Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of defendants who are detained post-charge by the police are not required to appear on video for remand hearings as a result of their disabilities.
We do not hold the information requested. Video Remand Hearings (VRH) were rolled out at scale over Spring/Summer 2020 to help reduce footfall in courts and reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19. The data regarding the proportion of defendants not required to appear on video for remand hearings due to disability was not collected during the COVID-19 period.
Prior to its use during the pandemic, VRH was in operation across a 5-force model in the South East as part of a Video Enabled Justice Programme sponsored by the Home Office. The requested information was not collected.