Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to reduce the backlog of cases at Truro Crown Court.

This Government inherited a record and rising courts backlog. We have funded a record-high allocation of Crown Court sitting days – 110,000 days this financial year, 4,000 more than the previous Government – to tackle the outstanding caseload.

As part of our commitment to bearing down on the caseload we have increased magistrates’ court sentencing powers from 6 months to 12 months’ imprisonment for a single triable-either way offence. This will free up capacity in the Crown Court, ensuring it is reserved for the more serious and complex cases.

However, the scale of the challenge is beyond what increasing sitting days alone can achieve.

This is why we commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to undertake an Independent Review of the Criminal Courts to consider the merits of longer-term reform and the efficiency of processes in the criminal courts. We will carefully consider Sir Brian’s proposals in more detail before setting out the Government’s full response to the report in the autumn.

Over the past two years, Truro Crown Court has experienced a significant increase in receipts, rising by 56% (from 477 to 746 cases), a figure that surpasses the 28% increase seen in England and Wales. This growth reflects the increasing demand on the judicial system in the region.

Truro continues to maximise the use of Crown Court estate to increase the number of cases sat. In June 2025, Crown Court appeals were heard at Truro magistrates’ court to reduce the appeal backlog, whilst also maintaining trials at Truro Crown Court.