Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure court proceedings are not delayed by the late arrival of prisoners.

We are taking a cross-system approach to improving the timely delivery of prisoners to court. Lord Timpson and I have established a Prisoner Delivery Oversight Board, bringing together senior leaders from across the Criminal Justice System to monitor performance, identify the causes of delays and drive operational improvements.

The Board receives regular performance information and is overseeing joint work between His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, Police, and Prisoner Escort and Custody Services suppliers to improve end-to-end prisoner delivery processes. This includes detailed operational reviews to better understand the causes of delays and identify opportunities to improve performance.