Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on the backlog of Employment Tribunal single claims since the covid-19 lockdown announced in March 2020.

Ensuring access to justice remains a priority for this Government. In response to the pandemic, we are installing new video technology, recruiting more judges and introducing reforms to improve efficiency.

The Department has worked closely with the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), to implement a package of measures to help Employment Tribunals hear more cases, enable deployment of a greater range of judicial expertise including from non-employment judges, and support greater use of virtual hearings.

As a result, since September 2020, Employment Tribunals have been able to return to pre-Covid levels of sitting days and case disposals, and they are the single largest user of video hearings among tribunals.

The Department continues to work closely with Ministry of Justice to ensure the system is equipped for future challenges.