Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the number of cases currently awaiting a hearing in the Youth Court on the effectiveness of the youth justice system.

Cases involving young defendants are given priority, irrespective of the court in which they appear, and youth cases are continually reviewed to ensure that they are progressed as quickly as possible.

There were 8,099 youth outstanding cases in magistrates' courts in England and Wales as at the end of September 2022, the most recent time period available. This includes any case involving a defendant under the age of 18 heard in the magistrates’ courts, not just those heard in the Youth Court. It is not possible to separate out statistics for the latter.

At any one time there will always be outstanding cases – those for which evidence is being prepared for example. Other than the increase in cases due to Covid in 2020, the number of current cases is broadly in line with those over recent years and we do not anticipate any adverse impact on the youth justice system.