Courts and Tribunals Bill 2024-26

Make provision in relation to criminal courts in England and Wales; to make provision about the leadership of tribunals; to amend section 1 of the Children Act 1989 to remove the presumption relating to the involvement of parents in the life of a child; and for connected purposes.

Government Bill

(Ministry of Justice)

What is this Bill?

The Courts and Tribunals Bill is a Government Bill tabled by a Minister of the Crown.

Is this Bill currently before Parliament?

Yes. This Bill was introduced on 25 February 2026 and is currently before Parliament.

Whose idea is this Bill?

Government Bills implement the legislative agenda of the Government. This agenda, and the Bills that will implement it, are outlined in the Queen's Speech at the Session's State Opening of Parliament.

What type of Bill is this?

Government Bills are technically Presentation Bills, but the Government can use its legislative time to ensure the schedule of debates to scrutinise the Bill.

So is this going to become a law?

Though the Bill can be amended from its original form, the Bill will almost certainly be enacted in law before the end of the Session, or will be carried over to the subsequent Session.

How can I find out exactly what this Bill does?

The most straightforward information is contained in the initial Explanatory Notes for the Bill.

Would you like to know more?

See these Glossary articles for more information: Government Bills, Process of a Bill

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Official Bill Page Initial Explanatory Notes Initial Briefing papers Ministerial Extracts from Debates All Bill Debates

Next Event: Tuesday 14th April 2026 - Committee stage

Last Event: Wednesday 25th March 2026 - Committee stage: 1st sitting (Commons)

11 Amendments have been proposed for this Bill

View Amendments

Bill Progession through Parliament

Commons - 60%

Latest Key documents

Bill Debate

25/03/2026

Committee stage

Bill

25/02/2026

Bill 389 2024-26 (as introduced)

Briefing paper

06/03/2026

Courts and Tribunals Bill 2024-26

Explanatory Note

25/02/2026

Bill 389 EN 2024-26

Impact Assessment

25/02/2026

Non-IRCC Impact assessment from the Ministry of Justice

Timeline of Bill Documents and Stages

16th April 2026

Committee stage (Commons)

14th April 2026

Committee stage (Commons)

27th March 2026

Amendment Paper

Notices of Amendments as at 27 March 2026

Sarah Sackman (Lab) - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Tabled: 27 Mar 2026
Notices of Amendments as at 27 March 2026
This amendment was No Decision

Clause 6, page 16, line 2, at end insert—
“( ) in subsection (1)—
(i) after “imposes” insert “, in respect of two or more offences,”;
(ii) for the words from “exceed” to the end substitute
“exceed—
(a) where each of the offences is a summary offence, 6 months;
(b) in any other case, the longest term that could be imposed in respect of any one of the offences”;”

Explanatory Text

The effect of this amendment is that, where a magistrates’ court imposes two or more terms of imprisonment or detention in a young offender institution to run consecutively, and the offences in question are all summary offences, the aggregate of the terms may not exceed 6 months.

Sarah Sackman (Lab) - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Tabled: 27 Mar 2026
Notices of Amendments as at 27 March 2026
This amendment was No Decision

Clause 6, page 16, line 13, leave out “paragraph” and insert “paragraphs 16(a) and”

Explanatory Text

This amendment is consequential on amendment 10.

26th March 2026