Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Crown Court sitting days have been funded for 2027-28; and what projection she has made of the Crown Court open caseload at the end of each year to 2028-29.

In February 2026, the Government agreed a landmark financial settlement for His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service which removed financial constraints on Crown Court sitting days in 2026/27. The then Lord Chancellor also set out firm funding commitments through to 2028/29, providing unprecedented certainty for long term planning. For the Crown Court, these commitments provide funding to build system capacity to at least 113,500 sitting days in 2027/28. Final sitting day allocations for 2027/28 will be agreed by the Lord Chancellor, following consultation with the senior judiciary, including the Lady Chief Justice, and will be announced in due course.

The Department’s projections of the Crown Court open caseload at the end of each year to 2028/29 can be found here: October 2026 Appendix to the Criminal Court Reform: Impacts Factsheet.