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<p>The information requested can be found in Table 1 and 2 below.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table
1 - Average number of days first listing to trial start date, for magistrates’ trial
cases in England and Wales, excluding those committed to the Crown Court, 2014 to
2018.</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td rowspan="2"><p>Year</p></td><td rowspan="2"><p>Number
of defendants with completed cases</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>First listing to trial
start date (number of days)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mean</p></td><td><p>Median</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>187,383</p></td><td><p>63</p></td><td><p>59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>196,199</p></td><td><p>68</p></td><td><p>61</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>179,042</p></td><td><p>58</p></td><td><p>53</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>171,862</p></td><td><p>54</p></td><td><p>49</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>173,486</p></td><td><p>53</p></td><td><p>46</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p><em>Notes</em></p><p><em>(1) </em><em>Trial is identified here based on whether
there is a valid “trial start date” entered into the magistrates’ court administrative
system (Libra). It is possible that trial cases without valid start dates have been
removed from the analysis. </em></p><p><em>(2) </em><em>Includes cases with an offence
to completion time greater than 10 years but excludes a small number of cases with
identified data quality issues and breaches. </em></p><p><em>(3) </em><em>Statistics
are sourced from linked magistrates’ courts and Crown Court administrative data systems
- with a match rate of around 95%.</em></p><p><em>(4) </em><em>Only one offence is
counted for each defendant in the case. If there is more than one offence per defendant
that complete on the same day, a set of validation rules applies to select one offence
only and to the longest duration, seriousness and the lowest sequence number of the
offence. </em></p><p><em>(5) </em><em>Includes cases completed in the magistrates’
courts during the specified time period, where no further action is required by the
magistrates’ court. </em></p><p><em>(6) </em><em>Excludes cases that are committed
to the Crown Court. </em></p><p><em>(7) </em><em>From Q2 2015, the figures include
Single Justice Procedure cases that were committed within magistrates’ courts in England
and Wales, introduced in June 2015. </em></p><p><em>(8) </em><em>Timeliness tables
include TFL ATCM (automated track case management) cases which started in April 2017.</em></p><p>
</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 2 - Average number of days first listing to main hearing,
for completed Crown Court trial cases in England and Wales, 2014 to 2018.</strong></p><p>
</p><table><tbody><tr><td rowspan="2"><p>Year</p></td><td rowspan="2"><p>Number of
defendants with completed cases</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>First listing to trial
start date (number of days)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mean</p></td><td><p>Median</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>76,531</p></td><td><p>138</p></td><td><p>112</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>76,819</p></td><td><p>157</p></td><td><p>121</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>69,563</p></td><td><p>155</p></td><td><p>123</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>64,591</p></td><td><p>147</p></td><td><p>124</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>56,738</p></td><td><p>147</p></td><td><p>127</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p><em>Notes</em></p><p><em>(1) </em><em>Trial is identified based on the “case
type” variable (e.g. case_type =T), this is recorded at the point of receipt into
the Crown Court and it is possible that not all cases went on to trial.</em></p><p><em>(2)
</em><em>Includes cases with an offence to completion time greater than 10 years but
excludes a small number of cases with identified data quality issues and breaches.
</em></p><p><em>(3) </em><em>Includes all criminal cases which have received a verdict
and concluded in the specified time period in the Crown Court. </em></p><p><em>(4)
</em><em>Statistics are sources from linked magistrates’ courts and Crown Court administrative
data systems - with a match rate of around 95%.</em></p><p><em>(5) </em><em>Only one
offence is counted for each defendant in the case. If there is more than one offence
per defendant that complete on the same day, a set of validation rules applies to
select one offence only and these relate to the longest duration, seriousness and
the lowest sequence number of the offence.</em></p><p><em>(6) </em><em>Around 95%
of defendants have a main hearing date.</em></p><p><em>(7) </em><em>A median value
of 0 indicates that the case had a first listing and was completed on the same day.
</em></p><p><em>(8) </em><em>Committal proceedings were abolished nationally on 28
May 2013. Triable either-way cases are now sent rather than committed. </em></p><p>
</p><p>Performance, demand and waiting times in the courts are constantly reviewed
to balance sitting days with waiting times, disposals and receipts. Resources are
adjusted when required. Demand has been falling in recent years and sitting days have
been reduced accordingly to ensure the backlog of work remains relatively stable.
Waiting times for trials in the Crown Court for 2018 have been the lowest since 2014,
despite the challenge of increasingly complex cases.</p><p> </p><p>We will continue
to review demand and performance in the Crown Court and magistrates’ court and will
ensure they have the resources they require</p>
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