It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4941", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Bellamy"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Bellamy"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-05-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-05-24T13:31:02.32Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "54"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2024-05-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Administration of Justice"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reform the Single Justice Procedure (SJP) to enable magistrates to properly consider each case before them and to minimise any risk of miscarriages of justice; and whether they have implemented, or plan to implement, any of the twelve recommendations to improve the operation, transparency and fairness of the SJP contained within the Magistrates\u2019 Association position statement, published on 26 March.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/259", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "The Marquess of Lothian"} ], "uin" : "HL4862"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1719251", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Justice"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1719251/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Sitting days in courts and tribunals are subject to formal agreement between the Lord Chancellor, Lady Chief Justice and Senior President of Tribunals via an annual process. This process has not yet concluded for the financial year 2024/25 and therefore sitting day allocations, and the associated budget information, is not yet available.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4004", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mike Freer"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Finchley and Golders Green"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mike Freer"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-05-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "27053"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-05-23T12:42:59.803Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "54"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2024-05-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Administration of Justice"} , "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 sitting days each (a) court and (b) tribunal has been allocated in the 2024-25 financial year.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4389", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ruth Cadbury"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Brentford and Isleworth"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ruth Cadbury"} ], "uin" : "27052"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1719252", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Justice"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1719252/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Sitting days in courts and tribunals are subject to formal agreement between the Lord Chancellor, Lady Chief Justice and Senior President of Tribunals via an annual process. This process has not yet concluded for the financial year 2024/25 and therefore sitting day allocations, and the associated budget information, is not yet available.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4004", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mike Freer"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Finchley and Golders Green"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mike Freer"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-05-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "27052"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-05-23T12:42:59.85Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "54"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2024-05-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Administration of Justice"} , "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 much has been allocated to each (a) court and (b) tribunal in HM Courts and Tribunals Service budget for the financial year 2024-25.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4389", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ruth Cadbury"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Brentford and Isleworth"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ruth Cadbury"} ], "uin" : "27053"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1716698", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Justice"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1716698/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
We remain committed to tackling the outstanding caseloads across our courts and tribunals and have introduced a range of measures to achieve this aim.<\/p>
While the listing of cases is an independent judicial function, we have consistently invested in judicial recruitment to ensure we have the capacity to deliver effective judicial processes. Since 2018, we have recruited around 1,000 judges and tribunal members annually, across all jurisdictions.<\/p>
<\/p>
Criminal courts
Over 90% of all criminal cases are heard at the magistrates\u2019 courts, where we heard 100,000 cases a month on average across 2023. While the outstanding caseload in the magistrates\u2019 courts has slightly increased in recent months due to an increase in the number of cases coming to court, the caseload remains well below its pandemic peak and stood at 370,700 at the end of December 2023, and cases continue to be progressed quickly.<\/p>
To aid our efforts in the magistrates\u2019 courts, we invested £1 million in a programme of work to support the recruitment of more magistrates. We aim to recruit 2,000 new and diverse magistrates this year, and similar numbers for each of the next couple of years.<\/p>
At the Crown Court, we remain committed to reducing the outstanding caseload. We delivered 107,700 sitting days in the most recent financial year (FY23/24) and judges have worked tirelessly to complete more cases. The latest data shows cases progressed through the Crown Court more quickly throughout 2023, with the median time from receipt to completion reducing from 167 days in the first quarter of 2023, to 125 days in the last quarter.<\/p>
We are also investing more in our criminal courts. In August 2023, we announced we are investing £220 million for essential modernisation and repair work of our court buildings, up to March 2025.<\/p>
<\/p>
Family Court
In March 2024 the Family Justice Board agreed a new set of priorities for the family justice system, with a clear focus on closing the longest running cases and increasing the proportion of public law cases concluding within the 26-week statutory timeline.<\/p>
We announced in the Spring Budget an additional £55 million to improve productivity, support earlier resolution of family disputes and reduce the number of cases coming to court. This includes creating a digital advice tool for separating couples, piloting early legal advice and supporting the expansion of the private law Pathfinder model. The Department for Education are investing an extra £10 million to deliver new initiatives to address the longest delays in public law.<\/p>
We have provided the flexibility for judges to sit virtually across regional boundaries, so that judges can be deployed where they are needed most, to reduce the caseload and waiting times.<\/p>
We are also investing up to £23.6 million in the family mediation voucher scheme, which we intend will allow for its continuation up to March 2025. As of May 2024, over 28,600 families have successfully used the scheme to attempt to resolve their private law disputes outside of court.<\/p>
<\/p>
Civil courts<\/p>
With regards to civil cases, we are taking action to ensure those that do need to go to trial are dealt with quickly. We have a significant volume of judicial recruitment underway for District and Deputy District Judges, are digitising court processes and holding more remote hearings, and are increasing the use of mediation.<\/p>
The requirement for small claims in the county court to attend a mediation session with the Small Claims Mediation Service will start this spring and is expected to help parties resolve their dispute swiftly and consensually without the need for a judicial hearing.<\/p>
The HMCTS Reform Program has introduced technology that delivers simplified and transformed digital ways of working for civil court users and judges such as the online money claims process and the damages claims service, offering accessible and responsive services.<\/p>
<\/p>
Tribunals
With regards to the tribunals, we continue to work with the Department for Business and Trade on further measures to address caseloads in the Employment Tribunal, where the deployment of legal officers, recruitment of additional judges and a new electronic case management system have helped the Tribunal to manage its caseload which remains below its pandemic peak.<\/p>
We have rolled out the HMCTS digital reform programme in the Immigration and Asylum and Social Entitlement chambers so that anyone challenging an immigration or welfare benefits decision can lodge their appeal, track progress and receive the results all online.<\/p>
HMCTS continues to invest in improving tribunal productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, deployment of Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of modern case management systems and the use of remote hearing technology.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4798", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Gareth Bacon"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Orpington"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Gareth Bacon"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-05-14", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-05-14T13:46:27.693Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "54"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2024-05-08", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Administration of Justice"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "What steps his Department is taking to reduce delays in judicial processes.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4739", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jerome Mayhew"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Broadland"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Jerome Mayhew"} ], "uin" : "902791"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1696474", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Justice"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1696474/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Data on the protected characteristics of SJP users, under the descriptor of \u201conline plea for the Single Justice Service\u201d, can be found at: HMCTS Protected Characteristics Questionnaire - Data on Users of Reformed Services - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).<\/a><\/p> The published data covers SJP cases for May 2023 to July 2023 inclusive. The scope of this data collection is limited to cases dealt with via the Common Platform, which represents around 32% of SJP cases over this time period.<\/p> An updated view of the protected characteristics questionnaire is likely to be published in Autumn 2024.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4004", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mike Freer"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Finchley and Golders Green"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mike Freer"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-03-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-03-20T17:11:57.567Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "54"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2024-03-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Administration of Justice"}
, "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, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2024 to Question 17822 on Administration of Justice, if he will publish the protected characteristic data for single justice procedure cases in 2023.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1398", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Wayne David"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Caerphilly"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Wayne David"}
], "uin" : "18867"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1695074", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Justice"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1695074/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The number of defendants dealt with via Single Justice Procedure (SJP) notifications at the magistrates\u2019 courts is published as part of the National Statistics series \u2018Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly\u2019. Additionally, this series also provides the total number of defendants dealt with in the magistrates\u2019 court, these can be used to calculate the proportion of SJPs in the magistrates\u2019 caseload.<\/p>