Oral Answers to Questions

Edward Leigh Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

9. Whether the Attorney General has advised the Lord Chancellor on the potential impact of the Courts and Tribunals Bill on the rule of law.

[Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

10. Whether the Attorney General has advised the Lord Chancellor on the potential impact of the Courts and Tribunals Bill on the rule of law.

[The Solicitor General (Ellie Reeves)]

The Government’s reforms will focus on delivering faster and fairer justice for victims. That includes removing the presumption of parental involvement to prioritise what is in the best interests of children after tireless campaigning by Claire Throssell, whose two sons, Jack and Paul, were killed by their father after their parents’ separation. Reforms also include strengthening the use of special measures and preventing the misuse of evidence to unfairly undermine victims in court.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Solicitor General]

Let me say something about confidence. Victims are waiting three years, in some cases, for their rape case to get to court because of the backlogs we inherited from the last Conservative Government—that is not confidence in the justice system. That is why these reforms are necessary. We are clearing up the mess that the previous Government left us.

[Sir Edward Leigh]

It is obviously outrageous that rape victims have to wait three years—we all accept that, and we have heard moving testimony on that. The problem is that the Institute for Government has found that abolishing jury trials may only get these rape trials on a week earlier. The Labour manifesto promised specialist rape courts. Why does the Solicitor General not take action by setting up specialist rape courts and paying lawyers properly to undertake the work, so we can deal with this backlog now?

[The Solicitor General]

The right hon. Gentleman will be aware that listing is a matter for the judiciary, but one proposal is a national listing framework to ensure that cases are listed as soon as possible. We are committed to supporting victims of rape and serious sexual violence. That is why we launched our landmark strategy in December to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. It is why we are investing over half a billion pounds in victim support services, including for victims of rape and serious sexual violence.