Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 5.21 on page 49 of his Department's consultation, Fit for the future: transforming the court and tribunal estate, what the evidential basis is for the conclusion that the proposed strategy will have no direct impact on service delivery.

In the recently published; Fit for the Future: transforming the court and tribunal estate consultation document, HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) set out its proposed future strategy and approach to court and tribunal estate reform. This was set within the wider context of work to modernise services, and outlined the ways in which technology and new ways of working can be utilised to make the justice system more accessible, efficient and flexible.

The paragraph referred to relates to equalities assessments. These assessments are made when there are specific and measureable proposals against which assessments can be made. The strategic consultation published invites views on our proposed principles which will guide future decisions on the estate but it does not contain specific proposals for changes to the estate. We will conduct equalities assessments on any future specific proposals when we consult publicly on such changes.