Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking improve the physical state of court premises.

HMCTS has 335 operational court and tribunal buildings across England, Wales and Scotland which enable work in criminal, civil and Family Courts and the Tribunals.

We will have spent over £175 million on court maintenance and repairs in the two years to April 2023, to enhance the resilience of the estate and maintain court capacity.

The HMCTS Estates Strategy, published in November, outlines our long-term ambitions to improve the condition and resilience of our estate. We have a planned pipeline of future works and this is kept under regular review. We are also developing new court and tribunal buildings in the City of London, Reading and Blackpool and these will provide modern, flexible and sustainable facilities.

Spending is prioritised to ensure that buildings are safe, secure, meet statutory requirements and protect continuity of service. We will continue to work closely with the judiciary and operational colleagues to identify and address the areas of the highest maintenance priority.