Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the problem-solving courts pilot programme announced by her Department in May 2016 will begin.

We are exploring further the opportunities for problem solving approaches following completion of the joint judicial working group report earlier this year. A number of courts are already using problem solving approaches, including clustered listing of drug review hearings, female-specific courts in Manchester and Aberdeen, and the Choices and Consequences programme in St Albans. I have visited a number of courts where problem solving approaches have been developed at a grassroots level in local communities, and will set out further plans in due course.