Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps is he taking to help ensure there are sufficient a) prosecutors, b) defence barristers and c) court staff to increase the number of Crown Court trials.

The Deputy Prime Minister has announced that the Crown Court in England and Wales will be funded to hear as many cases as possible next year to speed up justice for victims. We are working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure that there are sufficient prosecutors, and funding has been provided for this.

We are taking significant action to support defence barristers and the wider criminal defence profession. In December 2025, we announced additional funding of up to £34 million a year for criminal legal aid advocates, and a commitment to work with the profession to match-fund a number of criminal barrister pupillages to open a career at the Criminal Bar to even more young people from across society. The support for advocates is on top of up to £92 million per year in additional investment, announced in December 2024, we have implemented for criminal legal aid solicitors, which built on a £24 million per year investment in criminal solicitors earlier in the Parliament. This investment reflects the valuable role of criminal defence and will help them to continue to make sure justice is served.

An increase in Crown Court staff to support additional sitting days is funded and factored into HMCTS’ workforce planning, and recruitment for these roles is already progressing in each region.