Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the time taken for victims to wait for cases to be heard.

This Government inherited a record and rising courts backlog. It is unacceptable that victims and witnesses are waiting years for justice. We are committed to creating a more sustainable justice system, in which victims and the public can have confidence.

Upon taking office, the Deputy Prime Minister took immediate action to allocate additional Crown Court sitting days this financial year, taking the total to a record-high allocation of 111,250. We continue to build capacity in magistrates’ courts, with 14,636 magistrates in post as of April 2025 across England and Wales and we are uplifting our programme to bring in 2,000 new magistrates over the next 12 months. We will continue to recruit at high levels in future years, ensuring our benches reflect the diverse communities they serve. We also continue to recruit high levels of legal advisers, securing resilience for years to come.

However, demand is currently so high, it is indisputable that fundamental reform is needed. That is why this Government commissioned the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, led by Sir Brian Leveson, to propose once-in-a-generation reform to improve timeliness in the courts and deliver swift justice for victims.

We are carefully considering Sir Brian’s first report and will respond in due course. Work on Part 2 of the report, looking at how the criminal courts can operate as efficiently as possible, is underway and it is expected to be finalised later this year.