Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appearances in magistrates courts were delayed on (a) 15 and (b) 16 May 2024 as part of Operation Early Dawn.

Operation Early Dawn is a contingency designed to mitigate impacts across the Criminal Justice System. We monitor system impacts but it is hard to say how many appearances in the magistrates courts were delayed because of Operation Early Dawn, as this data is not collected in our management information systems (because Operation Early Dawn is a contingency).

The Ministry of Justice, across its agencies, is working to minimise any delays across the court system, which includes prioritising the most urgent cases.