The minister's response to THIS specific MP. Include commitments, rebuttals, details. 2-4 sentences.

I listened very carefully to the right hon. Gentleman, and I am afraid that, as is sadly so often the case, his peroration was a direct contradiction of the reality of what is happening on the ground across the justice system. We acted from the outset to protect lives, to protect staff and to make sure that our prisons were safe, and the results are well-known.

While not prejudging the Chancellor's decision, Robert Buckland assures that work is being done looking beyond one year only with evidence-based proposals. He notes the £105 million extra for court maintenance and a multi-year prison capital programme. The minister also provides encouraging figures on Crown courts progress towards pre-covid baseline.

Robert Buckland assures that cases are prioritised in courts considering the obligation to victims of sexual offences. He shares statistics on serious offences being listed for trial between now and spring 2021. On employment tribunals, he confirms reaching pre-covid levels due to increased technology use and more allocated funding next year.

Robert Buckland agrees and notes that the court reform programme will continue to improve technology on the court estate, with learning from the use of technology and remote hearings.

Robert Buckland pays tribute to Tony Lloyd's experience as a police and crime commissioner. He provides details about the final roll-out of section 28 cross-examination, allowing for video cross-examinations before trial hearings.

Since August, the period required for possession actions has been increased to six months, ensuring that cases might not complete until towards the end of 2021. Safeguards have been put in place by the judiciary to ensure the interests and rights of tenants are protected.

We are considering reopening courts where buildings are still in the control or ownership of HMCTS and are in a suitable condition. Over 60 courtrooms can be developed across the country as part of phase 3, and cloud video technology has been rolled out to every courtroom.

Since August, the overall number of cases being dealt with has exceeded the number coming into the courts. We are working on the basis that we can return to pre-covid levels by spring to middle of next year.

In the spending review, £43 million was allocated for further covid safety measures in our courts and prisons. A redesign of buildings and use of extra capacity are part of the programme; plexiglass and perspex installations help with social distancing.

Waiting times for digital cases are currently between two and five weeks, whereas paper applications take between four and six weeks. Individual cases are looked at by officials, and we aim to ease the burden on bereaved families.

Judiciary have created a sensible series of practice guidance about how to deal with such cases; individual delay issues could be raised from HM Courts and Tribunals.

Funding has been awarded to 91 rape support centres in England and Wales. An additional £4 million until March 2022 will go towards funding for 120 new independent sexual violence advisers, addressing concerns raised.

I am grateful for raising this matter with me before and will write with as much up-to-date information as possible.

£337 million is being spent on the criminal justice system in the year ahead, addressing not only the covid pressure but also other issues.

The Minister stated that local initiative is crucial and highlighted unique differences between court buildings, noting that Public Health England provides guidance on safety measures.

The Minister confirmed existing protocols for early hearings of child-related cases, noted a reduction in numbers of children in secure settings, and highlighted improvements in education and skills training.

The Minister assured that the principle of judicial review is upheld and indicated ongoing work regarding the Aarhus convention, with a report expected soon.

The Minister acknowledged difficult choices due to financial constraints but noted targeted support for lower-earning individuals, with additional pay increments under consideration.

The Minister confirmed plans to recruit more staff, including 800 already recruited with 200 in training, aimed at reducing backlogs.

The Minister highlighted increased funding for victims' services and ongoing work on liaison and diversion services to address mental health needs.

The Minister acknowledged the recruitment campaign and indicated consideration of findings from a concluded consultation on retirement ages.

The Minister praised Devon and Cornwall Police, noting joint work between the Home Office and Ministry of Justice on practical solutions for video remand hearings.

The Minister reassured the House that no cases are actually listed for 2023, with listings to 2022 and plans to reduce backlogs in the year ahead.

I thank my hon. Friend for taking such an interest in the magistrates’ retirement age. I undertake that I will work in a way that means we may dovetail our separate efforts with regard to his private Member’s Bill. I will come back to him before then. With regard to my colleagues and friends at the Bar, a consultation is going on about covid operating hours to allow the courts to sit for two sittings a day in some court centres. I will await the outcome of the consultation—it is only right for me to do that—but may I appeal to the better angels of our nature on court recovery? Those at the Bar are doing a tremendous job—let us stay positive and stick together, and we will get this sorted.

We are acting. The second phase of the criminal legal aid review will be announced shortly, and the independent review can get on with its important work. I am acutely aware of the issues with regard to criminal defence solicitors—the problem predates 2010, I am afraid to tell the hon. Gentleman—but I want to ensure that we have a viable market and that solicitors and barristers are paid properly for the actual work that they are doing. That is why we need an update in the system.

I pay tribute to the Donovan Trust and my hon. Friend’s work with it. I am a big supporter of restorative justice, but it needs to be victim-led. It is important that any decisions with regard to it very much involve the victims first, rather than it becoming some sort of pro forma, which would be a negation of what restorative justice should be about. It needs to be meaningful, and that is what I believe will continue to happen right through this crisis and beyond.

I refer the hon. Lady exactly to my response to the hon. and learned Member for Edinburgh South West (Joanna Cherry), who asked a question in very similar terms. The hon. Lady is right to ask that, and we do take that obligation extremely seriously indeed and are working to meet it at all times.

My hon. Friend takes a keen interest in such matters. He is absolutely right to talk about a reduction in violence. Clearly, we need to look maturely and carefully at the overall impact of what has happened in our prisons. It is clear to me that we are working hard in this second wave to ensure purposeful activity and meaningful exercise, as well as more educational opportunities. Looking to get the balance right and ensuring that prisoners feel safe is our No. 1 priority.

I urge the hon. Gentleman to look at the evidence. We have carried out the building of Wellingborough Prison on time and on budget, and despite covid work is beginning at Glen Parva. We have a very refined and standardised programme, which involves modern methods of construction. I am satisfying myself that those responsible are managing it in a professional way, and these numbers are additional numbers. It is the boldest and biggest prison building programme since Victorian times, and I am satisfied that we have the wherewithal to get this done, and that we can give confidence to those in the construction industry who want to get on with it and help us to build the prisons that we need for the future.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. Of course he knows that sentencing guidelines are a matter for the independent Sentencing Council, but he will be delighted to read the sentencing White Paper, which includes further measures to deal with the incarceration of serious violent sexual offenders for longer periods before release. The necessary legislation will follow in the new year to take a range of measures on serious crime, and I know that he and his constituents will be supporting them enthusiastically.

No, it certainly does not. The hon. Gentleman is, I am afraid, wrong when he talks about the figure of 266. What that was about was courtrooms. In fact, it was 250 courtrooms to deal with jury trials. We exceeded that target at the end of October. As I was explaining to my hon. Friend the Chair of the Justice Committee, the overall figure with regard to effective trials, cracked trials and trials that are vacated because of a guilty plea acceptable to the Crown or a plea to the indictment, is now well in excess of 300 a week and is coming back to pre-covid levels. I am not complacent, Madam Deputy Speaker. I have been working daily on this issue and I care as much as everybody else about our courts and prison system, hence the urgency that we have placed upon the work that we are doing.

May I assure the hon. Lady that as a matter of day-to-day practice those issues are very much built in to the system, as is the need to prioritise those cases? She is absolutely right to talk about the problems about witnesses losing heart or victims themselves feeling let down by the system, and that is why we have continued to improve the way in which we use remote technology. The section 28 roll-out is a further measure that will support vulnerable witnesses and victims. I have seen, not only over the past few years, but over many years in practice, a real sea change in how we deal with these sorts of cases. More needs to be done, and the hon. Lady will be glad to know about the increased investment in independent sexual violence advisers, which are a key element in supporting victims of crime right from the beginning of that early police investigation, because it is at that point that often things go horribly wrong for victims of sexual crime, and it is that work that we are going to be doing. We can talk further about this matter, and I would be happy to engage with her directly about it.