Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1311471

registered interest
date	22/04/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Courts: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of facilities for lawyers to safely see their clients at courts during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	185873
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2021 answer text <p>HMCTS buildings are COVID-secure and we continuously monitor and review our guidance and practices to ensure that we are complying with the latest public health advice. There is an ongoing dialogue with legal professionals at all levels to allow them to feed into this process. Where there are concerns about capacity legal professionals can raise this locally, regionally or nationally. For staff and agency staff in HMCTS as a whole (including tribunals), positive test rates are falling in line with national numbers. The incident rate amongst staff is trending around the national average.</p><p> </p><p>The HMCTS Organisational Risk Assessment sets out the suite of measures put in place to ensure our buildings remain safe for those who use them, and these measures have been developed with the endorsement of public health agencies. All court and tribunal buildings are individually risk assessed – at least weekly – to make sure they continue to meet public health guidelines. These assessments include the spaces for lawyers to safely see their clients. A copy of the court assessment can be obtained from the senior person on site.</p><p> </p><p>Where it has been assessed as safe to do so, rooms within a court building suitable for private consultations are open. These rooms can be identified by posters on the doors, which confirm the maximum capacity and safety measures to be followed. More rooms will open once the Government’s review on social distancing measures and public health advice allows this to happen safely.</p><p> </p><p>In relation to mobile units, HMCTS has prioritised the available space on its estate to house portable cabins to increase the ability to conduct more jury trials. The cabins are used by jurors who are safely marshalled, to limit transmission risk, between the cabin and court room. HMCTS will continue to prioritise the use of cabins in this way as part of a wider package of recovery measures, such as the use of Nightingale courts, that form its overall response to the pandemic.</p><p> </p><p>Both HMCTS and HMPPS have taken action to provide measures to keep consolations with defendants in custody as safe as possible. Since the start of the pandemic, HMPPS took urgent action to enable the criminal justice system (CJS) to continue running by enabling CJS professionals to consult defendants in custody by video. First, it enabled secure remote access to the previously closed prison–to–court video links by deploying over 900 cloud video platform video meeting rooms. HMPPS then increased physical video capacity by over 50% in prisons with a remand function and by over 77% across the wider custodial estate. To date, 371 new video points have been installed, with further installations planned in the coming weeks. In addition, prisons with a remand function were asked to extend their video operating hours.</p><p> </p><p>There will be occasions when lawyers must meet their clients in the court cells. HMCTS works closely with the Prisoner Escort and Custody Services (PECS), who have the responsibility to risk assess the custody areas, to keep the same level of safety maintained throughout the court building. As public health advice changes, PECS review, assess and adapt their risk assessments accordingly to ensure that the custody suite remains safe. This ensures transmission risk is kept to a minimum during client consultations and the transfer of prisoners from cells to the court room. HMCTS will record, on its site-specific risk assessment, any safety concern identified by PECS and the action taken to resolve.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 185874 185875 question first answered 27/04/2021 16:38:34 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1311472

registered interest
date	22/04/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Courts: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has considered the potential merits of using mobile units at courts to allow lawyers to meet their clients in a safe environment during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	185874
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2021 answer text <p>HMCTS buildings are COVID-secure and we continuously monitor and review our guidance and practices to ensure that we are complying with the latest public health advice. There is an ongoing dialogue with legal professionals at all levels to allow them to feed into this process. Where there are concerns about capacity legal professionals can raise this locally, regionally or nationally. For staff and agency staff in HMCTS as a whole (including tribunals), positive test rates are falling in line with national numbers. The incident rate amongst staff is trending around the national average.</p><p> </p><p>The HMCTS Organisational Risk Assessment sets out the suite of measures put in place to ensure our buildings remain safe for those who use them, and these measures have been developed with the endorsement of public health agencies. All court and tribunal buildings are individually risk assessed – at least weekly – to make sure they continue to meet public health guidelines. These assessments include the spaces for lawyers to safely see their clients. A copy of the court assessment can be obtained from the senior person on site.</p><p> </p><p>Where it has been assessed as safe to do so, rooms within a court building suitable for private consultations are open. These rooms can be identified by posters on the doors, which confirm the maximum capacity and safety measures to be followed. More rooms will open once the Government’s review on social distancing measures and public health advice allows this to happen safely.</p><p> </p><p>In relation to mobile units, HMCTS has prioritised the available space on its estate to house portable cabins to increase the ability to conduct more jury trials. The cabins are used by jurors who are safely marshalled, to limit transmission risk, between the cabin and court room. HMCTS will continue to prioritise the use of cabins in this way as part of a wider package of recovery measures, such as the use of Nightingale courts, that form its overall response to the pandemic.</p><p> </p><p>Both HMCTS and HMPPS have taken action to provide measures to keep consolations with defendants in custody as safe as possible. Since the start of the pandemic, HMPPS took urgent action to enable the criminal justice system (CJS) to continue running by enabling CJS professionals to consult defendants in custody by video. First, it enabled secure remote access to the previously closed prison–to–court video links by deploying over 900 cloud video platform video meeting rooms. HMPPS then increased physical video capacity by over 50% in prisons with a remand function and by over 77% across the wider custodial estate. To date, 371 new video points have been installed, with further installations planned in the coming weeks. In addition, prisons with a remand function were asked to extend their video operating hours.</p><p> </p><p>There will be occasions when lawyers must meet their clients in the court cells. HMCTS works closely with the Prisoner Escort and Custody Services (PECS), who have the responsibility to risk assess the custody areas, to keep the same level of safety maintained throughout the court building. As public health advice changes, PECS review, assess and adapt their risk assessments accordingly to ensure that the custody suite remains safe. This ensures transmission risk is kept to a minimum during client consultations and the transfer of prisoners from cells to the court room. HMCTS will record, on its site-specific risk assessment, any safety concern identified by PECS and the action taken to resolve.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 185873 185875 question first answered 27/04/2021 16:38:34 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1311473

registered interest
date	22/04/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Courts: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the safety of court cells for lawyers to meet clients during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	185875
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2021 answer text <p>HMCTS buildings are COVID-secure and we continuously monitor and review our guidance and practices to ensure that we are complying with the latest public health advice. There is an ongoing dialogue with legal professionals at all levels to allow them to feed into this process. Where there are concerns about capacity legal professionals can raise this locally, regionally or nationally. For staff and agency staff in HMCTS as a whole (including tribunals), positive test rates are falling in line with national numbers. The incident rate amongst staff is trending around the national average.</p><p> </p><p>The HMCTS Organisational Risk Assessment sets out the suite of measures put in place to ensure our buildings remain safe for those who use them, and these measures have been developed with the endorsement of public health agencies. All court and tribunal buildings are individually risk assessed – at least weekly – to make sure they continue to meet public health guidelines. These assessments include the spaces for lawyers to safely see their clients. A copy of the court assessment can be obtained from the senior person on site.</p><p> </p><p>Where it has been assessed as safe to do so, rooms within a court building suitable for private consultations are open. These rooms can be identified by posters on the doors, which confirm the maximum capacity and safety measures to be followed. More rooms will open once the Government’s review on social distancing measures and public health advice allows this to happen safely.</p><p> </p><p>In relation to mobile units, HMCTS has prioritised the available space on its estate to house portable cabins to increase the ability to conduct more jury trials. The cabins are used by jurors who are safely marshalled, to limit transmission risk, between the cabin and court room. HMCTS will continue to prioritise the use of cabins in this way as part of a wider package of recovery measures, such as the use of Nightingale courts, that form its overall response to the pandemic.</p><p> </p><p>Both HMCTS and HMPPS have taken action to provide measures to keep consolations with defendants in custody as safe as possible. Since the start of the pandemic, HMPPS took urgent action to enable the criminal justice system (CJS) to continue running by enabling CJS professionals to consult defendants in custody by video. First, it enabled secure remote access to the previously closed prison–to–court video links by deploying over 900 cloud video platform video meeting rooms. HMPPS then increased physical video capacity by over 50% in prisons with a remand function and by over 77% across the wider custodial estate. To date, 371 new video points have been installed, with further installations planned in the coming weeks. In addition, prisons with a remand function were asked to extend their video operating hours.</p><p> </p><p>There will be occasions when lawyers must meet their clients in the court cells. HMCTS works closely with the Prisoner Escort and Custody Services (PECS), who have the responsibility to risk assess the custody areas, to keep the same level of safety maintained throughout the court building. As public health advice changes, PECS review, assess and adapt their risk assessments accordingly to ensure that the custody suite remains safe. This ensures transmission risk is kept to a minimum during client consultations and the transfer of prisoners from cells to the court room. HMCTS will record, on its site-specific risk assessment, any safety concern identified by PECS and the action taken to resolve.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 185873 185874 question first answered 27/04/2021 16:38:34 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1305659

registered interest
date	24/03/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Courts: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many buildings currently used for Nightingale Courts will have their lease expire by June 2021.
tabling member constituency	Tottenham
tabling member printed	Mr David Lammy
uin	174721
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>Nightingale courts have provided a much-needed boost to the crown-court system, providing more capacity at a time of social distancing. As at 31 March we have 30 Nightingale courts open, providing a total of 60 courtrooms.</p><p>There are 19 Nightingale venues where hire agreements are currently due to expire at the end of June. We are exploring options to extend the leases in order to maximise the use of the court estate. We will continue to consider where Nightingale courts are needed for local operational reasons and we remain in close contact with the landlords of all existing venues.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 19/04/2021 16:53:12 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	206 label Biography information for Mr David Lammy

1304526

registered interest
date	22/03/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Courts: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce delays to court cases arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL14479
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2021 answer text <p>We are keenly aware of the need to improve timeliness for both defendants and victims, and mitigate the impact of delays on victims and witnesses. Judges have been prioritising the most serious cases throughout the pandemic, including those involving vulnerable victims and witnesses as well as those with defendants nearing custody time limits.</p><p>We will continue to do more, and the recovery of our courts to full operational capacity is our highest priority in order to reduce waiting times within the justice system. The steps taken so far – to adjust court rooms to hold Covid-secure trials, to open more court rooms, and to move to virtual hearings where possible – have helped. Crown Court disposals increased from June 2020 and were higher than pre-Covid levels for the first two weeks of 2021. The increase has slowed slightly, with disposals throughout February consistently 5% below the pre-Covid baseline, and the outstanding caseload in Magistrates’ courts has reduced from the peak reached in August. As of the end of March 2021, we have created a total of 60 Nightingale courts.</p><p>We continue to work with partners across the justice system to assess what more can be done to improve the resilience of the courts during the pandemic, and to assist faster recovery. We recognise the particular impact of delays on victims and witnesses, and are providing £151m to victim and witness support services in 2021-22 to ensure victims receive the support they need.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 07/04/2021 12:46:55 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1301910

registered interest
date	11/03/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Courts: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, by what date the backlog of cases before the courts as a result of the covid-19 outbreak is planned to be cleared.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	167188
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2021 answer text <p>We have responded quickly and in an innovative manner to the challenge posed by the Covid-19 pandemic to our criminal courts and the wider justice system. The date by which the courts recover to pre-pandemic levels of activity is sensitive to a range of influences and so is difficult to predict precisely. Those influences include when social distancing ends, and the number, nature and complexity of the cases flowing into the court system.</p><p> </p><p>Further detail is published in the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/896779/HMCTS368_recovery_-_COVID-19-_Overview_of_HMCTS_response_A4L_v3.pdf" target="_blank">HMCTS recovery plan</a>.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 19/03/2021 14:25:47 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1300347

registered interest
date	08/03/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Courts: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Nightingale Courts are being used for criminal trials.
tabling member constituency	Lewisham West and Penge
tabling member printed	Ellie Reeves
uin	164586
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2021 answer text <p>HMCTS has opened 27 Nightingale courts comprising 54 courtrooms. Of these courtrooms, 30 are directly hearing Crown and Magistrates’ Court work with the rest being used to free up capacity for crime hearings within the existing HMCTS estate.</p><p>Crime recovery work is moving at pace – our focus is on increasing capacity and maximising use of the capacity we already have. The Criminal Courts Recovery Plan can be accessed on GOV.UK: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/court-and-tribunal-recovery-update-in-response-to-coronavirus" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/court-and-tribunal-recovery-update-in-response-to-coronavirus</a>. This provides a comprehensive update on recovery plans and includes details about Nightingale courts.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 16/03/2021 17:48:43 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4620 label Biography information for Ellie Reeves

1300349

registered interest
date	08/03/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Courts: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of whether social distancing will be required in courts after June 2021.
tabling member constituency	Lewisham West and Penge
tabling member printed	Ellie Reeves
uin	164588
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2021 answer text <p>The access to justice provided by courts and tribunals is of critical importance. It is of the top priority of HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) to ensure that essential public service is delivered safely.</p><p>We will keep this under careful review in light of PHE guidance at the time we will reform Courts to normal operation as quickly and safely as possible.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 16/03/2021 17:53:48 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4620 label Biography information for Ellie Reeves

1299986

registered interest
date	05/03/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Courts: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Nightingale (a) courts and (b) courtrooms are operating by region.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	163686
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/03/2021 answer text <p>As at 8 March, there are 24 Nightingale venues in operation, providing a total of 49 hearing rooms. The table below provides a breakdown by region.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>HMCTS region</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of operational Nightingale court venues</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Courtrooms provided </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>London</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Midlands</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>11</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North East</p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North West</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>13</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South East</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South West</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wales</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>We are opening more Nightingale courtrooms and are on track to provide a total of 60 courtrooms by the end of March.</p><p>Recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is our top priority. Nightingale courts have opened in every HMCTS region, capable of hearing a range of case types, including trials, for defendants who are on bail. These venues help to free up more room in existing courts to hear other cases, such as custodial jury trials, which require cells and secure dock facilities to keep the public, victims and witnesses safe.</p><p>We will continue to keep our recovery plans under close review to ensure that the geographic distribution of Nightingale courts meets our operational requirements.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 10/03/2021 17:46:51 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1299987

registered interest
date	05/03/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Courts: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of courts are currently working to full capacity.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	163687
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/03/2021 answer text <p>HMCTS has implemented measures which mean that all of our courts and tribunals buildings have lower footfall than before the pandemic and are therefore operating at less than full capacity.</p><p>Our <a href="https://intranet.justice.gov.uk/about-hmcts/operations-directorate/business-continuity/covid-19/covid-19-information-guidance-hub/organisational-risk-assessment/" target="_blank">Organisational Risk Assessment</a> sets out the suite of measures put in place to ensure our buildings remain safe for those who use them, and these measures have been developed with the endorsement of public health agencies. Key to these measures is social distancing which has been embedded across the HMCTS estate since the onset of COVID-19.</p><p>Adhering to social distancing has, necessarily, reduced the capacity in our court and tribunal buildings to manage and hear cases, because it inevitably restricts the number of people who can be safely accommodated across the various parts of each site. HMCTS has taken a number steps to minimise the impact of this on our ability to service access to justice needs, including the introduction of additional ‘Nightingale’ court venues to provide increased accommodation. They are used on a temporary basis to ensure as many hearings as possible can continue to take place during the COVID-19 outbreak.</p><p>As at 4<sup>th</sup> March, courtroom availability, split by HMCTS Region, is as follows</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Region</p></td><td><p>Not Open</p></td><td><p>Open</p></td><td><p>Open (%)</p></td><td><p>Grand Total</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>London</p></td><td><p>196</p></td><td><p>509</p></td><td><p>72%</p></td><td><p>705</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Midlands</p></td><td><p>103</p></td><td><p>339</p></td><td><p>76%</p></td><td><p>442</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North East</p></td><td><p>98</p></td><td><p>313</p></td><td><p>76%</p></td><td><p>411</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North West</p></td><td><p>64</p></td><td><p>334</p></td><td><p>83%</p></td><td><p>398</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Scotland</p></td><td><p>33</p></td><td><p>35</p></td><td><p>51%</p></td><td><p>68</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South East</p></td><td><p>37</p></td><td><p>404</p></td><td><p>91%</p></td><td><p>441</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South West</p></td><td><p>18</p></td><td><p>238</p></td><td><p>92%</p></td><td><p>256</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wales</p></td><td><p>9</p></td><td><p>141</p></td><td><p>94%</p></td><td><p>150</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Grand Total</p></td><td><p>558</p></td><td><p>2313</p></td><td><p>80%</p></td><td><p>2871</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 10/03/2021 17:51:41 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham