Ministers introduced the Courts and Tribunals Bill in the House of Commons on 25 February 2026, proposing structural changes intended to accelerate criminal case throughput in England and Wales. The package combines reforms to trial mode and appeals with adjustments to magistrates’ sentencing powers and operational measures across the court system. (gov.uk)
Official figures published with the announcement indicate around 80,000 Crown Court cases are currently open, with nearly 20,000 waiting over a year, including roughly 2,000 rape cases. The average time to complete a Crown Court case is 255 days, rising to 423 days for adult rape. A separate Ministry of Justice factsheet records 79,619 open cases as at September 2025. (gov.uk)
The Ministry of Justice has also launched a public website setting out backlog data and scenario projections, independently audited by Hartley McMaster. The government states that without structural reform or additional spending the Crown Court backlog could reach about 130,000 by 2030 and 200,000 by 2035. (gov.uk)
Allocation for triable‑either‑way offences will no longer be driven by defendant election. The Bill removes the right to elect a Crown Court trial where magistrates accept jurisdiction and abolishes the requirement for a defendant’s consent when a Crown Court judge remits a suitable case back to the magistrates’ court. (gov.uk)
A new Bench Division of the Crown Court will hear triable‑either‑way cases that are likely to attract sentences of three years or less, with a single judge determining verdict and giving reasons. Indictable‑only offences are excluded, and judges will decide eligibility-typically at the plea and trial preparation hearing. Drawing on Sir Brian Leveson’s review, the government estimates judge‑only trials save at least 20 percent of court time. Cases already underway before a jury are unaffected, although cases in the open caseload that have not begun may be reallocated when the reform starts. (gov.uk)
Separately, for suitably technical and lengthy fraud and financial crime, the court will gain a power to order a judge‑only trial, subject to a preparatory hearing and a public‑interest test. Homicide and indictable‑only sexual offences are excluded, and judges must revoke the order if an excluded offence is added or it becomes appropriate to proceed with a jury. (gov.uk)
Appeals from the magistrates’ courts to the Crown Court will move to a permission‑based model. The automatic right and full rehearing are replaced by a leave stage and an appeal confined to the issues granted permission. Audio recording in magistrates’ courts will be introduced to support transcript‑based appeals. (gov.uk)
Magistrates’ sentencing powers will become extendable to a maximum of 18 months’ imprisonment for a single triable‑either‑way offence, with scope to increase to 24 months for multiple offences. The limits may be varied in six‑month increments via secondary legislation, enabling adjustments as capacity and demand change. (gov.uk)
Ministers emphasise that jury trials will remain for the most serious offences, including rape, murder, aggravated burglary, blackmail, people trafficking, grievous bodily harm and the most serious drug crimes. (gov.uk)
Beyond criminal procedure, the Bill would repeal the presumption of parental involvement from the Children Act 1989 to prioritise child welfare, align tribunals leadership under the Lady Chief Justice through reforms to the office of the Senior President of Tribunals, clarify admissibility thresholds and strengthen special measures in sexual offence cases, update magistrates’ allowances, and limit the “Central Criminal Court” title to the Old Bailey alone. (gov.uk)
Operational measures announced alongside the Bill include a National Listing Framework to standardise listings and targeted ‘Blitz’ sittings to clear older cases. For 2026/27 the Crown Court will be funded for unlimited sitting days, with a further £287 million for the court estate; the government says magistrates’ courts will also run at maximum operational capacity. (gov.uk)
The Bill applies to England and Wales and began in the House of Commons on 25 February 2026 as Bill 389 (Session 2024–26). It will follow the usual stages through both Houses, starting with First Reading. (bills.parliament.uk)
Analysis: For practitioners, the shift means earlier, judicially led allocation decisions, a larger share of trials remaining in the magistrates’ courts or entering the Bench Division, permission‑stage timetables for magistrates’ appeals, and operational changes as unlimited sitting days and standardised listings are implemented.
Impact and equalities material has been published alongside the Bill, including two impact assessments and a 60‑page Equalities Statement, providing modelling assumptions and distributional analysis to support parliamentary scrutiny. (gov.uk)