Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to help ensure that victims of crime do not wait more than a year for cases to reach trial.

We want to make sure every victim has the swift access to justice they deserve, and we are committed to reducing the Crown Court caseload and bringing waiting times down.

To ensure we are hearing as many cases as possible, we plan to sit at least 105,000 working days in the Crown Court this financial year (FY24/25). We continue to hear criminal cases at Nightingale Courts, which increase the physical capacity of the court estate. We are also considering other measures to reduce the caseload and will make further announcements in due course.

We also know that, due to the complex nature of cases, rape victims can experience disproportionately long wait times for their trial.

Addressing this issue is central to this Government’s commitment to halve violence against women and girls within a decade. We have committed to fast-track rape cases through the courts, working with the judiciary to drive down waiting times for the victims and survivors of this abhorrent offence.