Oral Answers to Questions

Cherilyn Mackrory Excerpts

Tuesday 16th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Christian Matheson (City of Chester) (Lab)]

What recent estimate he has made of the size of the backlog of cases before the criminal courts.

[Cherilyn Mackrory (Truro and Falmouth) (Con)]

What steps he has taken to help tackle the backlog of criminal cases before the courts.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Chris Philp)]

In common with so much of the public sector, and life in general, courts have been profoundly affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The Government have taken decisive action to address this, investing a quarter of a billion pounds in covid recovery, which has paid for, among other things, 40 Nightingale courtrooms, soon to increase to 60 by the end of this month, and installing video technology enabling over 20,000 hearings a week across all jurisdictions to take place. As a result of that, for example, the outstanding caseload in the magistrates courts has dropped by about 50,000 cases over the past eight months.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

Well, let us see what you can do with the next question. I call Cherilyn Mackrory.

[Cherilyn Mackrory [V]]

Will my hon. Friend join me in recognising the efforts made by the police and crime commissioner in Devon and Cornwall, Alison Hernandez, in helping to ensure that our area was the first outside of London to set up virtual remand hearings in police custody during the pandemic? Can he assure me that Devon and Cornwall will continue to receive its fair share of resources and funding to continue dealing with the backlog in criminal cases?

[Chris Philp]

I pay tribute to police and crime commissioner Alison Hernandez and all those working in Devon and Cornwall and across the country. I congratulate them on being first out of the blocks on video remand hearings. We are continuing to do video remand hearing work, particularly during the recent lockdown, and we have in fact made some funding available to support some forces to do that. I am sure that Devon and Cornwall will be receiving its fair share of support as part of the Government’s commitment to recruit 23,000 extra police officers, underlining our commitment to law and order.