Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Transform Justice blog entitled The secret room – who is listening to what in digital courts?, published on 11 April 2019, if he will make an assessment of the accuracy of reports in that blog that a secret video control room was placed in a court in Medway; and what information his Department hold on whether that is widespread practice in other courts.

There is no secret video control room at Medway Magistrates’ Court.

There is a control room, not accessible to the public, where the coordination of participants and the connection and disconnection of video hearings to the courtroom takes place. This function is carried out by a HMCTS video court administrator. There are no other courts operating a control room across the criminal court estate.