Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of criminal cases delayed in the legal system; and what is the impact of these delays on the wider criminal justice system and on public trust in the justice system.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Open caseload and cases awaiting trial in England and Wales, and in London.
| Crown – Open Caseload | Crown – Awaiting Trial | Mags – Open Caseload | Mags – Awaiting Trial | ||||
| National | London | National | London | National | London | National | London |
Dec 2024 | 74,651 | 16,075 | 60,375 | 13,258 | 309,838 | 57,666 | 73,567 | 13,887 |
Dec 2023 | 67,317 | 14,413 | 53,506 | 11,951 | 271,962 | 46,473 | 58,174 | 11,006 |
Dec 2022 | 62,670 | 16,218 | 50,848 | 13,671 | 256,674 | 46,743 | 51,779 | 10,884 |
Dec 2021 | 58,550 | 15,722 | 47,723 | 13,298 | 270,649 | 47,753 | 51,023 | 11,659 |
Source: Criminal court statistics quarterly: October to December 2024 - GOV.UK.
Measures to tackle the criminal courts caseload
This government inherited a record and rising crown court backlog. Justice delayed risks becoming justice denied.
For this financial year (25/26), this Government is funding a record allocation of Crown Court sitting days to deliver swifter justice for victims – 110,000 sitting days this year, 4,000 higher than the last Government funded.
As part of our commitment to bearing down on the caseload we have increased magistrates’ court sentencing powers from 6 months to 12 months’ imprisonment for single triable-either way offences. This will free up capacity in the Crown Court, ensuring it is reserved for the more serious and complex cases.
However, the scale of the challenge is beyond what increasing sitting days can achieve. This is why we have commissioned an Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, led by Sir Brian Leveson, to consider the merits of longer-term reform and the efficiency of processes in the criminal courts.
In the meantime, we are piloting dedicated Case Coordinator posts in the Crown Court to see if this can reduce ineffective hearings and trials.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many criminal cases are currently awaiting trial in England and Wales; and what is the comparable figure at this point in each of the last three years.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Open caseload and cases awaiting trial in England and Wales, and in London.
| Crown – Open Caseload | Crown – Awaiting Trial | Mags – Open Caseload | Mags – Awaiting Trial | ||||
| National | London | National | London | National | London | National | London |
Dec 2024 | 74,651 | 16,075 | 60,375 | 13,258 | 309,838 | 57,666 | 73,567 | 13,887 |
Dec 2023 | 67,317 | 14,413 | 53,506 | 11,951 | 271,962 | 46,473 | 58,174 | 11,006 |
Dec 2022 | 62,670 | 16,218 | 50,848 | 13,671 | 256,674 | 46,743 | 51,779 | 10,884 |
Dec 2021 | 58,550 | 15,722 | 47,723 | 13,298 | 270,649 | 47,753 | 51,023 | 11,659 |
Source: Criminal court statistics quarterly: October to December 2024 - GOV.UK.
Measures to tackle the criminal courts caseload
This government inherited a record and rising crown court backlog. Justice delayed risks becoming justice denied.
For this financial year (25/26), this Government is funding a record allocation of Crown Court sitting days to deliver swifter justice for victims – 110,000 sitting days this year, 4,000 higher than the last Government funded.
As part of our commitment to bearing down on the caseload we have increased magistrates’ court sentencing powers from 6 months to 12 months’ imprisonment for single triable-either way offences. This will free up capacity in the Crown Court, ensuring it is reserved for the more serious and complex cases.
However, the scale of the challenge is beyond what increasing sitting days can achieve. This is why we have commissioned an Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, led by Sir Brian Leveson, to consider the merits of longer-term reform and the efficiency of processes in the criminal courts.
In the meantime, we are piloting dedicated Case Coordinator posts in the Crown Court to see if this can reduce ineffective hearings and trials.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many criminal cases are currently awaiting trial in London and how they propose to deal with the backlog in trials.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Open caseload and cases awaiting trial in England and Wales, and in London.
| Crown – Open Caseload | Crown – Awaiting Trial | Mags – Open Caseload | Mags – Awaiting Trial | ||||
| National | London | National | London | National | London | National | London |
Dec 2024 | 74,651 | 16,075 | 60,375 | 13,258 | 309,838 | 57,666 | 73,567 | 13,887 |
Dec 2023 | 67,317 | 14,413 | 53,506 | 11,951 | 271,962 | 46,473 | 58,174 | 11,006 |
Dec 2022 | 62,670 | 16,218 | 50,848 | 13,671 | 256,674 | 46,743 | 51,779 | 10,884 |
Dec 2021 | 58,550 | 15,722 | 47,723 | 13,298 | 270,649 | 47,753 | 51,023 | 11,659 |
Source: Criminal court statistics quarterly: October to December 2024 - GOV.UK.
Measures to tackle the criminal courts caseload
This government inherited a record and rising crown court backlog. Justice delayed risks becoming justice denied.
For this financial year (25/26), this Government is funding a record allocation of Crown Court sitting days to deliver swifter justice for victims – 110,000 sitting days this year, 4,000 higher than the last Government funded.
As part of our commitment to bearing down on the caseload we have increased magistrates’ court sentencing powers from 6 months to 12 months’ imprisonment for single triable-either way offences. This will free up capacity in the Crown Court, ensuring it is reserved for the more serious and complex cases.
However, the scale of the challenge is beyond what increasing sitting days can achieve. This is why we have commissioned an Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, led by Sir Brian Leveson, to consider the merits of longer-term reform and the efficiency of processes in the criminal courts.
In the meantime, we are piloting dedicated Case Coordinator posts in the Crown Court to see if this can reduce ineffective hearings and trials.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Timpson on 7 May (HL6683), what potential prison sites they are considering for the 14,000 new prison places by 2031.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The prison population has nearly doubled in the past three decades, with just 500 extra prison places added in the last 14 years. To put an end to this crisis, the Government confirmed plans to invest £4.7 billion more in prison building, putting the Government on track to open 14,000 places by 2031. This will be the largest expansion of the prison estate since the Victorians. Since July 2024, 2,400 places have already been opened.
As outlined in the December 2024 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy, this Government is committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places through the 20,000 prison place programmes. Delivery will be achieved through the construction of new prisons, the expansion and refurbishment of the existing estate and temporary accommodation. A breakdown of the prison build programmes by region and build type can be found within the Capacity Strategy.
The construction of four new prisons will deliver c.6,500 of the remaining 14,000 places. This includes the recently delivered HMP Millsike, which officially opened in March 2025. It also includes a new prison in Leicestershire which has full planning permission, a new prison in Buckinghamshire which has outline planning permission and a new prison in Lancashire which also has outline planning permission.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that sufficient prison places of appropriate standard are available on the prison estate.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
As set out in the December 2024 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy, the Ministry of Justice is committed to delivering an additional 14,000 modern prison places and aims to do so by 2031. These places will be delivered through the construction of four new prisons, including the recently opened HMP Millsike which will deliver c.1,500 places, as well as the expansion and refurbishment of the existing estate and through temporary accommodation.
We are also investing £220 million in prison and probation service maintenance in 2024-2025 and up to £300 million in 2025-2026. We are committed to undertaking critical maintenance work to allow prisons to hold offenders safely, securely and in decent conditions.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to expand HMP Highpoint.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice is delivering an additional c.700 places at HMP Highpoint through the construction of three four-storey houseblocks and supporting ancillaries. Construction work started at HMP Highpoint in November 2024, with prisoners expected in the new accommodation by the end of 2027.
This expansion programme is being delivered as part of the 20,000 Prison Place Programmes. In the 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy, published in December 2024, the Lord Chancellor committed to delivering the remaining 14,000 places of the programmes, with an aim to complete delivery by 2031.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to locate a prison at Wethersfield in Essex.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice continues to consider all options for delivering additional prison capacity.
Any decision to deliver a prison at Wethersfield will be dependent on planning conditions and a balance of operational and physical factors.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to introduce legislation to repeal section 2(4) of the Law Reform (Personal Injuries) Act 1948 to enable courts to take account of the existence of NHS care when awarding compensation.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government does not have any current plans to either review or repeal section 2(4) of the Law Reform (Personal Injuries) Act 1948. However, the Department of Health and Social Care is currently reviewing a range of options around clinical negligence reform and will announce its position on this in due course.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to combat overcrowding in prisons.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
In prisons where there is overcrowding, a rigorous cell certification process ensures that the use of cells is subject to a formal assessment of safety and decency.
On 16 October 2023, the Lord Chancellor announced additional, longer-term measures to reform the justice system and continue to address the prison capacity challenges. The measures announced include: extending the Early Removal Scheme, introducing a presumption to suspend sentences of 12 months or less, curtailing the license period for IPP sentences and extending the use of Home Detention Curfew.
To meet pressing demand, we are building c.20,000 modern, rehabilitative prison places – the biggest prison build programme since the Victorian era. We have already delivered c.5,900 of these, including through new prisons HMP Five Wells and HMP Fosse Way, and we have been rolling out 1,000 Rapid Deployment Cells across 18 prisons. By the end of 2025, we will have delivered over 10,000 in total.
The Government will continue to carefully monitor demand for prison places so that we can make sure we have the right approach in place to maintain the capacity required for a safe and effective criminal justice system.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many successful prosecutions of people-smugglers there have been in England and Wales in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.