The Ministry of Justice appears unwilling to move on providing more free court transcripts amid calls for transcripts for all trials to be made freely available to parliamentarians.
Asked by Liberal Democrat MP Manuela Perteghella what steps are being taken to reduce the cost of court transcripts for victims, justice minister Heidi Alexander said in a written ministerial response last week that free transcripts of sentencing remarks are offered in some circumstances and the government is piloting extending this to victims of rape and serious sexual offences.
Alexander acknowledged transcripts can help people to ‘obtain closure on traumatic events’ but said transcripts must be 100% accurate and ‘anyone who has used voice dictation technology will know mistakes can be made’.
Alexander would keep the matter under review ‘but have to balance costs against many other competing priorities within the court budget’.
Two days after her response, Conservative MP David Davis told parliament he was quoted £100,000 for a transcript of the Lucy Letby trial at Manchester Crown Court. That figure fell to £9,000, which Davis pointed out was still unaffordable, and said it was ‘absolutely critical that parliamentarians can have free access to this kind of data’.
Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said Davis was not the only MP with concerns about transcript costs and would ask the house authorities to look into the matter. ‘The outrageous amount of £100,000 prohibits members of parliament from carrying out their duty on behalf of their constituents,’ Hoyle added.
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