Speeches by Farnsworth.

“Riel Karmy-Jones, may I ask you the same question, please?”

“To clarify, Kirsty Brimelow, are you saying that you disagree with the Government removing the right to elect?”

“No, I had finished.”

“This is a question for all of you. The Government have proposed to remove the right for defendants to elect a jury trial in either-way cases, which goes beyond what Brian Leveson suggested, albeit I think he made some comments that he did not think it was a bad idea, if it was what the Government wanted to do. Do you a…”

“Can I clarify something? Are you suggesting that victims do not withdraw because of waiting through the Crown court list, and that they all withdraw before that point because of the investigation?”

“Good afternoon. I am Linsey Farnsworth, the Member of Parliament for Amber Valley and a former Crown prosecutor for over two decades, so I am familiar with magistrates and Crown courts. My interests are as per the register, but those of relevance to today are that I am the co-chair of the APPG on legal and constitution…”

“I will focus on the magistrates court aspect of the changes. The Leveson report talked about removing the right to elect a Crown court trial for certain low-level offences, but the Government have decided to go further than that. Can you explain the rationale for that decision?”

“That would be really useful; thank you.”

“That could be a bonus time saving, then.”

“I will focus on the magistrates court aspect of the changes. The Leveson report talked about removing the right to elect a Crown court trial for certain low-level offences, but the Government have decided to go further than that. Can you explain the rationale for that decision?”

“That could be a bonus time saving, then.”

“Can I clarify something? You said that you estimate 1% to 2% savings in Crown court time. Are you just talking about how much time is saved in the actual hearings in the courtroom, or are you taking into account other savings within the criminal justice system, like the work undertaken to summons jurors, to deal with j…”

“Sticking with modelling, but from a slightly different angle, there has been a lot of focus on the length of time that a jury trial takes and the consequence, or lack of consequence, for the backlog. Has there been any modelling or consideration of other factors of jury trials and the impact on the backlog? One example…”

“Are we moving on to the magistrates?”

“Last year, 4,283 cases were in that situation, so only went to the Crown court because the defendant elected Crown court trial. Straightaway, the measure means that 4,283 cases fewer would have gone to the Crown court last year.”

“No, no, we are talking about different things here, I think—electing from the magistrates. At the moment, in a mode of trial hearing—as I am sure you know, but just in case anyone does not—the magistrates consider representations and decide whether their sentencing powers are sufficient. If they are sufficient and equi…”

“Sticking with modelling, but from a slightly different angle, there has been a lot of focus on the length of time that a jury trial takes and the consequence, or lack of consequence, for the backlog. Has there been any modelling or consideration of other factors of jury trials and the impact on the backlog? One example…”

“Is there anything that is likely to get—”

“Riel Karmy-Jones, may I ask you the same question, please?”

“Do you know what proportion of those successful appeals are as a result of the victim or witness not wanting to go through, essentially, a retrial?”