Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of court cases that have had a waiting time of one year or more in each year since 2010.

The volume of defendants whose cases were disposed of with a waiting time of one year or more can be found in the attached table with annual data from 2014 to 2021. Data prior to 2014 is not available.

There are a number of reasons why a case may be delayed, including evidence delays and advocates’ failing to attend.

We are committed to help improve waiting times for victims of crime and to reduce the outstanding caseload following the pandemic and recent Bar action. We have removed the limit on sitting days, extended 30 Nightingale courtrooms and are extending our plans for judicial recruitment to increase sitting capacity.