Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much Government has spent on developing virtual courts in response to the covid-19 outbreak.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service response to the COVID-19 pandemic is a developing situation, and the forecast of the total cost relating to the development of virtual courts remains subject to change.

We are determined to keep our courts system running safely and ensure justice is delivered, we estimate that c.£5.85m will be spent in 2020/21 on remote hearings in response to the Covid-19 outbreak.

This estimate relates only to HM Courts and Tribunals Service, any cost incurred by other government departments is not included.