Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner on the evaluation of the Home Office funded video enabled justice programme; and if she will make a statement.

The Video Enabled Justice programme was funded through Police Transformation Fund as part of the Police Funding Settlement. It is a police-led pilot to explore the use of live-link video in first appearance remand hearings and for police witnesses.

The independent evaluation of the pilot will be published by the Office of the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner (OSPCC), imminently.

My officials have read the evaluation ahead of publication in line with the grant conditions. We have encouraged OSPCC to share the evaluation with Criminal Justice and policing partners to inform decisions on the roll-out of a Criminal Justice System wide solution and too consider whether there are lessons that can help ensure an effective criminal justice system can be maintained during the current Covid-19 crisis.