Courts: Standards
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many court hearings were postponed in England and Wales in each of the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman
We have interpreted your question to be asking for information on how many magistrates’ and Crown Court trials were ineffective in England and Wales in each of the last five years. An ineffective trial is one that does not go ahead on the scheduled trial date, so a further listing is required. This can be due to action or inaction by one or more of the prosecution, the defence, or the court.
The Ministry of Justice collates and publishes data on the volume of trials that were ineffective at the magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court including reasons in the ‘Trial effectiveness at the criminal courts tool’ on a quarterly basis. The published series covers March 2021 to March 2026 and can be found here: Criminal court statistics - GOV.UK.
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