Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what safeguards they have put in place to ensure equitable outcomes for prosecutions using the single justice procedure introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

No additional safeguards have been put in place for Single Justice Procedure cases due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A case dealt with under the Single Justice Procedure is dealt with in the same way as any other case, except that a single magistrate can deal with it (rather than two) and the hearing need not be in public. Therefore, the magistrate must comply with the same legislative safeguards as all other proceedings, and the Sentencing Council Sentencing Guidelines apply in the same way.

In addition, the Single Justice Procedure has a number of further safeguards in place. All defendants can veto the procedure and insist on a hearing in open court. In addition, the magistrate can decide to refer the case to open court if they deem the case is not appropriately dealt with using the Procedure. As with any conviction and sentence by a magistrates’ court, the defendant has the right of appeal against conviction and sentence to the Crown Court.

If a defendant was unaware of the proceedings they are entitled to make a statutory declaration which revokes the conviction and recommences the proceedings.