Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to extend provision of problem-solving courts.

We are considering the problem-solving approaches that have already been developed at a grass roots level in a small number of local communities across the UK, and exploring opportunities.

Access to drug and alcohol treatment that is timely and effective is crucial to problem-solving approaches. My department is working with the Department of Health to test a new protocol for community sentence treatment requirements with the aim of increasing their use.