Crown Court: Opening Hours
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate she has made of the number of crown court sitting days that have been reduced.
Answered by Heidi Alexander
Every year, the Government and the Judiciary agree a number of sitting days and an overall budget in what is known as the Concordat process.
In June, the judiciary reached an agreement with the former Lord Chancellor to sit 106,000 days in the Crown Court within a total budget of £275 million.
To support efforts to maximise capacity, the Lord Chancellor has since agreed to fund an additional 500 days.
But there has been over listing against this budget – with more trials scheduled than the funding allows.
As a result, approximately 1,600 sitting days to be withdrawn. The level of impact will vary across regions and is being managed closely to ensure there is minimal disruption to all involved.
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