Crown Court: Trials

The information requested can be found in the table attached which provides a monthly breakdown per Crown Court location showing the maximum available court time (verified session hours) and the actual court time (hours used). A ‘session’ represents the time that a court/hearing room space is available, with up to two sessions (AM and PM) available each sitting day.

The data provided is for the period 12 months to June 2024, as the Crown Court source of data relating to used sessions changed on 1 July 2024. Data since July 2024 is being quality assured for accuracy.

It is important to note that there are various reasons why courts will in practice never be able to utilise 100% of their available session hours. For example: lost time in transition between different hearings when one set of parties leaves a courtroom and another then must enter, pausing proceedings to allow counsel to seek instructions from lay clients, allowing respective legal teams to discuss unforeseen developments in a trial, delays caused by witness non-attendance or prisoner production, and courtroom maintenance or technology problems. However, the independent judiciary, supported by HM Courts and Tribunals Service staff, will always seek to mitigate any down time by bringing on alternative work to fill gaps and maximise courtroom utilisation as far as possible within the boundaries of allocated funding.

These data are management information and are not subject to the same level of checks as official statistics and subject to data quality issues inherent in any large-scale manual system. The data provided is the most recent available and for that reason might differ slightly from any previously published information. Explanations of the specific data provided are set out at the foot of the table where appropriate.