Ben Obese-Jecty MP: written questions

Written questions

• Asylum: Social Rented HousingMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79576More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of people granted asylum who now reside in social housing since 5 July 2024.

  Answer: My Department does not hold data on the number of people granted asylum who now reside in social housing since 5 July 2024.

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Government Departments: ProcurementTreasuryTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79575More

  Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether (a) projects and (b) programmes have been added to the Government Major Projects Portfolio since 5 July 2024.

  Answer: Projects and programmes joining after 5th July 2024 and before end of March 2025 are included in the annual report 24/25. Any projects and programmes joining after March 2025 will be published in Summer 2026 in the annual report 25/26.

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Civil Service: Greater ManchesterCabinet OfficeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79574More

  Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Manchester Digital Campus project on national security.

  Answer: The Government Property Agency is working with the Cabinet Office to progress a business case for the Manchester Digital Campus (“MDC”). Subject to final approval MDC will form a central component of this Government’s Digital, AI and Innovation Campus in ...

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• NHS England: ICTDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79573More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of the abolition of NHS England on the Integrated Single Financial Environment programme.

  Answer: As would be expected with such significant reform, we have been carefully assessing the impact of the organisational change across the range existing systems and processes that includes the continued use of systems such as the Integrated Single Financial ...

  Answered 22 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Screening: Digital TechnologyDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79572More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made in delivering the NHS Digital Transformation of Screening programme.

  Answer: The Digital Transformation of Screening programme is leading an ambitious, end-to-end transformation of screening services, rolling out in a test and learn way. New digital services will support screening participants to manage their screening appointment...

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Social Security Benefits: Medical ExaminationsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79571More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Timms review on the Health Transformation Programme.

  Answer: The Health Transformation Programme is transforming the entire Personal Independence Payment (PIP) service to improve customer experience and efficiency, build trust in our decisions and support people to enter or remain in work. The Programme is working ...

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Railway Stations: Alconbury WealdDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79570More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of a new station at Alconbury Weald as part of the East Coast Mainline Programme.

  Answer: Following the conclusion of the Spending Review, I can confirm that there are no current plans to construct a new East Coast Main Line (ECML) station at Alconbury Weald. The Department recognises the importance of the ECML and is working with Network Rail...

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Probation: Artificial IntelligenceMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79569More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, what progress he has made in piloting AI (a) transcription and (b) summarisation tools in probation

  Answer: The Ministry of Justice is piloting AI transcription and summarisation tools in probation services across Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Wales to reduce administrative burdens and free up frontline staff time for direct engagement and case management. Early use...

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Courts: Artificial IntelligenceMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79568More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, what his Department's projected completion date is for the roll out of Microsoft 365 Copilot to lead

  Answer: The Judicial Office, an office of the Ministry of Justice that supports the judiciary carry out its duties, purchased 300 Copilot 365 licences for leadership judges in July 2025. Leadership judges include: the Lady Chief Justice, Master of the Rolls, Head...

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Administration of Justice: Artificial IntelligenceMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79567More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, what progress he has made in exploring new funding mechanisms to support AI adoption.

  Answer: The Ministry of Justice is working with existing suppliers to leverage their AI capabilities to support the delivery of services and will continue to explore the opportunities available in the supplier market that will support the delivery of the AI Actio...

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Administration of Justice: Artificial IntelligenceMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79566More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, when he expects the Assessing Risks Needs and Strengths tool to come into use.

  Answer: The Assessing Risks, Needs and Strengths (or ARNS) tool is being tested by a small group of practitioners across four probation regions currently, to support its ongoing design and development. Elements of ARNS will begin to roll out nationally from March...

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Criminal RecordsMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79565More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, what progress he has made in establishing a (a) single and (b) secure identity for each individual w

  Answer: We are continuing to explore the potential for a single, secure digital identity for each person interacting with the justice system. The Core Person Record service, which links existing data across courts, prisons and probation, is currently being pilote...

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Criminal Records: Artificial IntelligenceMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79564More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled IA action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, what progress he has made in linking offender data through (a) BOLD and (b) Data First programmes.

  Answer: Using ‘Splink’ (Splink: MoJ’s open source library for probabilistic record linkage at scale - GOV.UK), the Department has made significant progress in linking offender data through both the BOLD and Data First programmes, as follows: Through BOLD: Data ha...

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Administration of Justice: Artificial IntelligenceMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79563More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, what progress he has made in delivering a dedicated AI communications plan.

  Answer: Transparency of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used is fundamental to earning public trust and ensuring the responsible use of AI. We are making progress against our aim to deliver a dedicated AI Communications Plan, which includes establishing inter...

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Administration of Justice: Artificial IntelligenceMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79562More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, what progress he has made with with the Online Procedure Rule Committee to ensure that AI-enabled di

  Answer: The Online Procedure Rule Committee is responsible for making rules governing the practice and procedure for specific types of online court and tribunal proceedings across the Civil, Family and Tribunal jurisdictions. These rules will ensure that those co...

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Administration of Justice: Artificial IntelligenceMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79561More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the early results of the AI rollout.

  Answer: We have received positive qualitative feedback from staff who have used general purpose productivity tools rolled out to the Ministry of Justice workforce. Staff have cited that these tools have helped them draft documents and summarise information at pac...

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Artificial Intelligence: CrimeMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79560More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, what progress he has made in strengthening partnerships with criminal justice partners on a collecti

  Answer: The Criminal Justice Action Group, chaired by the Ministry of Justice Permanent Secretary and attended by core criminal justice partners (the police, Home Office, AGO, CPS, Judicial Office, HMCTS and HMPPS), is actively considering the risks to the crimin...

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Administration of Justice: Artificial IntelligenceMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79559More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, what progress he has made in strengthening partnerships with regulators to support AI-driven legal i

  Answer: The AI Action Plan for Justice commits the Ministry of Justice to working with regulators to support responsible AI adoption across the legal sector (Action 3.5). Legal Service Regulators are independent of government, but the Ministry of Justice maintain...

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Administration of Justice: Artificial IntelligenceMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79558More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of funding for (a) talent, (b) t

  Answer: The Ministry of Justice has not made a specific cost estimate for funding talent, training, or proactive workforce planning to accelerate AI adoption.In establishing the Justice AI Unit, we are focused on delivering value for money by building internal ca...

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Offenders: RehabilitationMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79557More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the embedding of AI in the criminal justice s

  Answer: AI shows great potential to help deliver swifter, fairer, and more accessible justice for all and this includes improving rehabilitation outcomes. The Ministry of Justice’s AI Action Plan for Justice sets out our ambition to target high-value use cases, w...

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Prison AccommodationMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79556More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of using AI to improve scheduling on prison capa

  Answer: AI tools can quickly create the best schedules by analysing real-time data about staff, capacity, risks, and priorities. We are exploring how this could help with managing prison capacity and other scheduling challenges such as listing in courts and tribu...

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Administration of Justice: Artificial IntelligenceMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79555More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, if he will list the secure AI productivity tools he will introduce in order to reduce the administra

  Answer: All Ministry of Justice staff now have access to a secure version of Microsoft Copilot Chat (a secure, web-based assistant for general queries), with further rollout of Microsoft Copilot 365 (the fully integrated AI capability within Word, Outlook, Excel,...

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Administration of Justice: Artificial IntelligenceMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79554More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's policy policy entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, if he will list the other government departments that will form the cross-departmental AI Steering

  Answer: The AI Steering Group brings together senior leaders from across the Ministry of Justice, including policy, data, digital, security, people, legal, HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS), HMCTS, risk, and communications, to oversee AI initiatives and m...

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Administration of Justice: Artificial IntelligenceMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79553More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2024, what the timetable is for the establishment of a dedicated Justice AI Unit.

  Answer: The Justice AI Unit was established in November 2024.

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record
• Administration of Justice: Artificial IntelligenceMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79552More

  Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled AI action plan for justice, published on 31 July 2025, what steps he is taking to enhance (a) AI leadership, (b) governance, (c) ethics, (d) data, (e) digi

  Answer: The Ministry of Justice’s AI Action Plan for Justice set out a series of bold, ambitious steps to promote the responsible use of AI tools across the department and the wider justice system. A Justice AI Unit headed up by a Chief AI Officer has been establ...

  Answered 20 Oct 2025

  Original Parliament record