Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made a comparative assessment of variations in the length of waiting lists in (a) county and (b) family courts in each region of England.

A comparative assessment of variations in the lengths of waiting lists in the county and family courts in each region of England is not available, however the Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly statistics on civil and family justice on the GOV.UK website. These datasets were most recently updated in September and October 2022: Civil justice statistics quarterly: April to June 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Family Court Statistics Quarterly: April to June 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The impact of the pandemic in courts has been felt across all jurisdictions. However, the impact has been uneven across England and Wales, with civil and family court users in some areas experiencing longer waiting times than in others.

We are continually working, in close partnership with the judiciary, to improve the service in the county and family courts. We are replacing inefficient processes with our reformed digital services, using available courtroom capacity and supporting the use of remote hearings (where a judge deems it appropriate) to maximise the number of sitting days utilised in the jurisdiction.

These efforts are beginning to show improvements, for example, in possession cases measures of timeliness to first hearing have improved, with over 90% of courts now offering a first hearing within eight weeks compared to 60% in January.

The MoJ and the judiciary have taken and are taking action to increase judicial capacity across all jurisdictions. This includes a recruitment programme of around 1,000 judges and tribunal members in 2022/23. HMCTS is also working to ensure we have sufficient staffing resource in place to support the number of sitting days utilised across jurisdictions.