Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much has been spent on additional court space in each constituency of Wales since March 2020.

HMCTS has so far spent £283,922 to create additional court space in Wales. We have opened a temporary Nightingale court in Swansea, established extra jury capacity in Cardiff and installed modular buildings (Portaccabins) in Caernarfon and Swansea.

Recovering from the impact of the pandemic is our top priority. HMCTS has published updates on their response to Covid-19 in the criminal and civil, family and tribunals jurisdictions in England and Wales. They provide comprehensive updates on recovery plans and include details about Nightingale courts and our actions to make sure our buildings are covid-secure.

We’ve unlocked vital capacity across England and Wales by opening 16 Nightingale Courts to provide 29 extra court rooms, 10 of which are being used for non-custodial jury trials. Portacabins are being installed to enable jury trials and therefore increase crime/jury hearing capacity. They are primarily being used as jury deliberating rooms and for assembly/jury management.