Access to justice
Justice is a core public service relied upon by victims, families and businesses. Whether to resolve a business dispute, protect a child at risk, or bring an offender to justice - we aim to ensure that when our system is needed, it can be accessed swiftly (Ministry of Justice outcome delivery plan)
Court capacity
Crown court disposals
A count of the number of cases only when all the offences have been completed (following a validation process) in the reporting period. Disposals figures in this report may change if the case results are entered after the first collation of the data.
Jan - Dec 2023
102,021
Update Sep 2024
In the 3 months to 30 Sep 2024 there were 29,502 crown court disposals.
Data source
The data source for this measure and more detailed information can be found in the Criminal court statistics quarterly publication.
Publication date
Published: 12 December 2024.
Crown court outstanding
A count of all cases where one or more offence remains incomplete. The data is a snapshot based on outstanding cases on the final day of the reporting period. This is a count of live cases on the system and is not a calculation based on receipts and disposals. Transferred cases may be double counted for a period while they show in both sending and receiving courts; offences subsequently entered in error may change the categorisation of the case.
31 Dec 2023
67,284
Update Sep 2024
In the 3 months to 30 Sep 2024 there were 73,105 crown court outstanding.
Data source
The data source for this measure and more detailed information can be found in the Criminal court statistics quarterly publication.
Publication date
Published: 12 December 2024.
Crown courts cracked trials
Cracked trials as a percentage of total trials.
| Period | Crown courts cracked trials |
|---|---|
| Jan - Dec 2007 | 42% |
| Jan - Dec 2008 | 41% |
| Jan - Dec 2009 | 42% |
| Jan - Dec 2010 | 43% |
| Jan - Dec 2011 | 40% |
| Jan - Dec 2012 | 37% |
| Jan - Dec 2013 | 35% |
| Jan - Dec 2014 | 35% |
| Jan - Dec 2015 | 35% |
| Jan - Dec 2016 | 34% |
| Jan - Dec 2017 | 34% |
| Jan - Dec 2018 | 35% |
| Jan - Dec 2019 | 34% |
| Jan - Dec 2020 | 28% |
| Jan - Dec 2021 | 29% |
| Jan - Dec 2022 | 26% |
| Jan - Dec 2023 | 30% |
Jan - Dec 2023
30%
Update Sep 2024
In the 3 months to 30 Sep 2024, 32% percentage of the total crown courts trials were cracked trials.
Data source
The data source for this measure and more detailed information can be found in the Criminal court statistics quarterly publication.
Publication date
Published: 12 December 2024.
Crown courts ineffective trials
Ineffective trials as a percentage of total trials.
| Period | Crown courts ineffective trials |
|---|---|
| Jan - Dec 2007 | 12% |
| Jan - Dec 2008 | 12% |
| Jan - Dec 2009 | 13% |
| Jan - Dec 2010 | 14% |
| Jan - Dec 2011 | 14% |
| Jan - Dec 2012 | 14% |
| Jan - Dec 2013 | 14% |
| Jan - Dec 2014 | 15% |
| Jan - Dec 2015 | 15% |
| Jan - Dec 2016 | 15% |
| Jan - Dec 2017 | 15% |
| Jan - Dec 2018 | 14% |
| Jan - Dec 2019 | 16% |
| Jan - Dec 2020 | 21% |
| Jan - Dec 2021 | 23% |
| Jan - Dec 2022 | 36% |
| Jan - Dec 2023 | 27% |
Jan - Dec 2023
27%
Update Sep 2024
In the 3 months to 30 Sep 2024, 25% percentage of the total crown courts trials were ineffective trials.
Data source
The data source for this measure and more detailed information can be found in the Criminal court statistics quarterly publication.
Publication date
Published: 12 December 2024.
Magistrates' courts disposals
A count of the number of cases only when all the offences have been completed (following a validation process) in the reporting period. Disposals figures in this report may change if the case results are entered after the first collation of the data.
Jan - Dec 2023
1,361,167
Update Sep 2024
In the 3 months to 30 Sep 2024 there were 321,072 magistrates' courts disposals.
Data source
The data source for this measure and more detailed information can be found in the Criminal court statistics quarterly publication.
Publication date
Published: 12 December 2024.
Employment tribunal disposals - single claims
Employment tribunals are independent judicial bodies established to resolve disputes between employers and employees over employment rights.
Data for 2021/22 is missing due to this tribunal being migrated to a new case management system. The data will be made available as soon as possible, and the data is quality assured.
| Period | Employment tribunal disposals - single claims |
|---|---|
| Apr 2009 - Mar 2010 | 65,018 |
| Apr 2010 - Mar 2011 | 62,887 |
| Apr 2011 - Mar 2012 | 59,402 |
| Apr 2012 - Mar 2013 | 56,011 |
| Apr 2013 - Mar 2014 | 42,165 |
| Apr 2014 - Mar 2015 | 18,839 |
| Apr 2015 - Mar 2016 | 15,342 |
| Apr 2016 - Mar 2017 | 14,755 |
| Apr 2017 - Mar 2018 | 17,221 |
| Apr 2018 - Mar 2019 | 24,200 |
| Apr 2019 - Mar 2020 | 27,576 |
| Apr 2020 - Mar 2021 | 25,068 |
| Apr 2021 - Mar 2022 | |
| Apr 2022 - Mar 2023 | 32,262 |
| Apr 2023 - Mar 2024 | 30,441 |
Apr 2023 - Mar 2024
30,441
Update
In the 3 months to 30 Sep 2024 there were 7,239 single claims employment tribunal disposals.
Data source
The data source for this measure and more detailed information can be found in the Tribunals statistics quarterly publication.
Publication date
Published: 12 December 2024.
Employment tribunal disposals - multiple claims
The large number of employment tribunal multiple claims disposals in 2014/2015 is due to a very large multiple airlines case covering 71,000 jurisdictions and relating to the Working Time Directive ending.
Data for 2021/22 is missing due to this tribunal being migrated to a new case management system. The data will be made available as soon as possible, and the data is quality assured.
| Period | Employment tribunal disposals - multiple claims |
|---|---|
| Apr 2009 - Mar 2010 | 47,346 |
| Apr 2010 - Mar 2011 | 59,905 |
| Apr 2011 - Mar 2012 | 51,367 |
| Apr 2012 - Mar 2013 | 51,409 |
| Apr 2013 - Mar 2014 | 106,222 |
| Apr 2014 - Mar 2015 | 293,934 |
| Apr 2015 - Mar 2016 | 34,187 |
| Apr 2016 - Mar 2017 | 30,422 |
| Apr 2017 - Mar 2018 | 21,450 |
| Apr 2018 - Mar 2019 | 19,394 |
| Apr 2019 - Mar 2020 | 22,641 |
| Apr 2020 - Mar 2021 | 16,554 |
| Apr 2021 - Mar 2022 | |
| Apr 2022 - Mar 2023 | 38,314 |
| Apr 2023 - Mar 2024 | 72,182 |
Apr 2023 - Mar 2024
72,182
Update
In the 3 months to 30 Sep 2024 there were 5,928 multiple claims employment tribunal disposals.
Data source
The data source for this measure and more detailed information can be found in the Tribunals statistics quarterly publication.
Publication date
Published: 12 December 2024.
Victim experience
Number of receipts of adult rape cases at the Crown Court
Cases arriving at the Crown Court. Data from the Crown Court cases received, disposed and outstanding tool.
| Period | Number of receipts of adult rape cases at the Crown Court |
|---|---|
| Q1 (Jan-Mar) 2014 | 520 |
| Q2 (Apr-Jun) 2014 | 509 |
| Q3 (Jul-Sep) 2014 | 511 |
| Q4 (Oct-Dec) 2014 | 537 |
| Q1 (Jan-Mar) 2015 | 551 |
| Q2 (Apr-Jun) 2015 | 525 |
| Q3 (Jul-Sep) 2015 | 550 |
| Q4 (Oct-Dec) 2015 | 657 |
| Q1 (Jan-Mar) 2016 | 572 |
| Q2 (Apr-Jun) 2016 | 526 |
| Q3 (Jul-Sep) 2016 | 504 |
| Q4 (Oct-Dec) 2016 | 538 |
| Q1 (Jan-Mar) 2017 | 488 |
| Q2 (Apr-Jun) 2017 | 464 |
| Q3 (Jul-Sep) 2017 | 477 |
| Q4 (Oct-Dec) 2017 | 395 |
| Q1 (Jan-Mar) 2018 | 238 |
| Q2 (Apr-Jun) 2018 | 186 |
| Q3 (Jul-Sep) 2018 | 203 |
| Q4 (Oct-Dec) 2018 | 213 |
| Q1 (Jan-Mar) 2019 | 224 |
| Q2 (Apr-Jun) 2019 | 221 |
| Q3 (Jul-Sep) 2019 | 215 |
| Q4 (Oct-Dec) 2019 | 244 |
| Q1 (Jan-Mar) 2020 | 264 |
| Q2 (Apr-Jun) 2020 | 198 |
| Q3 (Jul-Sep) 2020 | 303 |
| Q4 (Oct-Dec) 2020 | 298 |
| Q1 (Jan-Mar) 2021 | 309 |
| Q2 (Apr-Jun) 2021 | 339 |
| Q3 (Jul-Sep) 2021 | 318 |
| Q4 (Oct-Dec) 2021 | 315 |
| Q1 (Jan-Mar) 2022 | 415 |
| Q2 (Apr-Jun) 2022 | 453 |
| Q3 (Jul-Sep) 2022 | 478 |
| Q4 (Oct-Dec) 2022 | 505 |
| Q1 (Jan-Mar) 2023 | 592 |
| Q2 (Apr-Jun) 2023 | 631 |
| Q3 (Jul-Sep) 2023 | 671 |
| Q4 (Oct-Dec) 2023 | 653 |
| Q1 (Jan-Mar) 2024 | 701 |
| Q2 (Apr-Jun) 2024 | 747 |
| Q3 (Jul-Sep) 2024 | 802 |
Q3 (Jul-Sep) 2024
802
Data source
The data source for this measure and more detailed information can be found in the Criminal court statistics quarterly publication.
Publication date
Published: 12 December 2024.
Civil courts - total judgments
Total number of judgments in the county courts. Some civil cases are resolved via mediation or settled out of court and don't proceed to a judgment.
| Period | Civil courts - total judgments |
|---|---|
| Jan - Dec 2009 | 982,464 |
| Jan - Dec 2010 | 794,311 |
| Jan - Dec 2011 | 748,586 |
| Jan - Dec 2012 | 663,457 |
| Jan - Dec 2013 | 667,168 |
| Jan - Dec 2014 | 831,541 |
| Jan - Dec 2015 | 867,665 |
| Jan - Dec 2016 | 1,055,035 |
| Jan - Dec 2017 | 1,284,364 |
| Jan - Dec 2018 | 1,291,142 |
| Jan - Dec 2019 | 1,323,750 |
| Jan - Dec 2020 | 727,438 |
| Jan - Dec 2021 | 980,474 |
| Jan - Dec 2022 | 901,278 |
| Jan - Dec 2023 | 1,058,964 |
Jan - Dec 2023
1,058,964
Update Sep 2024
In the 3 months to 30 Sep 2024 there were 294,414 estimated total judgments.
Data source
The data source for this measure and more detailed information can be found in the Civil justice statistics (quarterly) publication.
Publication date
Published: 5 December 2024. Next publication: 06 March 2025 9:30am.
Family court - total cases disposed
Total cases disposed at family court.
Data for 2023 to 2024 are not available. Please refer to the data quality issues section of the accompanying bulletin for further details.
| Period | Family court - total cases disposed |
|---|---|
| Jan - Dec 2011 | 233,527 |
| Jan - Dec 2012 | 234,759 |
| Jan - Dec 2013 | 240,711 |
| Jan - Dec 2014 | 248,774 |
| Jan - Dec 2015 | 221,512 |
| Jan - Dec 2016 | 228,650 |
| Jan - Dec 2017 | 226,610 |
| Jan - Dec 2018 | 213,988 |
| Jan - Dec 2019 | 233,918 |
| Jan - Dec 2020 | 225,536 |
| Jan - Dec 2021 | 249,256 |
| Jan - Dec 2022 | 203,661 |
| Jan - Dec 2023 |
Jan - Dec 2023
-
Data source
The data source for this measure and more detailed information can be found in the Family court statistics quarterly publication.
Publication date
Published: 26 September 2024. Next publication: 19 December 2024 9:30am. Update expected here by 15 January 2025.
Tribunals disposals - overall
The overall total for 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 is unavailable due to migration of some tribunals.
An 'Interim Total' has been calculated. This is the sum of all the tribunals excluding those tribunals with data missing or incomplete i.e. Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber). These tribunals are being migrated to a new case management system and will be made available as soon as possible.
The interim total is not available for 2021/22 due to this tribunal being migrated to a new case management system.
| Period | Tribunals disposals - overall |
|---|---|
| Apr 2007 - Mar 2008 | 550,148 |
| Apr 2008 - Mar 2009 | 568,671 |
| Apr 2009 - Mar 2010 | 649,920 |
| Apr 2010 - Mar 2011 | 719,623 |
| Apr 2011 - Mar 2012 | 739,747 |
| Apr 2012 - Mar 2013 | 739,723 |
| Apr 2013 - Mar 2014 | 869,105 |
| Apr 2014 - Mar 2015 | 640,414 |
| Apr 2015 - Mar 2016 | 364,860 |
| Apr 2016 - Mar 2017 | 386,709 |
| Apr 2017 - Mar 2018 | 400,659 |
| Apr 2018 - Mar 2019 | 392,575 |
| Apr 2019 - Mar 2020 | 373,642 |
| Apr 2020 - Mar 2021 | 263,572 |
| Apr 2021 - Mar 2022 | |
| Apr 2022 - Mar 2023 | 297,021 |
| Apr 2023 - Mar 2024 | 345,553 |
Apr 2023 - Mar 2024
345,553
Update
In the 3 months to 30 Sep 2024 the interim total number of tribunals disposals was 74,149.
Data source
The data source for this measure and more detailed information can be found in the Tribunals statistics quarterly publication.
Publication date
Published: 12 December 2024.
Legal aid
Legal aid - overall annual expenditure (£m)
The closed-claim measure of expenditure shows the total value of payments made to legal aid providers in relation to pieces of work that are completed in each period, even where a portion of the work may have taken place over previous periods. Most expenditure figures in the legal aid statistics are shown on this basis.
| Period | Legal aid - overall annual expenditure (£m) |
|---|---|
| Apr 2009 - Mar 2010 | 2,133 (£m) |
| Apr 2010 - Mar 2011 | 2,156 (£m) |
| Apr 2011 - Mar 2012 | 2,121 (£m) |
| Apr 2012 - Mar 2013 | 2,097 (£m) |
| Apr 2013 - Mar 2014 | 2,018 (£m) |
| Apr 2014 - Mar 2015 | 1,821 (£m) |
| Apr 2015 - Mar 2016 | 1,650 (£m) |
| Apr 2016 - Mar 2017 | 1,628 (£m) |
| Apr 2017 - Mar 2018 | 1,659 (£m) |
| Apr 2018 - Mar 2019 | 1,671 (£m) |
| Apr 2019 - Mar 2020 | 1,683 (£m) |
| Apr 2020 - Mar 2021 | 1,345 (£m) |
| Apr 2021 - Mar 2022 | 1,658 (£m) |
| Apr 2022 - Mar 2023 | 1,845 (£m) |
| Apr 2023 - Mar 2024 | 2,134 (£m) |
Apr 2023 - Mar 2024
2,134 (£m)
Data source
The data source for this measure and more detailed information can be found in the Legal aid statistics (quarterly) publication.
Publication date
Published: 26 September 2024. Next publication: 19 December 2024 9:30am. Update expected here by 15 January 2025.