Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February to Question 147845 on Remote Hearings, if he will will carry out and publish an assessment of the impact of the withdrawal of video remand hearings.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council decided that all forces should withdraw from the use of video remand hearings (VRH) by the end of December 2020. HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and the Home Office have temporarily provided joint funding to 6 police forces in priority areas (Derbyshire, Devon and Cornwall, Durham, Kent, Norfolk, and Suffolk) to enable them to operate VRH in the 5 weeks to the end of the financial year 20/21.

While we are not formally evaluating the withdrawal of police forces from VRH hearings, the MoJ and HMCTS are evaluating HMCTS Reform, of which Video Remand Hearings form a part, to understand what effects the programme has had.