Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what date (a) protective screens installed and (b) other covid-19 protective measures were introduced at Nottingham Crown Court.

HMCTS has in place a range of measures, developed in line with, and validated against, relevant public health standards, to help to prevent the transmission of Covid 19 across the court and tribunal estate. Details can be found in the published Organisational Risk Assessment, and in the site-specific risk assessments undertaken and reviewed regularly at each building, which are available on request. These measures have enabled HMCTS to run its vital public services, and so maintain access to justice, throughout the pandemic emergency.

Nottingham Crown Court had screens installed on the 25^th September 2020 into two jury deliberation rooms and two court rooms.

Furthermore, as well as requiring anyone in public spaces within our buildings to wear a face covering (unless exempt), a series of other measures have been put into place since the 16^th March 2020 to ensure that the building operates in a Covid secure way, including introducing revised entry and search procedures for all court users, the provision of hand sanitiser at convenient points across the building, and public concourses marked out with socially distanced floor markings and appropriate guidance signage. In addition, all work assessed as suitable by the judiciary can be managed by way of remote/virtual hearings, and staff who can work remotely are doing so to reduce footfall and ensure social distancing can be adhered to.