Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of lengthy court delays on victims of sexual offences.

Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government inherited a record court backlog, and we recognise the impact that long waits for trials may have on victims of sexual violence. We are committed to tackling the outstanding caseload to improve timeliness: we have already doubled magistrates’ sentencing powers, so that Crown Courts can focus on the most serious cases and this year we have funded a record-high allocation of 110,000 Crown Court sitting days to tackle the outstanding caseload and delays. The record number of sitting days we have funded will mean more rape and other sexual offence cases can be heard.

We recognise victims are impacted when trials do not proceed as planned. The National Witness Service provides support on the day of trial. This may include giving explanations for any delays. Pre-trial, victims can receive support from Victim Liaison Officers, or from Ministry of Justice funded victim support services, throughout the criminal justice journey.

Judicial initiatives to expedite rape and other sexual offence cases are already taking place at a local level, for example, in Bristol and Guilford. The judiciary already prioritise cases involving vulnerable victims and witnesses, which includes victims of rape.

However, it is clear that we must go further and do things differently if we are to deliver swifter justice and long-lasting change for victims.  That is why the Government asked Sir Brian Leveson to chair an Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, to propose once-in-a-generation reform to deliver swifter justice for victims across the board - including for victims of rape and other sexual offences. Part one of the Review has been published. We will carefully consider Sir Brian’s proposals before setting out the Government’s full response in the Autumn.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the problems caused by lengthy court delays on the availability of witnesses and the reliability of evidence.

Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Official Statistics (www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-court-statistics) show that in the period between the end of June 2024 and the end of June 2025, of the 29,341 trials in the Crown Courts, 573 were ineffective due to witness unavailability. This number is down from 673 trials the previous year (June 2023 - June 2024).

This Government inherited a record and rising courts backlog. It is unacceptable that victims and witnesses are waiting years for justice. We are committed to creating a more stable and sustainable criminal justice system, in which victims and the public can have confidence. That is why we took immediate action, funding a record-high allocation of 110,000 Crown Court sitting days this financial year. We have also committed to investing up to £92 million more a year in criminal legal aid solicitors and boosted Magistrates’ sentencing powers from 6 to 12 months.

However, fundamental reform is necessary. That is why the previous Lord Chancellor asked Sir Brian Leveson to propose once-in-a-generation reform that will improve timeliness in the courts and deliver swifter justice for victims.

Part one of the Independent Review of Criminal Courts has now been published. We are carefully considering Sir Brian’s proposals and will publish a government response in due course, then introduce legislation when parliamentary time allows. Part two of the Review, considering how the criminal courts can operate as efficiently as possible, is expected to be finalised later this year.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made (1) to establish specialist courts for fast-tracking rape cases, and (2) to appoint legal advocates to provide free legal advice and support to rape survivors.

Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government has funded a record number of court sitting days, so that prosecutions, including of rape and other sexual offences, can be heard more efficiently. We commissioned Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts to improve timeliness for victims, and we continue carefully to consider how we can deliver our manifesto commitment to fast-track rape cases.  Alongside this, judicial initiatives to expedite rape and other sexual offence cases are already taking place at a local level – for example, in Bristol and Guildford, and the judiciary already prioritise cases involving vulnerable victims and witnesses, which will include victims of rape.

The Government also continues work on our manifesto commitment to introduce free independent legal advice for adult rape victims.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many officials (1) in total, and (2) in number of full-time equivalent staff, have been involved in supporting the promoters of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in the Ministry of Justice since November 2020.

Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The number of full-time equivalent staff involved in providing technical drafting support and workability advice to the Sponsors of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has fluctuated since January 2025. As of 1 September 2025, there were 3.7 full-time equivalent (FTE) officials in the Ministry of Justice.

Where required, contributions on specific issues may have been sought from other teams; however, the FTE cannot be accurately quantified for these issues.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average time for the First-tier Tribunal Property Chamber to consider, process and rule upon rent appeal cases brought by tenants.

Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

HM Courts & Tribunals Service does not hold the requested information centrally. To obtain this data would require a detailed analysis of the individual case records, which could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many meetings ministers in the Ministry of Justice have had with promoters of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill since November 2020.

Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Ministers in the Ministry of Justice have had 12 meetings with the Sponsors of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Kim Leadbeater MP and Lord Falconer of Thoroton).

Change the minimum penalty so anyone convicted of death by dangerous driving faces a lifetime driving ban. Dangerous driving includes drinking/drugs, using mobile phone, excessive speeding. This selfish behaviour endangers lives and we think it must have severe, permanent consequences.

Every day another person is raped or sexually assaulted resulting in physical and emotional trauma, in some cases transmission of diseases or unwanted pregnancy.

We want the Government to review the court system in order to better prioritise and protect victims of rape and sexual abuse by preventing postponements of trial start dates. Victims can be left in limbo for months or years, which can cause further trauma and deny timely justice.

We urge the Government to review time limits for work injury claims which considers extending limits. We believe when someone is injured, their priority is recovery, not filing a claim. People may not realise the injury's severity and could be misdiagnosed.

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) is meant to hold police forces accountable. Yet we feel its current structure allows serving or former officers, and elected officials with close ties to law enforcement, to oversee misconduct investigations involving their own colleagues

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many full-time equivalent officials have been working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (1) in total, and (2) in each Department.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The number of officials providing technical drafting support and workability advice to the Sponsors of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has fluctuated since January 2025. As of 1 September 2025, there were 11.8 full-time equivalent (FTE) officials in the Department of Health and Social Care. Additionally, 3.1 FTE officials from the Ministry of Justice, 3.2 FTE officials from the Government Legal Department, and 1.8 FTE officials from Cabinet Office were supporting this team, also counted as of 1 September 2025. The total FTE for officials working on the Bill as of 1 September 2025 was 19.9.

Where needed contributions on specific, individual, technical issues have been sought from other teams, but the FTE cannot be accurately quantified for these issues.

Found: cross-government working group to support collaboration, including, but not limited to, the Ministry of Justice

Found: Joan Lewis, Deputy Director, Management Accounting and Synergy Finance Programme Director, Ministry of Justice

Found: A full justice impact test for this proposal will be conducted and agreed with Ministry of Justice.

Found: NIO HR policies are aligned with MOJ HR policies, all of which are screened & assessed

Found: Work and Pensions • Department for Science, Innovation and Technology • Ministry of Defence • Ministry of Justice

Found: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is determined to change the justice system to support families to resolve

Found: address data, all dates and categories provided in this release correspond directly to those used in the MOJ

Found: Bill, contributed to several meetings of the ERG, and with Ministry of Justice.

Found: The Welsh Government submitted a Justice System Impact Identification Form to the Ministry of Justice