Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2014 to Question 213724, how many individual courts will receive additional funding; and what proportion such courts will form of the total court estate.

The new package of support announced on 23 October is aimed at keeping disputes away from court, while those who end up in court will be provided with better support. The funding will be used to support a new strategic approach to increasing legal and practical support for litigants in person in the civil and family courts. This will provide direct support in some local courts, and other courts will be able to access national support via email or telephone. The service will begin in selected court centres with the aim of rolling it out across England and Wales.

This strategy has been developed in partnership with the legal and advice sectors and we are currently working with them on implementation. We hope to be in a position soon to make a decision on which courts will receive direct support as a result of the additional funding.