Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the reasons for which the number of cases that have been declared ineffective as a result of poor case preparation has increased since 2021; and what steps she is taking to help support the sector in reducing this.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Official Statistics (Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly) show that in 2024, of the 31,158 trials in the Crown Courts, 665 trials were ineffective due to witness unavailability and 1,637 trials were ineffective due to defendant unavailability. These figures should be interpreted with caution, as they encompass instances of illness, situations where Prisoner Escort and Custody Services lack capacity and cases involving misinformed defendants. Data on trials that have overran is not held by the Ministry of Justice.
The judiciary, supported by the Ministry of Justice and HMCTS, is committed to driving down the ineffective trial rate. Since 2023 trends have been improving, and the proportion of ineffective trials in Crown Courts has reduced from 27% in 2023 to 25% in 2024.
To improve court case efficiencies, the Ministry of Justice and HMCTS are currently testing a newly formed “Case Coordinator” role in Crown Courts as a proof-of-concept. The role is designed to improve adherence to the principles of Better Case Management. Case Coordinators are a dedicated senior case progression resource, handling cases from receipt through to disposal with a strong focus on early case management and trials. Case Coordinators work with the CPS, defence, and other relevant parties to help ensure timetables are kept, responsibilities and judicial orders are abided by, and parties are prepared for hearings and trials. The ambition is that the Case Coordinator role will lead to fewer ineffective hearings and trials, fewer cracked trials, and overall, less wasted court time. The impact of role will be evaluated in Autumn 2025, once the pilot has concluded.
We welcome this progress, but further work is needed to reduce ineffective trials. The Lord Chancellor has appointed Sir Brian Leveson to conduct an Independent Review of the Criminal Courts. Phase 2 of the review will consider the efficiency and timeliness of processes of the criminal courts through charge to conviction or acquittal.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to reduce the frequency of ineffective trials that occur as a result of (a) witness and (b) defendant unavailability.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Official Statistics (Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly) show that in 2024, of the 31,158 trials in the Crown Courts, 665 trials were ineffective due to witness unavailability and 1,637 trials were ineffective due to defendant unavailability. These figures should be interpreted with caution, as they encompass instances of illness, situations where Prisoner Escort and Custody Services lack capacity and cases involving misinformed defendants. Data on trials that have overran is not held by the Ministry of Justice.
The judiciary, supported by the Ministry of Justice and HMCTS, is committed to driving down the ineffective trial rate. Since 2023 trends have been improving, and the proportion of ineffective trials in Crown Courts has reduced from 27% in 2023 to 25% in 2024.
To improve court case efficiencies, the Ministry of Justice and HMCTS are currently testing a newly formed “Case Coordinator” role in Crown Courts as a proof-of-concept. The role is designed to improve adherence to the principles of Better Case Management. Case Coordinators are a dedicated senior case progression resource, handling cases from receipt through to disposal with a strong focus on early case management and trials. Case Coordinators work with the CPS, defence, and other relevant parties to help ensure timetables are kept, responsibilities and judicial orders are abided by, and parties are prepared for hearings and trials. The ambition is that the Case Coordinator role will lead to fewer ineffective hearings and trials, fewer cracked trials, and overall, less wasted court time. The impact of role will be evaluated in Autumn 2025, once the pilot has concluded.
We welcome this progress, but further work is needed to reduce ineffective trials. The Lord Chancellor has appointed Sir Brian Leveson to conduct an Independent Review of the Criminal Courts. Phase 2 of the review will consider the efficiency and timeliness of processes of the criminal courts through charge to conviction or acquittal.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of trials overran in 2024.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Official Statistics (Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly) show that in 2024, of the 31,158 trials in the Crown Courts, 665 trials were ineffective due to witness unavailability and 1,637 trials were ineffective due to defendant unavailability. These figures should be interpreted with caution, as they encompass instances of illness, situations where Prisoner Escort and Custody Services lack capacity and cases involving misinformed defendants. Data on trials that have overran is not held by the Ministry of Justice.
The judiciary, supported by the Ministry of Justice and HMCTS, is committed to driving down the ineffective trial rate. Since 2023 trends have been improving, and the proportion of ineffective trials in Crown Courts has reduced from 27% in 2023 to 25% in 2024.
To improve court case efficiencies, the Ministry of Justice and HMCTS are currently testing a newly formed “Case Coordinator” role in Crown Courts as a proof-of-concept. The role is designed to improve adherence to the principles of Better Case Management. Case Coordinators are a dedicated senior case progression resource, handling cases from receipt through to disposal with a strong focus on early case management and trials. Case Coordinators work with the CPS, defence, and other relevant parties to help ensure timetables are kept, responsibilities and judicial orders are abided by, and parties are prepared for hearings and trials. The ambition is that the Case Coordinator role will lead to fewer ineffective hearings and trials, fewer cracked trials, and overall, less wasted court time. The impact of role will be evaluated in Autumn 2025, once the pilot has concluded.
We welcome this progress, but further work is needed to reduce ineffective trials. The Lord Chancellor has appointed Sir Brian Leveson to conduct an Independent Review of the Criminal Courts. Phase 2 of the review will consider the efficiency and timeliness of processes of the criminal courts through charge to conviction or acquittal.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many trials were deemed ineffective because of (a) witness and (b) defendant unavailability in 2024.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Official Statistics (Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly) show that in 2024, of the 31,158 trials in the Crown Courts, 665 trials were ineffective due to witness unavailability and 1,637 trials were ineffective due to defendant unavailability. These figures should be interpreted with caution, as they encompass instances of illness, situations where Prisoner Escort and Custody Services lack capacity and cases involving misinformed defendants. Data on trials that have overran is not held by the Ministry of Justice.
The judiciary, supported by the Ministry of Justice and HMCTS, is committed to driving down the ineffective trial rate. Since 2023 trends have been improving, and the proportion of ineffective trials in Crown Courts has reduced from 27% in 2023 to 25% in 2024.
To improve court case efficiencies, the Ministry of Justice and HMCTS are currently testing a newly formed “Case Coordinator” role in Crown Courts as a proof-of-concept. The role is designed to improve adherence to the principles of Better Case Management. Case Coordinators are a dedicated senior case progression resource, handling cases from receipt through to disposal with a strong focus on early case management and trials. Case Coordinators work with the CPS, defence, and other relevant parties to help ensure timetables are kept, responsibilities and judicial orders are abided by, and parties are prepared for hearings and trials. The ambition is that the Case Coordinator role will lead to fewer ineffective hearings and trials, fewer cracked trials, and overall, less wasted court time. The impact of role will be evaluated in Autumn 2025, once the pilot has concluded.
We welcome this progress, but further work is needed to reduce ineffective trials. The Lord Chancellor has appointed Sir Brian Leveson to conduct an Independent Review of the Criminal Courts. Phase 2 of the review will consider the efficiency and timeliness of processes of the criminal courts through charge to conviction or acquittal.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to support prisoner transport services in ensuring prisoners are able to get to court in time for their trial.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Prisoner Escort and Custody Service (PECS), which is part of His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS), provides Ministers with regular updates on performance against delivery targets.
Over the 12 months to February 2025, PECS contractual monthly performance has been over 99.8%. It is recognised that there are many factors that can lead to trials being delayed, and that the efficient running of the criminal justice system requires a whole-system approach.
In addition to initiatives to improve outcomes at local level, HMPPS works with criminal justice partners through its Strategic Partnership Board, which includes representatives from His Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service and the police, as well as the contractors which deliver PECS services, to ensure that prisoners get to court on time, and that courts are prepared for their arrival.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many delays there have been in fitting sobriety tags longer than (a) one, (b) seven, (c) 14 and (d) 28 days in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The table below illustrates the proportional duration of fitting alcohol orders by month of order start date, from November 2023 to October 2024. This includes both AAMR tag and AML tag.
Up until May 2024, the electronic monitoring service was delivered by Capita. Serco took on the service on 1 May 2024. Provider performance was poor either side of the transfer and there has been a backlog of visits under Serco.
Ministers have been clear that Serco’s performance has been unacceptable and contractual penalties have been levied against them as a result.
Frequency Distribution of Durations of Tag Fit Time for Alcohol Tags by Month (November 2023 – October 2024)
| Days | |||||
Date | 1 day or less | 2 to 7 days | 8 to 14 days | 15 to 28 days | 28 days+ |
|
Nov 23 | 14% | 48% | 16% | 12% | 9% |
|
Dec 23 | 21% | 39% | 11% | 11% | 18% |
|
Jan 24 | 16% | 37% | 8% | 14% | 25% |
|
Feb 24 | 25% | 35% | 8% | 14% | 19% |
|
Mar 24 | 19% | 33% | 12% | 22% | 14% |
|
Apr 24 | 22% | 35% | 10% | 14% | 19% |
|
May 24 | 13% | 26% | 10% | 25% | 25% |
|
Jun 24 | 13% | 34% | 17% | 19% | 17% |
|
Jul 24 | 22% | 42% | 15% | 14% | 8% |
|
Aug 24 | 23% | 39% | 13% | 14% | 10% |
|
Sep 24 | 21% | 32% | 16% | 19% | 11% |
|
Oct 24 | 29% | 42% | 15% | 14% | 1% |
|
Proportion | 20% | 36% | 13% | 16% | 15% |
|
Notes
These figures are drawn from administrative data systems provided by contractors. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent.
These figures exclude those who had not had a tag fitted at the point the underlying files were generated. An individual subject to an AM order may not have a tag fitted for a number of reasons, including being recalled.
The tag fit time has been derived by subtracting the first date the data appears as tagged on the caseload file, as compared to the order start date. Where AMS is notified late of an order, the difference between the order start date and the date the tag is fitted is not an accurate reflection of contractor performance.
Data provided for the period November 2023 to October 2024 as this represents the latest available data.
Monitored individuals are unique individuals with a live EM order and with an alcohol device (AAMR or AML) fitted.
Alcohol monitoring cannot be used for those under 18.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the (a) recall and (b) reoffending rates are for offenders who have been released under the SDS40 scheme since September 2024.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The number of people who have been recalled or have reoffended following release under the early release measure (SDS40) forms a subset of prison releases data which is scheduled for future publication. In accordance with the requirements of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, we may not give any early indication of the contents of this statistical report.
General reoffending rates are published regularly on an annual and quarterly basis. The most recent rates are available at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/collections/proven-reoffending-statistics.
General recall statistics are published regularly on a quarterly basis. The most recent statistics are available at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2024 to Question HL2063 on Prisoners' Release: Electronic Tagging, how many SDS40 prisoners requiring electronic tags were released without those tags; and what the average number of days was before those prisoners were fitted with tags.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
1,889 prisoners were released on day one of tranche 1 and 1,223 were released on day one of tranche 2 of SDS40 releases. All visits for the installation of tags for these offenders were completed by 4 November.
To provide the number of people who did not have a tag fitted following release under the early release measure (SDS40) may give an indication of the number of people released under SDS40 to date, which forms a subset of prison releases data which is scheduled for future publication.
In accordance with the requirements of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, we may not give any early indication of the contents of this statistical report.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2024 to Question HL2063 on Prisoners' Release: Electronic Tagging, how many visits for tag installation for SDS40 releases did not result in the offender being tagged.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
1,889 prisoners were released on day one of tranche 1 and 1,223 were released on day one of tranche 2 of SDS40 releases. All visits for the installation of tags for these offenders were completed by 4 November.
To provide the number of people who did not have a tag fitted following release under the early release measure (SDS40) may give an indication of the number of people released under SDS40 to date, which forms a subset of prison releases data which is scheduled for future publication.
In accordance with the requirements of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, we may not give any early indication of the contents of this statistical report.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of offenders released from prison under the standard determinate sentence (SDS40) release scheme were (a) released in error and (b) subsequently recalled since September 2024.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
This Government inherited a criminal justice system on the brink of collapse and was therefore forced on 10 September 2024, to take the unavoidable step to move certain release points from 50% to 40%, with an initial tranche of eligible offenders released on this date, and a second tranche released on 22 October 2024.
There was an issue with a repealed Breach of Restraining Order offence which meant that some offenders were released in error in the first tranche because they were incorrectly sentenced. This affected 37 offenders and this specific cohort were all returned to custody. All prisoners in custody with this offence recorded against them were reviewed to ensure there were no further releases in error.
The number of people who have been recalled following release under the emergency measure (SDS40) forms a subset of prison releases data which is scheduled for future publication. In accordance with the requirements of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, we may not give any early indication of the contents of these statistical reports.