Speeches by Sackman.

“CTB 40 London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association”

“I thank the hon. Member for Chichester for tabling new clause 22 and amendment 15, regarding remote participation. They essentially call for a formal strategy for the use of remote proceedings. I thank her sincerely, because I totally agree with the sentiment behind them.”

““(1) The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 is amended as follows.”

“I am a massive advocate for how we harness technology. Video hearings can be a vital tool in the efficient administration of justice. I have seen that in operation: I was at Wood Green Crown court recently and could see the way the judge, hearing certain types of application, was able to rattle through a number of hear…”

“As I have said, we have precedent. The pilots showed that there was precious little improvement. Extending sitting hours might make things worse if, for example, one is stuck in extended hours on one trial, meaning that one is not available to be in other parts of the country.”

“If we think about where we were pre-covid, I remember—before coming to this place—when the courts suddenly started using video technology for remote hearings. People said it could not be done and that it was antithetical to fairness. When we went into lockdown, the trial that I had listed was done by video the next wee…”

“(2) In section 51 (Sending cases to the Crown court: adults), at the end of subsection (1) insert ‘, provided the case is ready to be heard in the Crown court’”

“We are not going to do a pilot, not because piloting is not a good idea per se, but because a pilot would necessitate legislation, which is why the hon. Lady has proposed it in this way, and because it would lead to a criminal justice system with different models running in parallel. That is okay—that happens with pilo…”

“This group contains a number of new clauses, and I want to make sure that I address all the principal themes. New clause 5, tabled by the hon. Member for Chichester, relates to publishing targets for reducing court backlogs. It would require the Lord Chancellor to set and publish targets for reducing court backlogs, an…”

“New Clause 21”

“(3) In section 51A (Sending cases to the Crown court: children and young persons), after subsection (2) insert ‘provided the case is ready to be heard in the Crown court’”.—(Yasmin Qureshi.)”

“We heard evidence from Sir Brian Leveson about how in his earlier years sitting in the Crown court it was not unusual to hear a couple of trials in a day. One of his insights was that part of the changing nature of what we are grappling with here is that Crown court trials are just taking longer. That ability to hear m…”

“Sending cases to the Crown court”

“Well, during covid courts did operate with extended and flexible arrangements, but those were temporary measures, under exceptional conditions, dealing with reduced volumes. By the way, to the point made by the hon. Member for Chichester, the reduction in the hearing time in a sitting day—now under four hours—concerns …”

“CTB 41 Callum Brunton”

“Let me say something about new clause 6 and the question of prioritisation. I absolutely sympathise with the intent of the new clause, and agree with points that everybody has made about the fact that victims of rape and sexual violence currently wait far too long for justice. The delays in this area are worse than in …”

“Committee rose.”

“Written evidence reported to the House”

“Adjourned till this day at Two o’clock.”

“The hon. Lady asks a really good question. The point about ineffective trials is one of the greatest sources of both delay and waste in the system. She is right that last year over 1,000 trials were ineffective on the date of trial. That means that everyone had turned up except for one element, and the hon. Lady cited …”