Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Crown Court judges there were resident at Shrewsbury Crown Court in each of the last six years.

The Crown Court sitting at Shrewsbury is accommodated across two sites, in Shrewsbury Justice Centre and Telford Justice Centre. In total, there are three courtrooms dedicated to Crown Court use.

For each of the last six years (i.e. since 2019/20), two Circuit Judges have been based permanently at the venue. Additional judges are and have been deployed to ensure sufficient capacity exists to meet sitting day and listing requirements.

On 29 October, it was announced that a new Circuit Judge will be deployed to sit at Shrewsbury from 13 January, succeeding a salaried judge who retired in July and bringing the permanent complement back to two salaried judges.