Government sets out criminal courts reform aimed at faster trials for victims
The government's response to Lord Leveson's review sets out plans to tackle the court backlog in England and Wales, including video first hearings and new case coordinators.
Key points
- The government accepted, or accepted in principle, the overwhelming majority of Lord Leveson's 180 recommendations.
- £17.4 million will pilot Virtual Remand Hearings in at least four police force areas.
- Up to £5 million will put Case Coordinators in every Crown Court in England and Wales.
- The government is dropping plans to limit jury trials, though it still intends to remove the right to elect a jury trial for some offences.
The government has set out criminal courts reform aimed at speeding up trials in England and Wales, publishing its response on Monday 12 October 2026 to Lord Leveson’s Criminal Courts Review. It accepts, or accepts in principle, the overwhelming majority of the review’s 180 recommendations, according to the announcement on GOV.UK. The stated aim is to cut delays for victims while the criminal court backlog stands at what the government calls a record high.
The response was published as the Courts and Tribunals Bill returned to Parliament. Ministers say the package combines investment, new technology and changes to how courts handle cases.
What is changing and when
Two measures lead the announcement. The first is a pilot of Virtual Remand Hearings, backed by £17.4 million, in at least four police force areas. Defendants will attend their first court hearing by secure video link from a police custody suite, which the government says avoids moving them from police cell to court to jail and lets courts progress more cases.
The second is up to £5 million for specialist Case Coordinators in every Crown Court in England and Wales. They will work alongside judges, prosecutors and defence teams to spot and resolve problems in individual cases earlier and keep them on track. The sources do not give start dates for either measure or name the pilot areas.
Other changes are already under way. Cases can now be transferred digitally to judges anywhere in the country, and the Ministry of Justice said “short trial courts”, previously known as “blitz courts”, are being rolled out nationwide. Councils are also being urged to let prison vans use bus lanes so defendants reach court on time, according to Legal Futures.
Who is affected: victims, defendants and court staff
Victims and witnesses are the group the government says will gain most, because fewer delays should mean cases reach a verdict sooner. Defendants held in custody will see the biggest practical change under the pilot, as their first appearance moves from a courtroom to a screen. Solicitors, prosecutors and court staff will work with the new coordinators.
A simple example shows the logic. Today, a defendant charged and kept in custody is taken from a police cell to court and, if remanded, on to prison. Under the pilot, the first hearing happens from the custody suite, so that journey and the staff time it uses are no longer needed for that hearing. The government says early predictions suggest this could help courts reduce the backlog, but it has not published a figure.
| Measure | Funding | Reach |
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Remand Hearings | £17.4 million | At least four police force areas |
| Case Coordinators | Up to £5 million | Every Crown Court in England and Wales |
| Combined (our calculation) | Up to £22.4 million |
Legal aid lawyers are also affected. In a joint foreword quoted by Legal Futures, ministers cited up to £34 million more a year for criminal legal aid advocates and £116 million invested in criminal legal aid solicitors. They also cited unlimited Crown Court sitting days and a 50% increase in the size of the magistracy.
What the government says, and what Leveson warned
Lord Chancellor Alex Norris said the review had provided “a blueprint for modernising our criminal courts and tackling the unacceptable delays facing victims that we inherited”. Courts minister Sarah Sackman KC said: “we are getting on with delivering it.” The government says it is satisfied that the Bill’s remaining reforms, plus investment, will reduce the Crown Court open caseload by the end of this parliament.
The response is not a full acceptance. The Law Gazette called it a “mixed verdict”, and Joshua Rozenberg’s newsletter noted that Lord Leveson had repeatedly warned ministers against a pick-and-mix approach. Lord Leveson told MPs last year that if the broad thrust of his recommendations was not accepted, “we risk the collapse of the system as we presently have it”.
The government rejected his proposed Crown Court bench division, in which a judge would sit with two magistrates, and will amend the Bill so that almost all Crown Court cases continue to be heard by a jury. It also declined to raise the maximum guilty-plea sentence reduction to 40%. The Law Gazette reported that ministers still intend to remove the right to elect a jury trial and to hold judge-only trials for fraud cases.
| Magistrates’ sentencing power | Maximum |
|---|---|
| Current | 12 months |
| Planned power: single triable either-way offence | 18 months |
| Planned power: multiple triable either-way offences | 24 months |
Rozenberg reported that the government will take the power to vary these limits by secondary legislation, to keep more cases in magistrates’ courts and free up Crown Court capacity.
What to do now
The sources give no start date for the pilots and do not name the areas. Anyone waiting for a trial should keep in touch with the police officer or victim contact who handles their case, who can explain how the changes may affect it once the pilot areas are confirmed.
The next steps are in Parliament. According to the Law Gazette, the Bill was due to go through report stage and third reading in the Commons on Tuesday 13 October, and Rozenberg reported that the Lords will then scrutinise it. Other items, including AI transcription of court proceedings and a single digital justice ID to track cases from arrest to release, are described as work in progress rather than finished policy. Some funding decisions, including training contracts for criminal solicitors, depend on the next Spending Review.
How this article was produced
This story was researched, written and fact-checked by the Reported.News AI newsroom and edited by Agatha Ives, our AI Politics desk editor. Every claim is checked against the sources listed below. Our Editors, Jack Shaw, James Smith, Matthew Price and Suzy Eaton, oversee everything we publish. Read how we report.
Verification status
Sources (5)
- Technology to bolster justice for victims as government responds to Leveson (GOV.UK, 12 Oct 2026)
- Government delivers mixed verdict on Leveson review (Law Gazette, 13 Oct 2026)
- A pick-and-mix approach? (A Lawyer Writes, 13 Oct 2026)
- Government to work with profession in reshaping criminal law market (Legal Futures, 12 Oct 2026)
- Government responds to Lord Leveson's Criminal Courts Review with new plans to speed up justice for victims (Open Access Government, 13 Oct 2026)
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Desk View · Opinion · Agatha Ives (AiPolitics)
The video hearing pilot is a testable idea, backed by £17.4 million. But victims will judge reform by how long their own case takes, and the government has published no target, start date or pilot areas. Several bigger measures still depend on legislation and future spending decisions, and the Law Gazette called the response a 'mixed verdict'. Until waiting-time figures appear, it is too early to say whether the plans will deliver.
Opinion from our AI politics desk, based on the verified facts above.
Should defendants' first court hearings be held by video link from police custody suites?