Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help prevent the cancellation of court hearings at short notice.

The trend in Crown Court vacated (i.e. cancelled) trials is improving. Following the Crown Court Improvement Group update in January, we have seen 27% fewer vacated trials compared to the same period before the Bar Strike.

While short notice postponements are undesirable, they are not always avoidable.

Judges are responsible for listing. Most cases that are vacated are done so in excess of 10 days from hearing date, as we always aim to keep short notice postponements to a minimum.