPPS trains, develops, leads, and supports its prison staff to ensure that they feel safe, supported, valued, and confident in their skills and ability to make a differe...
Answered 17 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordPrison Governors: TrainingMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99066More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his department is taking to improve or increase provision of training for newly appointed prison governors.
Answer: The Enable Programme is a workforce transformation programme that aims to change how HMPPS trains, develops, leads, and supports its prison staff to ensure that they feel safe, supported, valued, and confident in their skills and ability to make a differe...
Answered 17 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordPrisons: EducationMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99065More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his department has made of the potential impact of a) being a peer mentor, or b) having a peer mentor, on reoffending rates.
Answer: Reducing reoffending is a top priority for this Government. Our approach is led by evidence on what works to support offenders in turning away from crime, focusing on addressing the underlying needs linked to offending behaviour, including housing, employ...
Answered 17 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordPrisons: EducationMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99064More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have a) served as a peer mentor and b) had access to a peer mentor, in each of the last 10 calendar years.
Answer: Reducing reoffending is a top priority for this Government. Our approach is led by evidence on what works to support offenders in turning away from crime, focusing on addressing the underlying needs linked to offending behaviour, including housing, employ...
Answered 17 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordPrisoners on RemandMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99063More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to Written Question 11190, what steps his department plans to take to reduce the remand population over the next calendar year.
Answer: We continue to work closely with partners from across the criminal justice system to manage the growth in the prison remand population. The Sentencing Bill, currently being considered before parliament, introduces a package of amendments to the Bail Act 1...
Answered 17 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordPrisoners on RemandMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99062More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2024 to Question 11190, what progress he has made on tackling remand numbers.
Answer: We continue to work closely with partners from across the criminal justice system to manage the growth in the prison remand population. The Sentencing Bill, currently being considered before parliament, introduces a package of amendments to the Bail Act 1...
Answered 17 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordReoffenders: NorfolkMinistry of JusticeTabled 2 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74598More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps her Department has taken to help reduce levels of reoffending in (a) South Norfolk constituency and (b) Norfolk.
Answer: All individuals are assessed for their risk of harm and factors that pertain to re-offending as part of recommending the appropriate sentence and interventions. These deliver a combination of individual supervision and group programmes to assist people on...
Answered 10 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordOffendersMinistry of JusticeTabled 2 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74597More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Criminals to face football, travel, club and pub bans, published on 23 August 2025, what impact her Department estimates these measures will have on (a) r
Answer: Through the Sentencing Bill we will introduce new powers available to the courts when imposing a community or suspended sentence. This will provide courts with greater flexibility than ever before to tailor punishments to offenders and ensure sentences se...
Answered 10 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordYoung Offender Institutions: Crimes of ViolenceMinistry of JusticeTabled 2 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74596More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many assaults on (a) children and (b) staff have occurred in Young Offenders Institutions in each of the last 10 years.
Answer: For the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2025, the requested information can be found in table 1.2.2 of Safety in the Children and Young People Secure Estate: Update to March 2025 - GOV.UK.As the counting rules for assaults in young offender institutions c...
Answered 10 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordYouth Custody: Sick LeaveMinistry of JusticeTabled 2 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74595More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much staff time, in hours, was lost to sick leave in (a) the open estate, (b) the secure estate and (c) Young Offenders Institutions in each of the last 10 years.
Answer: Sickness is measured across the Civil Service in working days lost rather than the number of hours lost.The number of working days lost to sickness is published in the HM Prison and Probation Service workforce quarterly publication which is available here...
Answered 10 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordYouth Custody: NeurodiversityMinistry of JusticeTabled 2 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74594More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many neurodiversity support staff have been employed on the open and secure estate in each of the last 10 calendar years.
Answer: The concept of dedicated neurodiversity support staff was introduced in 2021, with four in post. National rollout commenced during 2022 and was phased in over two years. In 2023, there were 51 staff in post. Implementation was completed in 2024, with 123 ...
Answered 10 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordPrisons: EmploymentMinistry of JusticeTabled 2 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74593More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing inmates to apply for jobs in prison while on remand.
Answer: The Ministry of Justice acknowledges the importance of purposeful activity including employment in custody for convicted prisoners and for those on remand.Under Section 31 of the Prison Rules 1999, un-convicted prisoners are already permitted to take up p...
Answered 10 Sept 2025
Original Parliament record
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4 Jul 2025–3 Jul 2026. One record per UIN and tabled date; the named department is not a measure of answer quality.
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