Courts and Tribunals Bill
Debate between Baroness Hamwee and Lord John of Southwark
Committee stage
Tuesday 10th November 2026
Read Full debate Courts and Tribunals Bill 2024-26 View all Courts and Tribunals Bill 2024-26 Debates Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts Amendment Paper: HL Bill 57-I(b) Amendments for Committee (Supplementary to the Marshalled List) - (10 Nov 2026)
Tuesday 10th November 2026
(2 days, 19 hours ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Courts and Tribunals Bill 2024-26 View all Courts and Tribunals Bill 2024-26 Debates Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts Amendment Paper: HL Bill 57-I(b) Amendments for Committee (Supplementary to the Marshalled List) - (10 Nov 2026)
Lord John of Southwark (Lab)
My Lords, while I have sympathy for Amendments 7 and 3, my concern is that this simply adds another layer of backlog or chaos to the Crown Court system, which we are trying to eliminate. Appeals going from the magistrates’ court to the Crown Court are bound to take some time, delay the decision on where that case should sit and therefore delay justice again in that case. How does the noble Baroness propose that those additional delays are avoided?
Baroness Hamwee (LD)
I am not seeking to instil chaos—at least, no more chaos than there may be at the moment. It is a question of the balance between speed and fairness, appropriateness—any of those nouns. I do not think that everything should be subsumed to speed.