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Criminal Court Reform

Ministry of Justice written statement – made at on 2 December 2025.

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Photo of David Lammy David Lammy Deputy Prime Minister, The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

On 9 July 2025, Part 1 of the Independent Review of Criminal Courts, chaired by Sir Brian Leveson, was published. I am grateful to Sir Brian and the panel of expert advisers for their work.

The Government inherited a justice system in crisis– with a record and rising open caseload of nearly 80,000 criminal cases currently waiting to be heard in the Crown Court. Some victims are waiting years for justice, which is why the Government asked Sir Brian to make recommendations for how to restore confidence in the system.

The first part of Sir Brian’s review sets down a blueprint for bold, structural reform in our criminal courts.

In accepting that blueprint, the Government intends to rebuild the system through investment, structural reform and modernisation.

In addition to the significant investment this Government has announced already in our court estate and criminal solicitors, I am committed to investing up to £34 million more a year for criminal defence advocate legal aid fees to recognise the crucial work our legal professionals do in delivering for our justice system. This is subject to consultation.

I will also accept Sir Brian’s recommendation that the Government match-funds a number of criminal barrister pupillages, with a particular focus on opening a career at the criminal Bar to even more young people from across society.

I will agree sitting days with the senior judiciary through the usual Concordat process, aiming to give unprecedented three-year certainty to the system. This year, I allocated a record 111,250 days to the Crown Court, and I am clear that sitting days in the Crown and magistrates’ courts must continue to rise, and that our ambition is to continue breaking records by the end of this Parliament.

Today, I am confirming that the Government agrees with Sir Brian’s blueprint for structural reform and intends to legislate for the following measures:

  • Magistrates’ courts sentencing powers will increase to 18 months, with provision to extend to 24 months if necessary to relieve pressure in the Crown Court.
  • The right of defendants to elect for a jury trial will be removed, meaning that it will be for the court to determine where a case will be heard based on the severity of offences.
  • The appeals process from magistrates’ courts will be reformed so that automatic appeals to the Crown Court in criminal cases are replaced with a permission stage, limited to points of law.
  • A new Bench Division will be established in the Crown Court for triable-either-way cases with likely sentences of three years or less, heard by a judge alone.
  • Jury trials will remain for indictable-only offences and cases with likely sentences over three years.
  • A small number of serious, but particularly technical and lengthy fraud and financial cases may be heard by judge alone in the Crown Court, subject to certain requirements and at the discretion of the court.
  • The threshold for criminal damage to be tried summarily will be updated from £5,000 to £10,000, in line with inflation.

These reforms are grounded in the rule of law, equality before the law, and the right to a fair trial.

Sir Brian’s second report will set out a further blueprint for modernisation in the criminal courts, focussed on efficiency improvements and the better use of technology, and I am grateful to the Judiciary for their ongoing support for this work.

In addition to structural court reform, the Government will continue to consider the review’s broader recommendations, including those focussed on efficiency in the second part of the review, once published. We continue to explore options to stop cases coming to court in the first place, through smarter and wider use of diversion. We will consider opportunities to simplify the criminal records regime to ensure it is clear and proportionate, particularly in relation to childhood offences.

The Government recognises that the structural reforms will take time to implement and is committed to supporting victims during this period. We have committed multi-year funding for victim support services, and commit to investing £550 million over the next three years.

The Ministry of Justice will continue to work with the judiciary and stakeholders and will bring forward legislation for Parliament’s consideration in due course.

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