Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of mass legal claims against publicly funded bodies, such as the Legal Aid Agency, on (a) vulnerable consumers and (b) levels of resource available for frontline services.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Public bodies are expected to identify material risks to vulnerable consumers or levels of resource available for frontline services, including due to any mass legal claims, and are responsible for managing their impact.
The Ministry of Justice has a partnership relationship with each of its funded public bodies that enables the body to escalate new risks as appropriate. The Department carries out an annual risk assessment of each of its public bodies, where significant upcoming risks can be identified and an assessment of the impact made.
Additionally, public bodies that receive funding from the Ministry of Justice are responsible for working collaboratively with the Department as it determines the level of funding that will be provided to them annually. Any pressures that can be predicted due to mass legal claims would be expected to be raised with the Ministry of Justice and levels of resource would be discussed with those bodies on an individual basis through existing financial allocation processes.
Other Government Departments are responsible for the assessment of risks to public bodies sponsored by them.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to introduce additional safeguards to ensure that third-party litigation funding agreements do not expose consumers to unfair financial outcomes.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We intend to legislate to introduce proportionate regulation of litigation funding agreements when parliamentary time allows. The new regulatory framework will aim to enhance claimant protection, transparency, and the effectiveness of the litigation funding market.
The Government recognises the critical role third-party litigation funding plays in access to justice. That is why we are committed to ensuring it works fairly for all. We will outline next steps in due course.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Independent - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of decisions made in the county courts were appealed to the High Court or Court of Appeal in the most recent year for which data is available.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Data on the number of decisions made in the county courts and the proportion appealed to the Court of Appeal can be found in the following official publications: Royal_Courts_of_Justice_Annual_Tables_2024.ods.
High Court data is not broken down by source court, therefore the number of appeals originating from county courts cannot be determined.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Independent - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals originating from the county courts were (a) allowed, (b) dismissed or (c) withdrawn in the most recent year for which data is available.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Official statistics published by Ministry of Justice provide figures for appeals.
In the most recent year for which data is available (2024), the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) recorded the outcomes for appeals originating from the county courts that were allowed and dismissed. This along with data on the proportion of appeals against county court decisions that were successful can be found in the following official publication: Royal Courts of Justice and Judicial Sitting Days Annual Tables - 2024.
Withdrawn cases are not separately recorded in the published dataset.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Independent - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals to the Court of Appeal originating from the Crown Court in the most recent year for which data is available were (a) allowed, (b) dismissed, or (c) withdrawn.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Official statistics published by Ministry of Justice provide figures for appeals that were allowed and dismissed. Withdrawn cases are not separately recorded in the published dataset.
In the most recent year for which data is available (2024), Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) outcomes for appeals originating from the crown courts and data on the proportion of appeals against crown court decisions were successful can be found in the following official publication:
Royal Courts of Justice and Judicial Sitting Days Annual Tables - 2024.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Independent - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of appeals against county court decisions in the most recent year for which data is available were successful.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Official statistics published by Ministry of Justice provide figures for appeals.
In the most recent year for which data is available (2024), the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) recorded the outcomes for appeals originating from the county courts that were allowed and dismissed. This along with data on the proportion of appeals against county court decisions that were successful can be found in the following official publication: Royal Courts of Justice and Judicial Sitting Days Annual Tables - 2024.
Withdrawn cases are not separately recorded in the published dataset.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Independent - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of appeals to the Court of Appeal originating from the Crown Court were successful in the most recent year for which data is available.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Official statistics published by Ministry of Justice provide figures for appeals that were allowed and dismissed. Withdrawn cases are not separately recorded in the published dataset.
In the most recent year for which data is available (2024), Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) outcomes for appeals originating from the crown courts and data on the proportion of appeals against crown court decisions were successful can be found in the following official publication:
Royal Courts of Justice and Judicial Sitting Days Annual Tables - 2024.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Independent - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of decisions made in magistrates’ courts in the most recent year for which data is available were appealed to the Crown Court, by way of case stated, or by judicial review.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Data on appeals to the Crown Court from magistrates’ courts are published as part of the Criminal Court Statistics quarterly release in table C11. Data is split into appeals against the verdict and appeals against the sentence with breakdowns provided for those ‘Allowed’ (the same definition as successful) / ‘Dismissed’ and ‘Abandoned or otherwise disposed’. There is no breakdown specifically available for ‘Withdrawn’.
Figures are also provided for the proportion of appeals against the verdict and appeals against the sentence that were successful (“Allowed”): ccsq_accessible_publication_tables_2025Q3.ods.
Appeals by way of case stated and Judicial reviews are heard in the High Court with some of these originating from the Crown and magistrates’ courts. Published statistics on the annual volume of judicial reviews can be found in Table 2.5: Civil justice statistics quarterly: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Independent - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals to the Crown Court originating from magistrates’ courts in the most recent year for which data is available were (a) allowed, (b) dismissed, or (c) withdrawn.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Data on appeals to the Crown Court from magistrates’ courts are published as part of the Criminal Court Statistics quarterly release in table C11. Data is split into appeals against the verdict and appeals against the sentence with breakdowns provided for those ‘Allowed’ (the same definition as successful) / ‘Dismissed’ and ‘Abandoned or otherwise disposed’. There is no breakdown specifically available for ‘Withdrawn’.
Figures are also provided for the proportion of appeals against the verdict and appeals against the sentence that were successful (“Allowed”): ccsq_accessible_publication_tables_2025Q3.ods.
Appeals by way of case stated and Judicial reviews are heard in the High Court with some of these originating from the Crown and magistrates’ courts. Published statistics on the annual volume of judicial reviews can be found in Table 2.5: Civil justice statistics quarterly: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Independent - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of appeals to the Crown Court originating from magistrates’ courts were successful in the most recent year for which data is available.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Data on appeals to the Crown Court from magistrates’ courts are published as part of the Criminal Court Statistics quarterly release in table C11. Data is split into appeals against the verdict and appeals against the sentence with breakdowns provided for those ‘Allowed’ (the same definition as successful) / ‘Dismissed’ and ‘Abandoned or otherwise disposed’. There is no breakdown specifically available for ‘Withdrawn’.
Figures are also provided for the proportion of appeals against the verdict and appeals against the sentence that were successful (“Allowed”): ccsq_accessible_publication_tables_2025Q3.ods.
Appeals by way of case stated and Judicial reviews are heard in the High Court with some of these originating from the Crown and magistrates’ courts. Published statistics on the annual volume of judicial reviews can be found in Table 2.5: Civil justice statistics quarterly: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK.