What steps her Department is taking to reduce the Crown court backlog.

This Government are funding a record 110,000 Crown court sitting days, which is 4,000 more than the previous Government funded. To bring down the backlog we must embrace reform, and that is why I have launched an independent review into the efficiency of the criminal courts, led by Sir Brian Leveson. This Government will deliver swifter justice for victims.

In 2016, 120,000 cases were disposed of—concluded—in the Crown courts. That figure was never achieved again by the Conservative party, and by 2022 the figure was 17% lower. Conservative Members like to blame covid for everything, but there were problems in the system well before that. There has been a systematic failure to modernise processes in our courts for years, as we on the Justice Committee hear far too often. What more can we do to use technology to make our courts more efficient and, most importantly, ensure faster outcomes for victims?

My hon. Friend is right to note the issue of falling disposals—in layman’s terms, the number of cases that are completed. The rate of disposals has indeed fallen in recent years, which why I have asked Sir Brian Leveson, as part of his review, to consider how we improve the efficiency of our courts, including further technical or AI-related reform that might assist cases to move more quickly through the system. We will need a three-pronged approach: more funding, which I have already delivered; once-in-a-generation reform, which Sir Brian Leveson is looking at; and going further and faster on productivity and efficiency in the system. That is how we will get swifter justice for victims.

The backlog in our criminal justice system means that offenders in my constituency are free to commit crime while waiting for the judicial process. I met Sussex police and residents last week and heard how the backlogs are making the already hard job of the police even harder, and residents’ lives a misery. How does the Secretary of State plan on tackling those backlogs, which are leading to offenders roaming free and more crimes being committed?

We are already tackling those issues, and as soon I came into office I increased the number of sitting days by 2,500 on what I inherited from the previous Administration. I have increased the sentencing powers of magistrates courts, and increased funding for legal aid. Criminal legal aid underpins the whole system, and for the next financial year we are funding a record 110,000 Crown court sitting days. That, combined with once-in-a-generation reform of the courts to deal with the demand coming into the system, and going further on productivity and efficiency, is how we will deal with the problems that the hon. Member rightly notes.