Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February to Question 147843 on Prisoners on Remand: Remote Hearings, what the total costs incurred are by (a) video remand courts and (b) Prisoner Escorting and Court Services court transport and custody since March 2020.

We do not hold information centrally on the costs to policing from running Video Remand Hearing (VRH) since March 2020. In many cases VRH will have been conducted through the redeployment of police officers from other duties, rather than through a direct funding allocation.

Regarding the cost of Prisoner Escorting and Court Services (PECS) court transport and custody, the period in question straddles two contract periods as the PECS contract changed on 29/08/2020 and defining a specific cost for this period is not readily available.

The total value of the PECS GEN4 10-year contract is £1.377 billion, which commenced on 29/08/2020. The two contracts which comprise the PECS GEN4 10-year contract are available in the public domain.