Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce court delays for victims of sexual violence in Surrey Heath constituency.

This Government inherited a record and rising courts backlog. It is unacceptable that victims and witnesses are waiting years for justice. This has left tens of thousands of victims facing devastating delays for justice, disrupting their ability to function, work, or maintain relationships.

It is not possible to supply data for Surrey Heath constituency. However, data for the Surrey Local Criminal Justice Board (LCJB) is published routinely as part of Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly. The latest published data shows that, in Q2 2025, sexual offence cases in the Surrey Crown Court spent an average of 350 days in the court – an improvement down from 468 days in 2024, and 384 in 2023. At the end of June 2025, the open caseload at Crown Court for sexual offences in Surrey stood at 181, an increase from 136 in 2024 and 113 in 2023.

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 111,250 sitting days.

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. Part one of his report has now been published. We are carefully considering Sir Brian’s proposals and will respond in due course.

To support all victims of sexual violence, including those impacted by court delays, I have protected dedicated Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) victims spending in the Department this year to ensure help is available to survivors of these awful crimes.