Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on compliance with custody time limits.
HMCTS is working closely with the Judiciary and all criminal justice agencies to ensure that cases are monitored through the system. The introduction of emergency legislation enabling the courts to make greater use of audio and video technology for any preliminary hearings where appropriate, has ensured that priority cases, including custody cases, have been heard. The prioritisation of which trials should commence first is a judicial decision and guidance has been given by the President of the Queen's Bench Division on 12th May which includes the consideration of whether a defendant is in custody and, if so, the date when the custody time limit expires and whether there has been any extension of the custody time limit.