Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of unconvicted people being held in prison on remand awaiting trial.

We are aware of the need to mitigate the impact of delays on those who are un-convicted and held in prison. Judges are prioritising the most urgent cases, and we are providing an extra £57m to support services. As one of the first among other comparable jurisdictions globally to resume jury trials, our Crown Courts currently list thousands of cases each week.

We anticipate that providing the courts with timely information relating to the defendant and services will help to reduce unnecessary remands and increase the appropriate use of bail and bail conditions. In September 2020, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) began a trial of a dedicated and proactive Bail Information Service (BIS) in several courts and prisons in the North West of England and in Wales. In conjunction with this trial, HMPPS are rolling out a Covid-19 response BIS in all public sector remand prisons. Both trials aim to inform the design, resourcing and delivery of a future dedicated and proactive national BIS.

The majority of bail cases that had their first hearing in November 2020 were listed for trial prior to December 2021, and where the defendant is in custody, most cases were listed for trial prior to July 2021. There are rare exceptions where a trial is listed into 2023 and these are judicial decisions.