Oral QuestionMinistry of Justice

What steps he is taking to tackle the backlogs in the courts.

Tabled: 28 January 2026Answered: 3 February 2026

Asked by

Matt Bishop

LabourForest of Dean

Answering Minister

the Secretary of State for Justice

Answer from Hansard

The Minister for Courts and Legal Services (Sarah Sackman)

This Government inherited a criminal justice system on the brink of collapse, with record and rising backlogs now touching 80,000, and behind each and every one of those cases is a real victim. That is why we asked Sir Brian Leveson to undertake an independent review of criminal courts and why we are making investment in sitting days and our workforce. That is also why we are grasping the nettle of modernisation and why we must have fundamental reform of our criminal courts.