Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services union on court backlogs.

Strike action related to the rollout of the Common Platform continues, with Public and Commercial Services mandates in place across 82 Magistrates courts covering 295 legal advisers and court associates.

There have been 33 days of strike action since October 2022. Thanks to the ongoing work of HMCTS, the on-the-day impacts of these strikes have been minimal and well mitigated through case prioritisation, re-listing and use of non-striking staff to cover absences.

Despite the strikes, disposals have remained high. The magistrates’ courts averaged 103,000 disposals per month between January and September 2022. However, October saw 108,500 disposals and November saw 122,700 disposals.

The outstanding caseload in the Magistrates’ Court stood at 337,800 at the end of November 2022, compared to 348,400 the month before.