Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether specialised employees with training on how to support people with disabilities are available in each court.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) launched new guidance to staff in November 2018 to help ensure it meets its legal duty (under the Equality Act 2010) to provide reasonable adjustments for users with disabilities. This empowers staff to remove barriers and support users with disabilities.

HMCTS will also shortly issue a new reasonable adjustment learning product for staff so that they have the capability and confidence to support court and tribunal users with disabilities. This learning will be mandatory for all HMCTS operational staff to complete.

HMCTS also has a page on GOV.UK setting out the support it provides, pointing users to who they can contact to get the right support, and explaining how individual needs will be discussed with the judge hearing a case.

HMCTS is committed to ensuring access to courts and tribunals is maintained for all staff and users.