Data collated centrally by MOJ does not include a count of \u2018abandoned\u2019 trials. Rather, trials are recorded as \u2018ineffective\u2019, meaning, that does not go ahead on the scheduled trial date and a further listing is required. This can be due to action or inaction by one or more of the prosecution, the defence or the court.<\/p>
<\/p>
There has been an increase in ineffective trials during the pandemic, partly driven by defendants being ill due to Covid. We continue to take action to tackle the impact the pandemic has had on our courts and tribunals system. We invested a quarter of a billion pounds to support recovery in the last financial year (20/21). In the recent Spending Review, more than £1 billion has been allocated to boost capacity and accelerate recovery from the pandemic in courts and tribunals. This increased funding will enable us to hear more cases and reduce backlogs. We removed the limit on the number of days the Crown Court can sit in the 21/22 financial year and as a result of this, in the next financial year we expect to get through 20% more Crown Court cases than we did pre-Covid (116,700 in 22/23 compared to 97,000 in 19/20).<\/p>
<\/p>
We have also been asked to provide data on how many trials for offences of rape, sexual assault and indecent assault have been abandoned from their start dates and are awaiting a new start date as of 17 February 2022. However, the total number of trials for rape, sexual assault and indecent assault would include those where a new trial date is not required (e.g. a plea has changed to guilty), so we are not able to accurately answer that question.<\/p>
We have provided data on ineffective trial reasons where the sole reason is no advocate being available for one or both sides in the attached document. The data for each calendar year includes the figures as of 31st<\/sup> December of that year. For 2021, we provide data up to the 30th<\/sup> September which is the latest data available. This data shows that before the pandemic, the numbers of ineffective trials were falling significantly across all the offence types listed.<\/p> <\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4519", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for James Cartlidge"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "South Suffolk"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "James Cartlidge"}
, "attachment" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1423196/answer/attachment/1", "fileName" : {"_value" : "PQ 125045-47, 125050-055 table (revised).xlsx"}
, "title" : "Table"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-03-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "true", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "previousAnswerVersion" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1423196/answer/previousversion/55324", "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4519", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for James Cartlidge"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "South Suffolk"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "James Cartlidge"}
, "attachment" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1423196/answer/previousversion/55324/attachment/1", "fileName" : {"_value" : "125045-125055 table.xlsx"}
, "title" : "125045_55_table"}
}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-03-04T16:26:32.033Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
], "questionFirstMinisteriallyCorrected" : [{"_value" : "2022-03-17T16:45:29.45Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "54"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2022-02-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Rape: Trials"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many rape trials were abandoned from their start dates (a) due to a lack of (i) prosecution advocates or (ii) defence advocates and (c) for other reasons in each of the last five years.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1536", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Emily Thornberry"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Islington South and Finsbury"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Emily Thornberry"}
], "uin" : "125045"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1420698", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Justice"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1420698/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The table below<\/del>attached<\/ins> sets out the total number of notifications \u2013 that is, where an offender has been charged with a qualifying offence - followed by the resulting SFO convictions, by SFO offence, for notifications submitted to NOMS/HMPPS between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2020.<\/p>2010/11<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>2011/12<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>2012/13<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>2013/14<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>2014/15<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>2015/16<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>2016/17<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>2017/18<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>2018/19<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>2019/20<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td><\/tr>Total SFO notifications<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>485<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>466<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>489<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>507<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>477<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>558<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>685<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>678<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>577<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>536<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td><\/tr>Total SFO convictions [1]<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>257<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>253<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>270<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>274<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>254<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>301<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>347<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>353<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>339<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td>271<\/strong><\/del><\/p><\/td><\/tr>Murder<\/del><\/p><\/td>50<\/del><\/p><\/td>67<\/del><\/p><\/td>51<\/del><\/p><\/td>59<\/del><\/p><\/td>46<\/del><\/p><\/td>41<\/del><\/p><\/td>56<\/del><\/p><\/td>80<\/del><\/p><\/td>97<\/del><\/p><\/td>74<\/del><\/p><\/td><\/tr>Attempted murder/ Conspiracy to commit murder<\/del><\/p><\/td>12<\/del><\/p><\/td>13<\/del><\/p><\/td>16<\/del><\/p><\/td>15<\/del><\/p><\/td>14<\/del><\/p><\/td>24<\/del><\/p><\/td>15<\/del><\/p><\/td>20<\/del><\/p><\/td>30<\/del><\/p><\/td>18<\/del><\/p><\/td><\/tr>Manslaughter<\/del><\/p><\/td>18<\/del><\/p><\/td>15<\/del><\/p><\/td>16<\/del><\/p><\/td>23<\/del><\/p><\/td>12<\/del><\/p><\/td>16<\/del><\/p><\/td>34<\/del><\/p><\/td>32<\/del><\/p><\/td>34<\/del><\/p><\/td>25<\/del><\/p><\/td><\/tr>Attempted Rape/Rape /Assault by penetration including on a child under 13<\/del><\/p><\/td>101<\/del><\/p><\/td>77<\/del><\/p><\/td>93<\/del><\/p><\/td>