Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to address the increase in the remand population across the prison estate.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

We are committed to working with partners across the criminal justice system to effectively manage the growth in the prison remand population, which currently sits at a record high.

On 17 October 2024, we announced plans to allow magistrates’ courts to hand down custodial sentences of up to 12 months for a single triable either way offence – doubling their current powers.

The change will help us bear down on the remand population by ensuring those on remand are tried and sentenced quicker.

This change will help us to better manage the pressure on reception jails and maximise the space across the prison estate, created by SDS40. The Statutory Instrument to increase magistrates’ courts sentencing powers was laid on 28 October 2024 and these changes will come into force on 18 November 2024.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that people engaging in the Single Justice Procedure are aware of the HM Courts and Tribunal Service guidance which states that courts should not issue targets for the number of Single Justice cases that must be completed.

Answered by Heidi Alexander - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Courts have been reminded that no targets have been set for the number of cases to be completed in a session.

Listing is a judicial responsibility and function. Local Judicial Business Groups decide how much work is assigned to court hearings, including Single Justice Procedure (SJP) sessions. If a magistrate does not complete the cases allocated to a SJP session, the cases can be picked up in a subsequent session.

The Government has listened to the concerns raised on SJP and as a first step has asked HM Courts and Tribunals to redesign the SJP Notice. We will also be calling in SJP prosecutors to discuss ways in which we could ensure public interest is considered by them in advance of making prosecutions. The SJP is vital for the efficient running of the magistrates court. However, it must operate fairly and effectively. We will not tolerate poor practice, and we will not hesitate to fundamentally reform the system if that is required.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has had discussions with the Magistrates Association on reports of the use of targets for the number of Single Justice Procedures completed.

Answered by Heidi Alexander - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Magistrates are free to take as long as they need when making decisions on any criminal case, including those dealt with under the Single Justice Procedure (SJP). There is no set target for the number of cases decided in an SJP session and courts have been reminded of this.

We have not discussed this matter with the Magistrates’ Association.