Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2024 to Question 16135 on Crown Prosecution Service and with reference to the The Better Case Management Revival Handbook, published in January 2023, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Crown Court consistently manages cases.

The management of case progression and listing across the criminal courts is a judicial function. As part of their systemic oversight, the senior judiciary produced (and have subsequently kept under review) a framework of guidance to drive improved performance.

The Better Case Management Revival Handbook, published in January 2023, is intended to remind all criminal justice partners of the principles of Better Case Management (BCM) and to ensure the courts consistently apply them. Chief among the aims is better collaboration between prosecution and defence to drive earlier guilty pleas wherever appropriate, increase trial effectiveness, and reduce the number of hearings per Crown Court case. The Government is working closely with the judiciary and other justice partners to improve adherence to Better Case Management Principles through supporting the Criminal Court Improvement Group (CCIG), which is chaired by the Senior Presiding Judge.

Among other things, we have piloted a new role in certain Crown Court offices – Case Coordinators – who are deployed exclusively to support the local judiciary in driving adherence to the BCM principles. HMCTS also provides the CCIG (and local judicial managers) with data and analytical support to help oversee and manage performance. Most recently, HMCTS has supported a judicially-led review into Crown Court listing practices, which aims to achieve broad alignment of listing approaches and increase the consistency and predictability of case management processes.

Ultimately, the management of cases through the Crown Court is the responsibility of the independent judiciary.