Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the speech entitled Lord Chancellor’s Speech: White Paper Launch - A Smarter Approach to Sentencing, published on 16 September 2020, whether his Department has implemented the pilots for the problem-solving courts.

The Government committed to piloting up to five Problem Solving Courts pilots in the Sentencing White Paper published in September 2020, and legislated in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Act 2022 to provide the legislative framework to enable the pilots to operate.

The Government announced on Sunday 17^th July the location of two PSCs which will focus on offenders with substance misuse issues, at Liverpool and Teesside Crown Courts. A PSC for female offenders with complex needs will be in Birmingham Magistrates Court. These pilots are planned to launch from April 2023.

We are considering a range of locations for the remaining PSCs in order to ensure that they are situated in the best possible areas to provide the broadest range of support services to help manage offenders in the community.