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 Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the impartiality of its review into the impact of smartphones on teenagers.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In December 2024, DSIT launched a feasibility study on methods and data to research the impact of smartphones and social media on children. DSIT awarded the contract through an impartial tender process, which required all bids to declare any conflicts of interest. The winning bid was submitted by a consortium of academics with extensive published, peer-reviewed research on the topic, from nine of the UK’s leading universities. Following scientific best practice, the research team pre-published the details of their evidence synthesis, which is available here: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42025641338.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the shortfall in clinical psychologists; and whether he plans to provide additional funding for clinical psychology training places in the next financial year.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.
Clinical psychologists are an essential component of the NHS workforce. NHS England’s workforce growth commitment has included significant investment to double the number of NHS commissioned Doctorate in Clinical Psychology training places since 2019/20 to just under 1,100 places in 2024. It is expected this level of commissions will be sustained in the 2025/26 financial year.
However, we know that the NHS has been facing workforce shortages for a number of years and, while there has been growth in the mental health workforce over recent years, more is needed. That is why, as part of our mission to build an NHS that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, the Government will recruit 8,500 mental health workers to help ease pressure on busy mental health services.
We are working with NHS England to consider options to deliver this commitment alongside the refresh of the Long Term Workforce Plan, which will revolve around the three shifts to deliver our 10 Year Plan, specifically: moving more care from hospitals to communities; making better use of technology in health and care; and focusing on preventing sickness, not just treating it.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2025 to Question 28573 on Brain: Tumours, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including grading in the national cancer plan to help improve (a) treatment and (b) outcomes for brain tumour patients.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are currently limited treatment options available for people who have been diagnosed with brain tumours, at any grade. The Government has invested in new lifesaving and life-improving research, supporting those diagnosed and living with brain tumours.
In September 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) announced new research funding opportunities for brain cancer research, spanning both adult and paediatric populations. This includes a national NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium, to ensure the most promising research opportunities are made available to adult and child patients and a new funding call to generate high quality evidence in brain tumour care, support, and rehabilitation.
The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for all cancer patients including those with brain tumours. However, we do not expect to consider the grading of brain tumours as part of the National Cancer Plan.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of when the NHS will be able to meet the target of 92% of people waiting for elective mental health treatment waiting no longer than 18 weeks from referral to their first treatment.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The overall elective waiting list stands at 7.48 million patient pathways, with over six million people waiting. We are committed to putting patients first, making sure that patients are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care.
As set out in the Government’s Plan for Change, we will ensure that 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015. This includes those patients waiting for mental health services where a referral is made to a medical consultant-led mental health service. The majority of National Health Service mental health care is outside the scope of the elective waiting list and the referral to treatment 18-week constitutional standard.
We know that too many people with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they need, which is why we will fix the broken system to ensure that mental health is given the same attention and focus as physical health, so that people can be confident in accessing high quality mental health support when they need it. We will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to reduce delays and provide faster treatment, which will also help ease pressure on hospitals.
The NHS Planning Guidance 2025/26 includes objectives to increase the number of children and young people accessing services to achieve the national ambition for 345,000 additional children and young people aged zero to 25 years old compared to 2019, and to reduce 12 hour accident and emergency waits. We will also ensure every young person has access to a mental health professional at school, and will set up Young Futures hubs in communities, offering open access mental health services for young people.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on allocations for the Bus Service Improvement Plan.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government has allocated £670 million in Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding in the financial year 2025 to 2026. BSIP funding is allocated directly to local transport authorities in England.
On 18 December 2024, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced an additional £515 million in support for local authorities (including combined authorities) in England to mitigate the additional impact of the increase in employer National Insurance Contributions on their budgets, including their transport budgets. More information can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/updated-explanatory-note-on-the-employer-national-insurance-contribution-grant-2025-to-2026.