Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of courts backlogs on trends in the level of reoffending.

The Government is committed to supporting the recovery of the courts to drive down the backlog and ensure victims see justice served sooner.

Between 2009/10 and 2019/20, the overall proven reoffending rate has decreased from 30.9% to 25.6%. In the 2021 Prisons Strategy White Paper, we set out our ambitious plans to go further to drive down re-offending , getting offenders into skills training, work and stable accommodation. The Government’s 10-Year Drug Strategy also set out our plans to get more prison-leavers into substance misuse treatment to help them turn their back on crime.