Oral Question·Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
“If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.”
Tabled: 13 October 2022Answered: 20 October 2022
Asked by
Sarah Green
Liberal Democrat — Chesham and Amersham
Answering Minister
the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Answer from Hansard
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Sarah Sackman)
The Crown court backlog that we inherited from the Conservatives was dire. Instead of cutting the number of cases waiting to be heard, as they promised, the backlog of cases exploded under their watch. This Government are getting a grip of the problem. We have taken important first steps. We have funded 106,500 Crown court sitting days this year, and we have increased magistrates’ sentencing powers to free up more sitting days in the Crown court to hear the most serious cases, but we know that there is more to do.