Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Sackman and Luke Taylor

Tuesday 15th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Courts and Legal Services (Sarah Sackman)]

In Croydon, as elsewhere, we are taking a three-pronged approach to reducing the Crown court waiting list. That involves increasing Crown court capacity, removing the financial constraint on sitting days, driving efficiency in our courts through schemes such as every Crown court having a case co-ordinator, and of course the structural reforms we will bring forward in the Courts and Tribunals Bill.

[Luke Taylor]

I visited Croydon Crown court recently and saw at first hand the impact that the delays are having on victims. Backlogs across London have increased by 122% over the last decade, which is having a particular impact on domestic abuse and sexual offence victims. Given that, will the Minister consider listening to Liberal Democrat calls to abandon plans to restrict trial by jury and instead create specialist sexual offence and domestic abuse courts so that those sensitive cases can be dealt with as quickly as possible?

[Sarah Sackman]

I speak as a fellow London MP and agree that the waiting lists in our London courts are appalling, because behind each and every one of those cases in the backlog there are victims, witnesses and defendants whose lives are entirely put on hold. That is why we have got to run hard at the problem, but getting the backlog down will involve a multifaceted approach. That is why the efficiencies we are making at courts, unlimited sitting days and the blitz courts initiatives we are piloting in London courts are so crucial. As I said, as somebody with a vested interest in seeing London waiting lists come down, I will be glad to work with the hon. Member to see what we can do on that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Sackman and Luke Taylor

Tuesday 16th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Luke Taylor (Sutton and Cheam) (LD)]

T4. One of my constituents has been told that their Crown court case will not be heard until 2028, six years after the alleged offence occurred. The delay was due to court closures and a lack of capacity locally. The Government should not need a report to tell them that they need to make more courts available at more times and they need to fund our courts properly. We have had questions about this from around the Chamber already, so I will take a slightly different angle: what does the Minister have to say to my constituent, who has another three years to wait for their case to be resolved—three years of being unable to work and three years of uncertainty hanging over her head?

[Sarah Sackman]

The sorts of delays that the hon. Gentleman’s constituent is experiencing are unacceptable. The consensus is that the delays are unacceptable and that we have to do something big and bold about them. This is a complex system, which is why we have asked Sir Brian Leveson, with his expertise, to tell us how best we go about that, but we will have to get behind once-in-a-generation reform. We are gripping the issue now—we are making record investment in criminal legal aid and sitting days—but we will need reform as well.