Robert Jenrick

This Government inherited a record and rising courts backlog. The last government promised to reduce the Crown Court backlog to 53,000 by March 2025. Instead, the backlog increased to 76,957 by March 2025.

We have taken immediate action including funding a record-high allocation of 110,000 Crown Court sitting days this financial year to mitigate the backlog. We committed to investing up to £92 million more a year in criminal legal aid solicitors and boosted Magistrates’ sentencing powers from 6 to 12 months.

However, such steps can only mitigate the growth of the backlog. More fundamental reform is necessary to see the backlog reduce in absolute terms. That is why the Government asked Sir Brian Leveson to propose once-in-a-generation reform that will improve timeliness in the courts and deliver swifter justice for victims.  We are committed to creating a more stable and sustainable criminal justice system, in which victims and the public can have confidence.

Part one of the Independent Review of Criminal Courts has been published. We are considering Sir Brian’s proposals and will publish a government response in short order . Part two of the Review, considering how the criminal courts can operate as efficiently as possible, is expected to be finalised later this year. We intend to introduce legislation in the second session as soon as parliamentary time allows to implement the necessary reforms.

This Government takes prolific offending extremely seriously and we are determined to ensure that the criminal justice system has the right tools to deal with them.

We are expanding the availability of Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the causes of prolific offending. We know these problem-solving approaches cut crime, with a 33 percent decrease in the rate of arrests compared to offenders who receive standard sentences. We are also introducing new orders to hit offenders where it hurts – limiting their freedoms in the community and ensuring punishment outside of prison does exactly that. These will include banning offenders from attending pubs, bars and clubs, as well as public events such as football matches and concerts.

For more serious prolific offending, we are clear that custody has a crucial role to play as a robust backstop, within the maximum penalties set out in statute. Previous convictions are a statutory aggravating factor and Sentencing Guidelines are clear that sentencers must consider the nature and relevance of previous convictions.

The information requested is provided in the tables attached and includes further notes.

The Safety in Custody publication is published every quarter, including figures for assaults on staff. The next quarterly publication will be on 30 October 2025. The annual assaults tables include more detailed breakdowns, including the number of assault incidents on prison officers. The annual assaults tables are published in April each year, with the figures for 2025 due to be published on 30 April 2026.

The statistics are available at the following link: Safety in custody statistics - GOV.UK.

The Ministry of Justice and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service are continuing to assess the likely impact of the Sentencing Bill on demand for Electronic Monitoring and will order the required numbers of tags in line with those assessments and contractual requirements.

The Ministry of Justice and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service are continuing to assess the likely impact of the Sentencing Bill on demand for Electronic Monitoring and will order the required numbers of tags in line with those assessments and contractual requirements.

The Ministry of Justice does not carry out projections for length of time between charge and trial for specific offences.

The Ministry of Justice does publish end-to-end timeliness data each quarter, which enables users to calculate average length of time at various stages of the process. Data is only published for the average.

However, it is not possible to separately identify cases of ‘domestic abuse’ in the published data because the information held centrally is related to the offence in law for which a defendant is convicted. Domestic abuse related offences can be prosecuted under a wide range of legally defined offences.

In line with the Independent Sentencing Review recommendation, we will be introducing a domestic abuse identifier at sentencing in criminal cases. This will enable police, prisons, and probation to consistently identify domestic abuse offenders and improve support for victims, whether the perpetrator is in the community or in custody.

The Ministry of Justice commissioned Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts to tackle the outstanding caseload and to improve timeliness across the board – including for domestic abuse. We are considering Sir Brian’s recommendations and will issue a response in due course.

The Ministry of Justice does not carry out projections for length of time between charge and trial for specific offences.

The Ministry of Justice does publish end-to-end timeliness data each quarter, which enables users to calculate average length of time at various stages of the process. Data is only published for the average.

However, it is not possible to separately identify cases of ‘domestic abuse’ in the published data because the information held centrally is related to the offence in law for which a defendant is convicted. Domestic abuse related offences can be prosecuted under a wide range of legally defined offences.

In line with the Independent Sentencing Review recommendation, we will be introducing a domestic abuse identifier at sentencing in criminal cases. This will enable police, prisons, and probation to consistently identify domestic abuse offenders and improve support for victims, whether the perpetrator is in the community or in custody.

The Ministry of Justice commissioned Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts to tackle the outstanding caseload and to improve timeliness across the board – including for domestic abuse. We are considering Sir Brian’s recommendations and will issue a response in due course.

The Ministry of Justice does not carry out projections for length of time between charge and trial for specific offences.

The Ministry of Justice does publish end-to-end timeliness data each quarter, including for rape. Data is published for the average duration for the process.

Link to publication: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/685c1091c07c71e5a870984f/timeliness_tool.xlsx.

The Ministry of Justice commissioned Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts to tackle the outstanding caseload and to improve timeliness across the board – including for rape and other sexual offences. We are considering Sir Brian’s recommendations and will respond in due course.

This Government is committed to tackling all forms of violence against women and girls, including rape. The HMCPSI report examines early evidence and pre-charge decision-making in adult rape cases. The Ministry of Justice works with criminal justice agencies, including the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), to ensure that the court system and victim support services are equipped to meet rising demand as more rape cases reach court.

The CPS remains resolute in its determination to continue to increase the number of rape cases taken to court each year – so that more victims, irrespective of their background and circumstances, can see justice done.

The CPS has welcomed the publication of the HMCPSI report and accepted its recommendations; immediate action is being taken to address the concerns raised, working with partners in policing and the voluntary sector.

This includes ensuring that the National Operating Model for Adult Rape Prosecution is fully and consistently embedded at both national and local levels, and taking proactive steps to strengthen the quality of rape casework. These improvements will be driven by a new Rape Action Plan focussed on providing enhanced assurance of legal decision-making, supporting and upskilling CPS staff, and increasing public confidence in charging.

There have not been any further meetings with Council of Europe representatives since 19 June 2025. UK Government officials have continued discussions with their counterparts on matters raised in the previous Lord Chancellor’s speech delivered on 18 June 2025 to the Committee of Ministers.

The Ministry of Justice does not carry out projections for length of time between charge and trial for specific offences.

The Ministry of Justice does publish end-to-end timeliness data each quarter, including for rape. Data is published for the average duration for the process.

Link to publication: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/685c1091c07c71e5a870984f/timeliness_tool.xlsx.

The Ministry of Justice commissioned Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts to tackle the outstanding caseload and to improve timeliness across the board – including for rape and other sexual offences. We are considering Sir Brian’s recommendations and will respond in due course.

Safety in Custody statistics are published quarterly, with the next publication due on 31 July 2025. This will cover deaths in prison custody to June 2025, and self-harm and assaults in prison custody to March 2025.

The statistics will be available at the following link: Safety in custody statistics - GOV.UK.

Following the Lord Chancellor’s announcement on 3 June that we will be mandating Protective Body Armour (PBA – commonly referred to as "stab vests") for use in Separation Centres, Close Supervision Centres and Segregation Units in the Long-term High Secure Estate, we are working to ensure that PBA will be made and issued as quickly as possible.

Staff continue to have the ability to wear PBA (with other personal protective equiment) when necessary.

Assaults on staff by month can be found on the bottom row on table 8e in the Safety in Custody Summary Tables, available at the following link: Safety-in-custody-summary-q4-2024_final_table.xlsx.

The Safety in Custody statistics are updated quarterly, and the next update will be published on 31 July.

The correspondence of 11 June will be responded to in due course.

Increasing the numbers of foreign national offender returns from our prisons is a priority for this Government.

We are working with international partners wherever possible to help achieve this.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions and convictions for a range of offences including immigration offences and those under the Nationality and Borders Act in the Outcomes by Offences data tool up to the end of 2024. The tool can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions and convictions for a range of offences including immigration offences and those under the Nationality and Borders Act in the Outcomes by Offences data tool up to the end of 2024. The tool can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.

HMPPS publishes data on dismissals related to conduct and disciplinary matters as part of its annual Staff Equalities Report. The collection page can be found here: HMPPS annual staff equalities report - GOV.UK.

The 2024/2025 edition of the report is scheduled for publication on 27 November 2025. It will include total figures for all dismissals arising from conduct and disciplinary cases.

This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We have had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe.

Reoffending rates are published regularly on an annual and quarterly basis. The most recent rates are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/proven-reoffending-statistics.

We have also published SDS40 release data alongside the quarterly Offender Management Statistics, in line with the Lord Chancellor’s commitment to transparency: Standard Determinate Sentence (SDS40) release data - GOV.UK.

The information requested is not currently able to be shared. Accredited Official Statistics on assaults on staff from January 2025 onwards are subject to future publication through our Safety in Custody quarterly publication. The data from January - March 2025 will be published on 31 July 2025.

The latest available assaults data covers up to December 2024 and can be found via: Safety in custody statistics - GOV.UK.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions and convictions for various offences by month at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool (latest data to December 2024), that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.

Data relating to charges is not held by the Ministry of Justice - this data is held and published by the Home Office.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions and convictions for various offences by month at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool (latest data to December 2024), that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.

Data relating to charges is not held by the Ministry of Justice - this data is held and published by the Home Office.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions and convictions for various offences by month at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool (latest data to December 2024), that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.

Data relating to charges is not held by the Ministry of Justice - this data is held and published by the Home Office.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of ineffective trials at the magistrates’ courts across England and Wales in the “Trial effective in the courts” data tool (latest to December 2024). This can be downloaded from the Criminal Court Statistics landing page here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-court-statistics.

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The Ministry of Justice does not collect data on ineffective trials specifically caused by staffing shortages within HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). However, we monitor staffing levels closely and do not assess them to be a significant driver of ineffective trials in magistrates’ courts.

Staffing levels across HMCTS have remained broadly stable, with administrative staffing at junior grades (AA–EO) holding steady, and staffing at more senior grades (HEO–G6), including legal and administrative roles, showing an upward trend. These patterns reflect continued investment in workforce capacity and ongoing recruitment activity.

We recognise the importance of a reliable and efficient court system, and the impact on victims when trials do not proceed as planned. That is why 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/acquittal.

The Ministry of Justice regularly monitors the impact of interpreter availability on court proceedings. According to the latest data published in the “Trial effectiveness in the courts” tool (covering up to December 2024), there were 364 ineffective trials in magistrates’ courts between July and December 2024 due to the unavailability of an interpreter. This represents 4% of all ineffective trials and less than 1% of all listed trials during that period.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of ineffective trials at the magistrates’ courts across England and Wales in the “Trial effective in the courts” data tool (latest to December 2024). This can be downloaded from the Criminal Court Statistics landing page here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-court-statistics.

The Temporary Presumptive Recategorisation Scheme (TPRS) is not a new scheme; it was first introduced in March 2023 under the previous Government. On 9 June 2025, the scheme was extended to allow eligible prisoners to transfer to the open estate 36 months prior to release. Due to being in the early stages of operationalising this change, our staff are still in the process of conducting risk assessments to determine eligibility.

There is limited eligibility for the scheme; all sexual, terrorist and violent offenders serving a sentence of at least four years are barred. Furthermore, prisoners are assessed against clear criteria to ensure that their move will not pose a serious risk to the public. We can immediately return any offender in the Category D estate back to closed conditions at any point if there is any evidence of an increased risk, and Governors retain the discretion to rule prisoners out of moves if there are serious concerns.

HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) maintains a zero-tolerance approach to smuggling contraband into prisons, including weapons, drugs and mobile phones, which can fuel violence and create instability.

Airport-style Enhanced Gate Security, comprising of metal detectors and X-ray baggage scanners, is used in 52 highest-risk prison sites (both private and public sector), including all of the High Security prisons in the Long Term High Security Estate.

The UK participates in regular engagement with the Council of Europe and its member States – including on the important issues raised in this letter.

The interim Permanent Secretary attended the televised press conference on 14 May to provide a factual update on prison capacity.