Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to maintain the CourtsDesk database of court records.

Courtsdesk does not have a database of, or access to, court records. Criminal court case records are held in a variety of places including at individual courts, at The National Archives and by the Ministry of Justice. Neither the Ministry of Justice nor HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) are deleting any court records. They have always been, and will remain, available through formal requests to the relevant court.

Courtsdesk has developed a historic database using courts listing data. There has been no deletion on this database.

The Ministry of Justice is doing three things: first, we have launched a market engagement exercise for new providers to reuse our data under a new licensing regime (which would be open to Courtsdesk to apply for); second, in the interim, we have contacted Courtsdesk, and I have met with its CEO, with a view to potentially reestablishing their service provided they can demonstrate they will comply with our data protection requirements; third, by the end of March we will be expanding the Court and Tribunal Hearings (CaTH) service, an online portal which allows journalists and the public to access and search court-related information. By the end of March, CaTH will include Magistrates’ and Crown Court lists alongside the Civil, Family and Tribunal hearing lists already published.

Court records have always been, and will remain, available through formal request to the relevant court.