Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of criminal trials which will be vacated because of judicial, courtroom and prosecutorial capacity constraints during 2026; whether his Department maintains internal data on the principal causes of trial adjournments; and whether regional league tables are produced.

The Ministry of Justice does not model or estimate the number of future criminal trials that will be vacated due to judicial, courtroom or prosecutorial capacity restraints. However, the Ministry of Justice does hold information on past trial effectiveness, including vacated trials, which is published as part of Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly and can be accessed through the ‘Trial effectiveness at the criminal courts Tool’: Criminal court statistics - GOV.UK.

The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the principal causes of trial adjournments. However, the Ministry does publish information on ineffective trials, which are trials that do not proceed on the scheduled trial date and require a new listing to be scheduled. This can be due to action or inaction by one or more of the prosecution, the defence or the court.

Data on ineffective trials is published in the ‘Trial effectiveness at the criminal courts tool’, including the reasons for postponement and geographical breakdowns: Criminal court statistics - GOV.UK.

Following from Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, the Government is taking action to modernise the criminal court system, reduce the Crown Court caseload and deliver swifter justice for all.

The reforms introduced in the Courts and Tribunals Bill are intended to modernise and improve the system, to build a criminal courts system that is resilient, flexible, better equipped to manage the types and characteristics of today’s crimes and to enable a more proportionate allocation of resources across the criminal courts.

Alongside structural reform, the Deputy Prime Minister has announced several measures we are taking forward to drive efficiency – including rolling out case coordinators in every Crown Court centre, exploring the use of new AI technologies and supporting the Lady Chief Justice to set up the first ever National Listing Framework, which has now been published. Sir Brian’s conclusion was clear that structural reform, efficiencies, and investment are all critical to turn the tide on the Crown Court backlog and deliver swifter justice for all. That is why we are also delivering record financial investment, including uncapped Crown Court sitting days, additional funding for criminal legal aid, and £287 million to improve court buildings and digital infrastructure. We are considering the remainder of Sir Brian’s recommendations and will publish our full response in due course.