Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many cases were awaiting trial in (1) the Crown Court, and (2) the Magistrates' Court, as of 30 June.

The table below provides the current number of outstanding cases awaiting trial in the Magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court as of 30 June 2020.

1. The Magistrates’ courts figure represents outstanding cases that are categorised as ‘for trial’ (Indictable-only and Triable-either-way). For example, this will include cases where defendants plead guilty and not guilty, and those where a warrant has been issued.

2. Though the outstanding figures for both Magistrates’ Courts and the Crown Court includes ‘for trial’ cases (Triable-either-way and Indictable Only), we are unable to say at what stage of the court process these are.

The volume of outstanding cases at the Magistrates’ Courts and the Crown Court are published as part of the National Statistics series ‘Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly’. These were last published on 24 September 2020. The next publication covering the period July 2020 to September 2020 is provisionally planned for publication on 17 December 2020 by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).