Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, by what date his Department plans to have completed the rollout of section 28 measures; and if he will list the courts that will be included in that rollout.

We successfully rolled out Section 28 (s.28) of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act (YJCEA) for all vulnerable complainants and witnesses, such as children and adults with a physical or mental impairment, in all Crown Courts by November 2020.

S.28 is currently available for complainants of sexual and modern-day slavery offences in seven Crown Courts: Leeds, Liverpool, Kingston upon Thames Harrow, Isleworth, Wood Green, and Durham. We will be extending s.28 for this cohort to all Crown Courts in England and Wales as soon as practicable.