Juries: Hearing Impairment
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of data collection on (a) deaf jurors and (b) jurors with other protected characteristics within jury service records.
Answered by Sarah Sackman
Since the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act came into force in 2022, there have been 84 bookings made for BSL interpreters to assist a deaf juror in deliberations.
HMCTS collects a range of information to support the administration of jury service and to fulfil its Public Sector Equality Duty, and this is regularly reviewed to ensure it is robust and proportionate. Information on adjustments made for individual jurors is not held centrally.
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