Written statement: Court Modernisation - Feb 24

Deputy Prime Minister (David Lammy): This Government inherited a criminal justice system on the brink of collapse. Trials are taking longer, hearings are being cancelled, and victims are facing unacceptable delays.

As the Independent Review of Criminal Courts (IRCC) concluded, without action, the situation will continue to spiral, far beyond the point of recovery. Investment is not enough – even with record financial investment and uncapping sitting days so that the Crown Court can sit and hear as many cases as possible, backlogs will continue to rise.

Only structural reform, alongside record investment and efficiencies can deliver faster, fairer justice for victims. Earlier this month, Sir Brian Leveson published the second part of his Independent Review of the Criminal Courts (IRCC), focused on driving efficiency and modernising the system. Today, I announce several initial measures we are taking forward.

IRCC Part 2 Interim Response

I remain grateful to Sir Brian Leveson and his panel of expert advisors for the review, which highlights many areas where we can make a tangible difference to productivity in the courts.

Listing and AI-assisted listing tool

Sir Brian makes recommendations to improve consistency across court scheduling, or ‘listing' as a whole. The responsibility for listing sits with the judiciary, however the Government has a responsibility to support them. Sir Brian recommends standardising the listing process and taking a national approach for the Crown Court (recommendation 92). We support this recommendation and I can announce that the Lady Chief Justice will publish a National Listing Framework to clarify the listings process in England and Wales, setting consistent principles for how cases are listed efficiently.

Sir Brian also makes recommendations to harness new technology, and AI in particular, to improve the scheduling process (recommendations 94 and 95). We are exploring how data and AI can be used to optimise scheduling and listing, piloting new tools that could support the judiciary in their decision-making. We have begun pilots of the new tool in Preston and Isleworth Crown Courts. Leaning from innovation and technology in the NHS, we are developing the tools to give listing officers more complete information about how long cases are likely to take. If successful, this could materially ease the burden on judges and help to maximise court resources. Together, these recommendations will take us from local listing on pen and paper, to a national, digital and data-led listing process.

Case Progression

Sir Brian recommends an increase in our case progression functions to speed up court processes and case progression. Building on the recent pilot of a case co-ordinator function in the Crown Court, we will create a cadre of specialised staff with delegated judicial powers to focus exclusively on progressing cases. I today announce that we agree with Sir Brian's recommendation to increase the number of staff undertaking these case progression functions in the Crown Court (recommendation 109) and will expand the role to every Crown Court.

‘Blitz Courts'

Sir Brian's review also endorses an approach to court scheduling known by some as ‘Blitz Courts'. This involves, intensive scheduling where similar cases are listed together over a short period of time allowing courts to crack through outstanding cases in a focused way. At the discretion of judges, there are plans to use them in London to help address the rising caseload from April 2026. By uncapping sitting days in 26/27 and beyond, I will enable judges to run ‘Blitz Courts' more regularly to enable more cases to be dealt with more swiftly. Initially the Blitz Courts in London will focus on cases involving assaults on emergency workers and then move onto other offences suitable for this focused approach such as cases involving possession of drugs or commercial burglary.

Remote participation

Remote hearings, where appropriate, can make the court system work more efficiently. Remote video hearings can avoid the need for the transfer of prisoners and can enable busy counsel to undertake more than one hearing a day. We believe greater use of remote technology can make a substantial difference to a modernised, efficient court system.

Sir Brian's review considers the expansion of online hearings and how best this can be done while maintaining fairness and transparency. While Sir Brian recommends maintaining the presumption for in-person trials, he recommends that other types of hearing should happen remotely.

This Government agrees. That is why we are investing in modernised video infrastructure to ensure our courts and tribunals have access to reliable, high-quality technology. We are supporting the work led by the senior judiciary to introduce new judicial guidance to promote a ‘remote first' principle and greater consistency for the use of video hearings. This will enable more hearings to take place remotely, which will save time, money and make the system more flexible. How hearings are conducted is rightly a matter for the judiciary, but it is the Government's job to ensure they have the tools to deliver justice as swiftly and accessibly as possible.

Prisoner Escort and Custody Services

Sir Brian made a number of recommendations to address the late arrivals of prisoners to court, which can mean cases are held up or adjourned, wasting court time and delaying justice.

We recognise the problems we inherited in prisoner transfer with delays occurring at prisons, en route between prison and court and at courts themselves in bringing prisoners to the dock. We are gripping this with the establishment of an oversight body chaired by the Ministers for Courts and Prisons to review prisoner transfer from end to end. This will monitor and drive performance improvements in prisoner transfer across the country.

We will improve how we communicate and share data and monitor Prisoner Escort and Custody Service's (PECS) and criminal justice agencies' performance more closely. Taken together, we believe this will ensure we have the right resources in the right places at the right times and mean we are better able to act where services are not meeting expectations.

We agree with Sir Brian's recommendation that PECS should be enabled to use bus lanes when transporting prisoners. This scheme is in use in Manchester, Bristol, Salford and Nottingham. We will work with the Department for Transport to issue guidance on PECS' use of bus lanes to all local authorities. And in London, where traffic regularly causes delays, we are working closely with Transport for London (TfL) to reduce avoidable delays and keep the justice system moving.

Vision

Finally, Sir Brian recommended that the Government should set a single, shared vision for partners across the criminal justice system with clear defined policy objectives. The Government supports this recommendation and I will work with the Home Secretary and the Attorney General to realise this vision.

We are carefully considering the remaining detailed recommendations in Sir Brian's review, across Part 1 and Part 2, and will set out a full government response in due course.

As Sir Brian makes clear, improving efficiencies alone is not a silver bullet to the current crisis. However, improved efficiency and modernisation form a key plank of our plan for reducing the delays and restoring confidence to the justice system. It is only the combination of pragmatic reform, investment and efficiencies that will ultimately deliver faster and fairer justice.

Broader modernisation measures

Transparency

The Government is committed to delivering the most modern and open justice system we have had. Openness and transparency is key to fairness.

Through the Sentencing Act, we have extended to every victim in the Crown Court the right to request a free copy of the judge's sentencing remarks, giving them a clear explanation of how and why the sentence was reached.

Judges in the new Crown Court Bench Division will also explain their verdicts in open court. Under a reformed system, every Magistrates' Court will have audio recording, putting the decision-making process on record.

In the Crown Court, the broadcasting of sentencing remarks has shone light on this crucial stage of the criminal justice process and gives the wider public the chance to see justice being done. We intend to build on this success and enable more judges to be filmed when passing sentence. I will be working closely with the Lady Chief Justice to agree where we can go further and broadcast more, to increase awareness.

Digitising the civil courts

Civil courts are where millions of individuals and businesses bring claims and determine disputes every year. A modernised civil justice system can help resolve disputes earlier and save businesses significant cost. We know that the current system has a long way to go. The public is right to expect that civil claims and processes reflect the needs of a modern, digitised society.

That is why over the spending review period we will be investing over £50 million to progress digitalisation of the County Court. In addition, we will invest over £20 million for a new digital system in the High Court.

The civil courts play a critical role in supporting the UK's £7.4 billion legal service trade surplus. This investment is crucial in ensuring the UK remains a world leading jurisdiction for international dispute resolution and supporting the ongoing attractiveness of the Property and Business Court as a venue for international litigation.

This investment is not just about big business. The investment is designed to improve access to justice by cutting complexity and cost, and making it easier to resolve common every day civil problems such as when a business is failing to pay a supplier for goods provided or a dispute between a landlord and tenant over the condition of a property. Over a million claims have now been issued on our existing digital services for making money claims and damages claims. Cases consistently progress three times quicker through their early stages using these modern, user-focused services.

The Government is working with the Online Procedure Rule Committee, to develop rules for online proceedings that are simple to use, accessible and fair, fit for the digital age.

LawTech

Lawtech is central to the Government's vision for justice. Harnessing new technologies to revolutionise legal advice and dispute resolution. Lawtech is driving growth and has enhanced access to justice by helping individuals and businesses to quickly understand their legal problems. The UK is a leading jurisdiction for the development of lawtech. 44% of European lawtech start-ups are based in the UK.

We are making sure the conditions are right for lawtech to thrive. The Government's Industrial Strategy puts legal services and lawtech at its heart. To support UK lawtech I am committing £1.5m a year for the next three years to support our growing lawtech sector.