Thank you to those constituents who have contacted me about the Courts and Tribunals Bill and jury trials. As you know, the Government inherited a system close to breaking point with a Crown Court backlog of nearly 80,000 cases, more than double the number in 2019. More than 20,000 cases wait for more than a year, including around 2,000 rape cases.
Without urgent action, the backlog is projected to reach 200,000 within the next decade, which is why I support the Government’s plan to overhaul our justice system, building on the findings of Sir Brian Leveson’s recent independent criminal courts review. If justice cannot be delivered in a time-frame that allows victims to move on with their lives, then the law is failing.
Victims are worn down, people give up, cases collapse and offenders remain free to roam the streets, to commit more crimes/create more victims. To restore swift and fair justice, Ministers are investing, modernising and reforming and the Bill forms part of a package that includes £2.78 billion of investment for the coming year.
The Bill creates a new Crown Court bench division, so-called Swift Courts, which will hear cases with a likely custodial sentence of up to three years and to be heard by a judge sitting alone. The Leveson review predicts that this will reduce trial times by at least 20%, freeing up thousands of days for the most serious cases. New independent analysis supports the modelling behind the reforms and the predicted time-saving.
I support the Government’s commitment that indictable-only offences will remain for juries. The most serious crimes, including murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery, and GBH with intent will never be heard in the new division. Juries will remain the cornerstone of our democracy under these reforms.
I welcome the Lord Chancellor’ commitment to a full independent review of these reforms.
This Bill puts victims first and delivers the swift justice they deserve. It passed its Second Reading.
Best wishes
Rt Hon Hilary Benn
MP for Leeds South
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland