Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the section on employment tribunals on page 206 of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts for the 2021-22 financial year, how many outstanding tribunal cases his Department was defending as of 1 February 2023; if he will make an estimate of the potential liability arising from those cases; and what contingency funds have been set aside for handling those cases in the (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24 financial years.

As of 1 February 2023, the Ministry of Justice had 306 Employment Tribunal cases. This included cases involving the core department, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, the Legal Aid Agency and the Office of the Public Guardian.

The Ministry of Justice does not hold ‘contingency funds’ for specific cases. However, as part of our financial planning and allocations process, we do consider funding for legal cases across the department.