Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many crown courts and magistrates’ courts there are in each of the boroughs in West Midlands County; and what is the case backlog in each of those courts.

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

Table 1 - Crown Court open cases in West Midlands by court (December 2025)

Table 2 - Magistrates’ courts open cases in West Midlands by court (December 2025)

notes

1) Open cases are those without a final result record. At the Crown Court this excludes cases where one or more defendants is absent and have a live bench warrant.
2) Court location relates to where a case was first received.

3) * signifies magistrates’ courts which have permanently closed. Open cases for these courts will have been transferred to other courts but workload will continue to be reported under the initial location.

The Crown Court backlog currently stands at over 80,000 cases and, without decisive action, would rise to 100,000 by 2028. Behind each of those cases is someone awaiting justice – defendants seeking to clear their name and victims putting their lives on hold. The record and rising Crown Court caseload means that thousands of victims and witnesses are waiting years for their day in court. Justice delayed is justice denied and the status quo is unacceptable.

That is why we asked Sir Brian Leveson, one of our most distinguished judges, to conduct an independent review of the criminal justice system and make recommendations for the modernisation of the system and ways to tackle the backlog. His expert panel gathered evidence over many months. They concluded that reform is essential alongside additional investment in sitting days and the workforce, and a programme of efficiencies. Part 1 of the Review set out a blueprint for pragmatic structural reform in our criminal courts and made clear that action across all aspects of the criminal justice process is needed. Reform, investment and modernisation are all necessary to ensure that our courts deliver justice effectively and efficiently.

The Government has already invested significantly in the system – in record sitting days (increasing judicial capacity), court buildings and technology, and in legal professionals with significant investment in legal aid. However, these investments in growing the workforce, whilst vital, will take years to take effect.

The Government is committed to doing whatever is necessary to deliver swifter justice for victims. Only by pulling every lever we have – investment, efficiency and reform – can we turn the tide on the backlog and begin to deliver faster and fairer justice.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current specifications for police body armour, with regard to (1) protection against ballistics, and (2) long term stress injuries arising from design and weight.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Home Office body armour standards, including for ballistic protection, are developed using expert scientific advice and in line with police operational requirements to ensure that body armour does not place an unnecessary burden on officers while protecting them.

Body armour certified to Home Office standards is rigorously and independently tested to ensure it meets the highest safety standards, based on operational requirements.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current position of the contract for the new vessels for UK Border Force.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

I refer my noble friend to the answer to question HL14258 tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Beamish, on 4th February 2026.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their procurement policy regarding priority for British produced chicken in food and catering contracts.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is open to considering all lawful means of achieving its ambition that half of all food purchased across the public sector should be locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards.

The Government wants British farmers and producers to be well‑placed to bid for a fair share of the £5 billion spent each year on public sector food and catering contracts.

The Government has already published a new national procurement policy statement.

It sets expectations for Government contracts to favour products certified to high environmental standards that we think high-quality British producers are well-placed to meet.

Given the limited information on the origin and sustainability of food in the public sector supply chain, Defra has begun collecting new data to understand how far public sector settings are serving food, including chicken, from local and sustainable sources and what further action is needed.

Found: Hunter of Auchenreoch; Lord Marland; Baroness Mobarik; Baroness Northover; Lord Oates; Lord Peach; Lord Spellar