Courts and Tribunals Bill

Debate between Paulette Hamilton and Pam Cox

2nd reading
Tuesday 10th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Paulette Hamilton (Birmingham Erdington) (Lab)]

I rise to speak on a Bill that is both necessary and difficult. Let me start by saying that I support its intention to tackle a Crown court backlog that has more than doubled since the pandemic, leaving victims waiting years for justice. Let us be clear what the backlog means: as the Victims’ Commissioner has warned, some trials are now listed for 2030. The bench division serves a purpose by enabling judge-alone trials for lower level cases, which means we can free up capacity and expect hearings to take about 20% less time.

I represent Birmingham Erdington, a working-class constituency with a proud and diverse ethnic minority community. It is from the perspective of my constituents that I must scrutinise this Bill.

Clause 3 removes a defendant’s right to elect for a jury trial for either-way offences, replacing it with a judge-alone trial in a new bench division for offences likely to attract sentences of three years or less. Crucially, this is not a temporary pilot—it contains no sunset clause. This is a permanent structural change to one of the oldest rights in our justice system. The intention to speed up our justice is honourable, but my concern is about trust and perception.

[Pam Cox]

I very much respect what my hon. Friend is saying, but the right to elect is not an ancient right; it was introduced in 1855 and escaped reforms in the 1970s. It is therefore a relatively recent addition to the judicial armoury.