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Prisoner Escorts: Standards

Asked by Mr Toby PerkinsLabourMinistry of JusticeTabled Answered 11 February 2026UIN 109982

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many court days were lost in 2025 due to non-delivery of remanded prisoners to court by courier firms by a) prison held in, b) contracted courier company, c) Crown Court and d) Magistrates court.

Answered by Sarah Sackman

Data on the number of trials declared ineffective due to the non-production of defendants can be found here: Trial effectiveness at the Criminal Courts tool.

In the most recent reported quarter (July to September 2025), non-production of defendants accounted for 2% of ineffective trials in the Crown Court and 4% of ineffective trials in the magistrates’ court.

Securing data on the impact that non-production of defendants has had on sitting time would come at a disproportionate cost, due to the time required to process this information.

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