Between 20 September and 21 October 2026 no consultation, white paper, policy paper or bill text proposing benefit loss or prison for parents over a child's offence appeared on gov.uk: the Ministry of Justice publishing record for the period holds only press notices, prison papers, the Courts and Tribunals Bill and the Hillsborough Law Bill, and gov.uk search finds no such paper from any department.
Hunch. Both fast cases in the record were ministers trailing a paper their own department had already written, and Jake Richards is trailing nothing: the Ministry of Justice press notice of 17 September on youth crime does not mention parents losing money or liberty.
The October market resolves on the government's own publishing record. It resolves YES if, between 20 September and the end of 21 October 2026, a consultation, a white paper or policy paper, or the text of a bill or a government amendment, is published on gov.uk or parliament.uk and proposes removing benefits from, or imprisoning, a parent or carer because of a child's offence. A press notice, a speech or a minister repeating the idea resolves NO. If gov.uk search is down on the day, reports by the BBC and the Guardian settle it.
We looked for UK ministers who announced a new punishment in an interview or a speech before it was in any published government bill or consultation. Then we measured how long it took for a consultation, a white paper or bill text to set it out. We found five since 2021, five separate decisions by five ministers. One warning: plans that ended in a document are easier to find, so the list may lean towards them. The newest come first.