Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of magistrate court capacity in Greater Manchester.

The Government inherited a record and rising courts backlog in the Crown Court. The impacts of a historic lack of investment in the criminal justice system and increased demand, due to more arrests and charging practices, means there is now also additional pressure on the magistrates’ courts.

We are committed to creating a more stable and sustainable criminal justice system, in which victims and the public can have confidence. We continue to build capacity in the magistrates’ courts, with 14,636 magistrates in post as of April 2025 across England and Wales, and we are uplifting our recruitment programme to bring in up to 2,000 new and diverse magistrates over the next 12 months. In addition, we are recruiting greater numbers of legal advisers to ensure our courts remain resilient.

In Greater Manchester, strong collaboration with criminal justice partners is driving improvements in efficiency and performance. Key areas of focus include police file quality, listing reviews to optimise court use, and ongoing cross-agency training to build capability and experience.