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To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) sentencing and (b) guidelines in relation to stalking offences tried in the magistrates’ court.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) sentencing and (b) guidelines in relation to stalking offences tried in the magistrates’ court.
Sentencing decisions in individual cases are a matter for the independent judiciary, taking into account the circumstances of the offence and the offender, including any particular aggravating or mitigating factors.
Magistrates’ courts can sentence an offender to up to 12 months’ imprisonment for a single triable either-way offence and up to 65 weeks’ imprisonment for two or more triable either-way offences sentenced together, subject to statutory limitations. Where magistrates consider that their sentencing powers are insufficient to reflect the seriousness of the offence, they may commit an offender to the Crown Court for sentence.
The sentencing guidelines for stalking and harassment offences have been in effect since 2018. Sentencing guidelines are developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, which also monitors and evaluates all definitive guidelines, as per its statutory duty to do so.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many magistrate court hearings were delayed in the past three months, and what were the most common reasons for this.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many magistrate court hearings were delayed in the past three months, and what were the most common reasons for this.
We have interpreted your questions as asking how many magistrates’ and Crown Court trials were ineffective (did not go ahead on the scheduled trial start date and so a further listing is required) in the past three months, and the reasons those trials were ineffective.
The Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly data on the volume of trials that were ineffective at the magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court including reasons in the ‘Trial effectiveness at the criminal courts tool’. The latest period included covers October to December 2025 and can be found here: Criminal court statistics - GOV.UK.
An ineffective trial can be caused by a number of factors, including action or inaction by one or more of the prosecution, the defence or the court.
We asked Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts to make recommendations to tackle inefficiencies within the criminal courts, including the causes of ineffective trials. We have taken steps to deliver swifter justice through significant investment in the system – in record sitting days (increasing judicial capacity), court buildings and technology, and in legal professionals with significant investment in legal aid. In addition, the Deputy Prime Minister has announced several measures to drive efficiency and reduce ineffective trials. This includes the introduction of case coordinators in every Crown Court centre and supporting the Lady Chief Justice to publish the first ever National Listing Framework and pilot an AI Listing Assistant. We are also working with the Department for Transport and local authorities to expand the number of areas where prison transport vans can use bus lanes to reduce traffic delays - reducing wasted court time.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of trends in trial effectiveness in a) magistrates’ courts and b) the Crown Court.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of trends in trial effectiveness in a) magistrates’ courts and b) the Crown Court.
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on trial effectiveness in the Criminal Court Statistics release in the ‘Trial effectiveness at the criminal courts tool’. This tool contains data on both the magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court and covers the period 2010 to 2025: Criminal court statistics - GOV.UK.
An ineffective trial is one which does not go ahead on the scheduled trial start date and where a further listing is required. Data collection is crucial to understanding the key drivers of ineffective trials in order to address the underlying causes, as they can be caused by a wide range of factors, including action or inaction by one or more of the prosecution, the defence, or the court.
We asked Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts to make recommendations to tackle inefficiencies within the criminal courts. We are taking steps to deliver swifter justice with significant financial investment in the system – in record sitting days, new or refurbished court buildings and technology, and in legal professionals with significant investment in legal aid. In addition, the Deputy Prime Minister has already announced several initial measures we are taking forward to drive efficiency and reduce the number of ineffective trials. This includes the introduction of case coordinators in every Crown Court centre and supporting the Lady Chief Justice to publish the first ever National Listing Framework and pilot an AI Listing Assistant. We are also working with the Department for Transport and local authorities to expand the number of areas where prison transport vans can use bus lanes to reduce traffic delays - reducing wasted court time.
Statement on the publication of the first report of the Justice Committee, Courts and Tribunals Bill, (HC 192).
Statement on the publication of the first report of the Justice Committee, Courts and Tribunals Bill, (HC 192).
I thank the Backbench Business Committee for making time for this statement. The Courts and Tribunals Bill was introduced in February as a response to the Crown court crisis. There were over 80,000 outstanding cases as of December 2025, with some trials being listed into 2030. That harms victims, defendants...
I thank the Backbench Business Committee for making time for this statement. The Courts and Tribunals Bill was introduced in February as a response to the Crown court crisis. There were over 80,000 outstanding cases as of December 2025, with some trials being listed into 2030. That harms victims, defendants...
I put it on the record that I voted for an alternative report that I felt better reflected my concerns, but I accept that the report is a fair reflection of the Committee’s view.
Given that the last recruitment drive for magistrates failed to deliver the much-needed uplift at that point,...
I put it on the record that I voted for an alternative report that I felt better reflected my concerns, but I accept that the report is a fair reflection of the Committee’s view.
Given that the last recruitment drive for magistrates failed to deliver the much-needed uplift at that point,...
The hon. Member is right to mention that there was a dissenting report, which was not approved by the Committee. Other members may wish to raise that issue. From my point of view, it was reassuring that the analysis in both reports was very similar. I hope that I correctly...
The hon. Member is right to mention that there was a dissenting report, which was not approved by the Committee. Other members may wish to raise that issue. From my point of view, it was reassuring that the analysis in both reports was very similar. I hope that I correctly...
My hon. Friend will know that there has been quite a bit of opposition to having judge-only trials. Given that only 1% of the judiciary are black, does he agree that it is now even more urgent to look at how the judiciary are appointed? Something appears to be seriously...
My hon. Friend will know that there has been quite a bit of opposition to having judge-only trials. Given that only 1% of the judiciary are black, does he agree that it is now even more urgent to look at how the judiciary are appointed? Something appears to be seriously...
My hon. Friend is an assiduous member of the Committee. In the same week that the Committee published this report, we published our report on the pre-appointment hearing for the new Judicial Appointments Commission chair. We feel strongly that the Government need to look at judicial appointments and progression, because...
My hon. Friend is an assiduous member of the Committee. In the same week that the Committee published this report, we published our report on the pre-appointment hearing for the new Judicial Appointments Commission chair. We feel strongly that the Government need to look at judicial appointments and progression, because...
I too voted for the minority report, mainly because I am particularly concerned that the Government are going much further than the Leveson report. On judge-only trials, if magistrates’ sentencing powers are increased to 24 months, it is not impossible that cases with sentences of up to two and a...
I too voted for the minority report, mainly because I am particularly concerned that the Government are going much further than the Leveson report. On judge-only trials, if magistrates’ sentencing powers are increased to 24 months, it is not impossible that cases with sentences of up to two and a...
The hon. Lady is also an assiduous member of the Committee, and I appreciate what she said about important respects in which the Government, without evidencing the reasons, have departed from Leveson—for example, on whether magistrates should sit with judges in the bench division. She makes a good point: because...
The hon. Lady is also an assiduous member of the Committee, and I appreciate what she said about important respects in which the Government, without evidencing the reasons, have departed from Leveson—for example, on whether magistrates should sit with judges in the bench division. She makes a good point: because...
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his recommendations. Many are specific to England and Wales, but could be helpful for us in Northern Ireland. I always ask this question, because it is important that it be put on record: has the Committee suggested that the recommendations could be helpful to...
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his recommendations. Many are specific to England and Wales, but could be helpful for us in Northern Ireland. I always ask this question, because it is important that it be put on record: has the Committee suggested that the recommendations could be helpful to...
I rely on the hon. Gentleman to attend these statements, so that he can make that point, as he has done during every Justice Committee statement on the Floor of the House. He is right that, even though the Bill will apply in England and Wales, the lessons can be...
I rely on the hon. Gentleman to attend these statements, so that he can make that point, as he has done during every Justice Committee statement on the Floor of the House. He is right that, even though the Bill will apply in England and Wales, the lessons can be...
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the average waiting time between charge and trial in a) magistrates’ courts and b) the Crown Court.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the average waiting time between charge and trial in a) magistrates’ courts and b) the Crown Court.
Whilst data is not routinely published for the period from charge to trial start (i.e. the main hearing for defendants entering a not guilty plea), a bespoke breakdown of the Crown Court ‘End-to-end timeliness tool’ shows that the mean time from charge to trial start in 2025 was 433 days, with a corresponding median of 336 days.
A comparable metric is not available in the magistrates’ courts.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of hearings of appeals against conviction from the magistrates' court involve A) complainants in general and B) vulnerable complainants.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of hearings of appeals against conviction from the magistrates' court involve A) complainants in general and B) vulnerable complainants.
The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data on appeals of magistrates’ court decisions heard at the Crown Court. This can be accessed through the Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly publications (Criminal court statistics quarterly: October to December 2025 - GOV.UK).
However, the Ministry of Justice does not hold data on the parties involved in appeal hearings or whether they involve vulnerable complainants.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of people who appeal against sentence and conviction from the magistrates court are unrepresented.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of people who appeal against sentence and conviction from the magistrates court are unrepresented.
The Ministry of Justice does not hold, and does not have access to, centrally collated data identifying whether people who appeal against conviction or sentence from the magistrates’ courts are legally represented. As a result, we are unable to provide figures for the proportion of such appellants who are unrepresented. We are working towards a more robust evidence base so that we can track issues transparently and support future improvements.
The hon. Gentleman knows that the Government inherited a justice system in crisis, with a record and rising caseload. He also knows that the last Government closed courts right across the country. We are legislating for structural reform. We are investing £2.78 billion to bring down the backlog. We will continue to look closely at the needs in Kendal, but he recognises that it will take some time to address what we inherited.
The hon. Gentleman knows that the Government inherited a justice system in crisis, with a record and rising caseload. He also knows that the last Government closed courts right across the country. We are legislating for structural reform. We are investing £2.78 billion to bring down the backlog. We will continue to look closely at the needs in Kendal, but he recognises that it will take some time to address what we inherited.
Kendal magistrates court was outrageously closed in 2017, on the promise that sittings would continue in other public buildings in Kendal, yet there has not been a single sitting in Kendal since 2020. Will the Justice Secretary put this right urgently, so that that promise can be kept and local people can have reasonable access to justice?