Asked by: Robbie Moore (Conservative - Keighley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
What recent discussions he has had with the Sentencing Council on sentencing guidelines for violent and sexual offences.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Secretary of State meets with the Chairman of the Sentencing Council periodically to discuss a range of relevant matters, and has a representative attend Council meetings.
The Council has issued sentencing guidelines for a wide range of violent and sexual offences. While the Council is independent of Government, it is required to consult the Lord Chancellor on guideline development.
Asked by: Robbie Moore (Conservative - Keighley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
What steps HM Courts and Tribunals Service is taking to tackle the backlog of criminal court cases.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
COVID-19 has been an unprecedented challenge for the criminal justice system but HMCTS has worked closely with the judiciary to keep courts open and cases flowing through the system.
HMCTS has led the way internationally in continuing justice; restarting jury trials ahead of all other comparable systems.
We continue to make significant progress on Criminal Courts Recovery. Since August, magistrates’ courts have been consistently completing more cases than they are receiving, dealing with over 21,000 cases each week and tackling the backlog.
In the Crown Court, we’re listing over 150 jury trials and conducting thousands of other hearings each week.