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: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been wrongfully convicted of a crime in the last ten years.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We have interpreted this question as relating to successful appeals against verdicts, heard at the Crown Court and the Court of Appeal.
The Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly data on successful appeals against magistrates’ courts verdicts heard at the Crown Court in the Criminal Courts Statistics release. Data started being published from 2016. As a result, the dataset covers the past nine years. This can be found in column E of Table_C11 in the statistical tables: Criminal court statistics - GOV.UK.
Figures for the number of successful appeals against convictions in the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) are published annually in the Royal Courts of Justice tables within Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly. This can be found in column B of table 2.2: Royal_Courts_of_Justice_Annual_Tables_2024.ods.
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of State for Justice, how many appeals originating from the county courts were (a) allowed, (b) dismissed or (c) withdrawn in the most recent year for which data is available.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: 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 on consumers of misleading “no win, no fee” advertising by high-volume claims firms, including instances where hidden fees or complex funding arrangements expose claimants to unexpected financial risk.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is aware of concerns that misleading "no win, no fee" advertising can expose consumers to unexpected financial risk, including through unclear information about fees, deductions, and related funding or insurance arrangements. Whether entering into a “no win, no fee” arrangement through a legal services provider or claims management company (CMC), consumers should receive clear and timely information about what they are agreeing to.
The legal and claims management sectors are regulated independently of government. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of solicitors and most law firms in England and Wales, including claims management activities they undertake. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulates specified claims management activities carried out by CMCs.
The Ministry of Justice has been working closely with relevant regulators and partners across the system, including engagement with the SRA and FCA, to understand and support action to address risks to consumers in the high-volume consumer claims market. I met with both organisations recently and impressed upon the regulators the need for tougher, more consistent regulation of conditional fee agreements.
The SRA has, and is, undertaking a range of work in this area, including ongoing investigations, a thematic review and discussion paper, requiring mandatory compliance declarations from firms operating in the high-volume consumer claims sector, consumer research, and guidance and Warning Notices for law firms. This includes action to improve how “no win, no fee” arrangements are explained, including exploring standardised wording and templates to support clearer consumer communications. The SRA will also shortly be reminding firms of their current obligations by publishing a Warning Notice relating to “no win, no fee” claims. Further information on the SRA’s work in relation to high-volume consumer claims is available at: https://www.sra.org.uk/home/hot-topics/high-volume-consumer-claims/.
The FCA has set out clear expectations for CMC marketing and customer communications, including that promotions must be fair, clear and not misleading and that “no win, no fee” advertising must include prominent information about relevant fees and termination charges. The FCA has also intervened to require misleading CMC promotions to be amended or withdrawn, and has recently written to CMCs active in motor finance claims to remind them to review their promotions and ensure compliance with FCA rules and the Consumer Duty.
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, 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.