The government has set out its full response to Lord Leveson's review of criminal courts, the BBC reports, accepting or accepting in principle the overwhelming majority of its 180 recommendations. Ministers say the plans amount to a programme of investment, modernisation and reform aimed at making the justice system faster and more resilient.
Key points
- Virtual remand hearings — to be piloted in at least four police force areas, with defendants appearing by secure video link from custody suites.
- Case coordinators — up to £5 million to place specialists in every Crown Court in England and Wales.
- Broadcasting — legislation laid to allow cameras into the Administrative Court and Chief Magistrate's sentencing remarks.
- Jury trials — the Courts and Tribunals Bill will be amended to drop proposals limiting jury trials.
The remand pilot, backed by £17.4 million, is intended to spare defendants the journey from police cell to court to prison and to let courts move through more cases. Early projections suggest it could help reduce the record backlog in the criminal courts.
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Alex Norris said he was grateful to Lord Leveson for a landmark review that gave the government "a blueprint for modernising our criminal courts and tackling the unacceptable delays facing victims that we inherited". He added that investment in the court estate, technology and reform would help cut delays and "deliver the swifter justice that victims deserve".
Minister for Courts and Legal Services Sarah Sackman KC said the response set out a clear plan and that expanding virtual remand hearings and rolling out case coordinators would help courts "work smarter". The government is also increasing the size of the magistracy and spending millions on the court estate, and judges can now hear cases transferred digitally from courts anywhere in the country.
The Courts and Tribunals Bill returns to Parliament tomorrow, when ministers will remove proposals to limit jury trials so that almost all Crown Court cases continue to be heard by a jury.
What it means in practice
For most people the changes will show up slowly, in how cases move rather than in new rights or duties. If you are a victim, a witness or a defendant in a Crown Court case, the practical effects are shorter waits, more hearings held remotely and specialist staff pushing paperwork along.
- Remote first hearings — defendants in the pilot areas will appear from a police custody suite, so families and victims should check where and how a hearing is being held before travelling.
- Court staff on hand — new coordinators in every Crown Court are meant to flag problems earlier, so it is worth raising delays with the court rather than waiting.
- Cameras in court — once the legislation takes effect, some hearings and sentencing remarks will be broadcast, so watch official channels for extracts rather than social media clips.
