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 There is no breakdown specifically available for ‘Withdrawn’.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from magistrates’ courts in the most recent year for which data is available were (a) allowed, (b) dismissed, or (c) withdrawn.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 There is no breakdown specifically available for ‘Withdrawn’.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.
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 adequacy of civil justice processes in providing effective access to justice for claimants; and if he will publish any data on the average percentage of a claimant's compensation award which is taken up by legal and third party costs.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is committed to ensuring access to justice, and we welcomed the Justice Committee’s recent inquiry into the Work of the County Court. As the Government acknowledged in its response, the County Court faces substantial challenges. However, performance is beginning to turn a corner with good progress being made towards a more efficient, timely and digitised service; and we expect this to continue.
The Civil Justice Council (CJC) is a statutory body that advises the Lord Chancellor, the judiciary, and the Civil Procedure Rule Committee. Amongst its statutory functions, the CJC keeps the civil justice system under review and makes recommendations on, how to make the civil justice system more accessible, fair, and efficient. The CJC’s recent report into litigation funding has been critical in helping shape Government policy on improving the civil justice system.
Claimants may be able enter into a private agreement with a lawyer using a Conditional Fee Agreement or a Damages Based Agreement, or with a third-party funder using a Litigation Funding Agreement. Such agreements usually mean that a claimant will not have to pay all or part of their own legal costs unless they win their case. This payment would usually be deducted from the compensation awarded, though it could be defined as a percentage of compensation or a multiple of legal base costs, depending on the type of agreement used. Solicitors should inform their clients of any fees, and the circumstances in which their fees, or part of their fees, are payable.
The Ministry of Justice does not hold data on the average percentage of a claimant’s compensation award that is taken up by legal and third-party costs.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing information for clients on their rights, options and available redress following the collapse of a regulated legal firm.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The legal profession in England and Wales, together with its regulators, operate independently of government. The responsibility for regulating the sector sits with approved regulators, overseen by the Legal Services Board. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of solicitors and most law firms in England and Wales.
The SRA can publish information for clients following the collapse of a regulated firm, including guidance on their rights, options and routes to redress. This includes information on accessing client files, the role of the SRA’s intervention process, compensation arrangements where applicable, and signposting to complaints and redress bodies such as the Legal Ombudsman. For example, the SRA has published specific guidance for clients affected by WW&J McClure Ltd entering into administration in 2021, which is available here: SRA | WW&J McClure and Jones Whyte | Solicitors Regulation Authority.
The Government keeps the overall framework for legal services regulation under review and engages regularly with regulators. While the independent regulators publish information for clients affected by law firm collapses, the Government may seek to support access to this information for consumers where appropriate.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will publish the number of former clients affected by the collapse of McClure Solicitors.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the number of former clients affected by the collapse of WW&J McClure Ltd (McClure) and is therefore not in a position to publish those figures.
The legal profession in England and Wales, together with its regulators, operates independently of government. Responsibility for regulating the sector sits with approved regulators, overseen by the Legal Services Board. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of solicitors and most law firms in England and Wales. Information about the impact of an individual firm’s closure on its former clients, including any estimates of affected client numbers, is a matter for the relevant regulator and those responsible for the firm’s former files.
Details of the SRA’s ongoing work in relation to McClure is available here: https://www.sra.org.uk/news/news/mcclure/.
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: 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.