Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether HM Courts & Tribunals Service has provided funding to police forces to assist in the running of video remand hearings.

By December 2020, the majority of police forces had withdrawn from operating Video Remand Hearings (VRH) due to the significant pressure it places on the staffing resource in police custody suites. HMCTS has since secured a commitment from most forces to continue to operate VRH for suspected and confirmed cases of Covid-19.

HMCTS is working with MoJ and the Home Office to explore any potential funding opportunity which could enable VRH to continue operating in key local justice areas where the withdrawal of VRH has had the greatest negative impact.