Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish figures on the (a) number of offenders who were held on remand awaiting trial for robbery and (b) length of time those offenders were held on remand for in each prison in England and Wales in each of the last five years.

The number of prisoners who were held on untried remand for alleged robbery and the length of time those prisoners were held on remand, in each prison in England and Wales, as at 30 June in each of the last five years, is shown in the attached tables.

The Bail Act 1976 provides a presumption in favour of bail, which recognises that a person should not be deprived of their liberty unless necessary for the protection of the public or the delivery of justice.

It is the courts that decide on a case-by-case basis whether a defendant presents such a bail risk as to warrant custody. Bail can only be refused where there is justification, as prescribed in Schedule 1 to the Bail Act, such as substantial grounds for believing that the defendant, would abscond, commit further offences, interfere with witnesses or otherwise obstruct the course of justice.

Since Covid the number of remand cases has increased as the courts were forced to pause jury trials in March 2020 for a short period, and social distancing requirements were brought in to stop the spread of the virus. The Government is committed to supporting the recovery of the courts and we continue to take action to tackle the impact the pandemic has had on the system. We have extended 30 Nightingale courtrooms beyond the end of March 2022 and have again removed the limit on the number of days the Crown Court can sit this financial year. To secure enough capacity to sit at the required levels in 2022/23 and beyond, we are also expanding our plans for judicial recruitment.