Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many defendants have successfully used the defence of automatism in cases arising from road traffic collisions in each of the last five years; and what assessment she has made of the impact of those cases on victims and their families.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on defendants dealt with at criminal courts in England and Wales for a variety of offences including road traffic offences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool, which can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics quarterly - GOV.UK.

However, information is not centrally held on the specific legal defences raised or successfully relied upon by defendants in criminal proceedings arising from road traffic collisions.

The Government recognises the profound impact and trauma experienced by victims and their families as a result of fatal or serious road traffic collisions. The Ministry of Justice has not made a specific assessment of the impact on victims and their families in cases where a defendant has raised or relied upon the defence of automatism.

In its 14^th Programme of Law Reform, the Law Commission will consider – as part of its review of the law of insanity - the circumstances in which a person should not be criminally liable because of a mental condition at the time of an alleged offence. This will include consideration of the relationship between insanity and automatism.