Inter-Ministerial Group for Justice (IMGJ) meeting summary: 11 December 2025
Updated 14 January 2026
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The Inter-Ministerial Group for Justice (IMGJ) met on 11th December 2025 by video conference.
The meeting was hosted by the Welsh Government and chaired by Counsel General and Minister for Delivery Julie James MS.
The ministers who attended were:
- UK Government: Jake Richards MP, Minister for Sentencing, Youth Justice and International Justice
- Scottish Government: Angela Constance MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs
- Welsh Government: Julie James MS, Counsel General and Minister for Delivery; Jane Hutt MS, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip
- Northern Ireland Executive: Naomi Long MLA, Minister of Justice
Minister Jake Richards was introduced as the new Ministry of Justice, representative on the IMGJ.
The IMGJ discussed the new standing agenda item Digital Innovation and Strategy, with the Ministry of Justice providing a demonstration of their new AI tool Justice Transcribe, the Northern Ireland Executive providing information about their use of Zebra hand-held devices in prisons and the Scottish Government discussing their Digital Evidence Sharing Capability (DESC). Members appreciated the opportunity to hear about initiatives being undertaken and discuss ways in which technology can be used to further improve justice systems across jurisdictions.
The next item discussed was Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), with the Welsh Government opening with a discussion on progress on its strategy. The IMGJ acknowledged that there is a UK Government VAWG strategy to be published imminently to look at how to ensure safety of women and girls. The group discussed strategic and operational developments in each jurisdiction, as well as online harms, and how these are affecting the VAWG space. It was acknowledged that there is a growing demand on systems across every jurisdiction as cases have increased exponentially in the course of a few years, this shows a growing confidence in the justice system for more women to come forward.
The next item discussed by the IMGJ was Court Caseloads where the devolved governments heard about the recent announcement of the UK Government’s response to the Independent Review of Criminal Courts, as well as alternative approaches being adopted in other jurisdictions. The group acknowledged that continued engagement is required to ensure that mutual challenges are being looked at and addressed in parallel. There was agreement by the group that looking to technology can help relieve some of the pressures faced, but that care needed to be taken with how this was managed in the interests of justice.
The Chair formally noted two policy papers on Prison Capacity and Legal Aid and brought the meeting to a close. Attendees commented that it had been a useful discussion and looked forward to the next meeting.