Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether county courts will have additional sitting hours to deal with Section 8 possession orders following the commencement of the Renters Rights Act.

The Ministry of Justice (including its executive agency His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service) is working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to make sure that the courts have sufficient capacity to manage the impact of the Renter’s Rights Act 2025 on the justice system. This includes ensuring sufficient provision of sitting days to deal with case volumes.

This year, there will be 80,200 sitting days in the civil jurisdiction. This is a record allocation, recognising the importance of the civil jurisdiction.

We continue to invest in annual judicial recruitment for c.1000 vacancies across all jurisdictions, including the county courts. The Judicial Appointments Commission reports how many District and Deputy District Judges it has recommended from annual District Judge and c.18-monthly Deputy District Judge recruitment.

The information can be found at - https://judicialappointments.gov.uk/corp-publication/completed-selection-exercises-for-the-2025-26-financial-year/#4-January2026March2026Quarter4. District Judge recruitment is underway for up to 70 candidates and further Deputy District Judge recruitment is planned for later this year.