Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the Judicial Review and Courts Bill meets their aspirations in this policy area.

The Judicial Review and Courts Bill delivers on the Government’s Manifesto commitment to ensure that Judicial Review is available to protect the rights of individuals against an overbearing state, without being abused to conduct politics by another means or to create needless delays.

The Bill reduces inefficiency by overturning the Cart judgment and creates new powers for the courts to modify quashing orders, allowing them to tailor their decisions more closely to the circumstances of individual cases

The courts elements of the Bill contains measures to streamline procedures across the justice system. It gives the criminal courts powers to progress cases more quickly, avoid unnecessary hearings, and ensure cases are heard in the most appropriate court at the earliest opportunity. This will save court time so that resources can be focused on trials and on reducing the backlog.