Oral Question·Ministry of Justice
“What steps her Department is taking to reduce the Crown Court backlog.”
Tabled: 30 October 2024Answered: 5 November 2024
Asked by
Warinder Juss
Labour — Wolverhampton West
Answering Minister
the Secretary of State for Justice
Answer from Hansard
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Heidi Alexander)
We are funding 106,500 Crown court sitting days this financial year—500 days more than the previous Government originally agreed. To reduce the number of cases that end up at the Crown court, we are also extending magistrates’ sentencing powers to up to 12 months for an individual offence.