Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in how many court proceedings in England and Wales in each year since May 2010 video recording was taken to be (a) an available and (b) a not available special measure for eligible witnesses as defined in section 18 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999.

We must do everything we can to support vulnerable witnesses and help them give their best possible evidence. In December 2013, a pilot commenced of section 28 of Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, a special measures provision allowing the Cross Examination of eligible witnesses' evidence to be recorded in advance of the trial. This pilot is taking place in the Crown Court sitting at Liverpool, Leeds and Kingston-upon Thames. This is in addition to a range of measures already in place to help reduce the anxiety of attending court, such as giving evidence from behind a screen.

Video recording of initial evidence known as ABE (Achieving Best Evidence) is appropriate for some child witnesses; this is undertaken by the Police and can be played at trial.

HMCTS does not collate data on the number of witnesses who give evidence either via live links or other pre- recorded video.