Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to limit eligibility for jury service during the covid-19 outbreak.

Jury service is an important civic duty and numerous steps have been taken to ensure it is safe for members of the public to serve as jurors. Some people will have difficulty serving at this point and HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has issued guidance to help staff deal sympathetically with all requests from the public who wish to be deferred or excused from jury service as a result of COVID-19. Each application for deferral or excusal is considered on its own merit, in a way that is both fair to the individual and consistent with the needs of the court in providing a representative jury. We are keeping the situation under constant review.