Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2020 to Question 138439 on Television Licenses: Non-payment, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the high proportion of cases in which the defendant does not enter a plea.

Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service has not carried out an assessment of the reasons why defendants in TV Licensing cases fail to enter a plea. However, Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service has undertaken a review of the Single Justice Procedure Notice, to encourage greater engagement. The new Single Justice Procedure Notice will be adopted by TV Licencing as well as other relevant prosecutors later this year.