Policy background Criminal Courts
Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and is responsible for the administration of courts and tribunals in England and Wales. This includes the criminal court system, which comprises of magistrates’ courts, the Crown Court and the criminal division of the Court of Appeal.
	There have been two notable reviews of the efficiency of the criminal court system in England and Wales in recent decades: by Sir Robin Auld in his "Review of the Criminal Courts (2001)"  4 and Sir Brian Leveson in his "Review of Efficiency in Criminal Proceedings (2015)". 5 Both of these reviews identified improvements that could be made to the structure, processes, and efficiency of the criminal justice system (CJS).
	In September 2016, the then Government published a consultation paper titled "Transforming our Justice System", which was released in tandem with a joint statement by the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, and the Senior President of Tribunals. 6 The joint statement described plans for a modern court system, shared by the Government and senior judiciary, stating "the vision is to modernise and upgrade our justice system so that it works even better for everyone, from judges and legal professionals, to witnesses, litigants and the vulnerable victims of crime." The statement also identified a number of "real challenges" that still remain in the justice system today through inefficient and outdated processes.
	The majority of the criminal court measures contained in this Act were first introduced in the Prisons and Courts Act on 23 February 2017, which fell with the dissolution of Parliament when a general election was called that same year. The measures in this Act will help the Government to continue to realise the vision for the criminal courts that was described in the 2016 joint statement, as well as delivering on more of the recommendations that featured in Lord Justice Auld’s and Lord Justice Leveson’s previous reviews of the criminal court system. Furthermore, the measures will also complement new criminal court measures that feature in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act ("the PCSC Act") (which enable greater use of audio and video technology in criminal proceedings where appropriate), and the judicial powers of authorised court officers created by the Courts and Tribunals (Judiciary and Functions of Staff) Act 2018.
	The criminal court measures in this Act also form part of HMCTS’s criminal court reform programme, in which the Government is investing over £1 Action to transform the courts and tribunals system, and a further £142 million of COVID-19 funding to upgrade court buildings so that they are digitally enabled. The measures will enable key parts of the reform programme so that the Government can continue to deliver vital improvements to the criminal court system and modernise the delivery of justice; this includes digitising and streamlining preliminary pre-trial court proceedings via the Common Platform, 7 removing unnecessary courtroom hearings, and forging stronger links between the Crown Court and magistrates’ courts. This will make the criminal courts more easily accessible to users and provide greater flexibility for the effective deployment of resources; saving court time, reducing delays, delivering swifter justice and supporting recovery.
	While these measures are designed to reduce waiting times and unnecessary travel for court participants, a full hearing at court will always be available when needed and where the court considers it to be in the interests of justice.