Civometry

Ministry of Justice · 13 December 2019 – 5 July 2024

Crown Court median waiting time for trial during the Conservative 2019–2024 government

2019 Q3 → 2024 Q2 · 19 periods

↑ 47.5%+7 weeks

Crown Court median waiting time for trial rose by 47.5% over the period, from 14 weeks (2019 Q3, the level when the government took office) to 21 (2024 Q2, the last complete period before it left office). That is an average of +8.5% a year over the term.

  1. Inherited level 2019 Q3: 14
  2. Level when it left 2024 Q2: 21
  3. method: latest complete period before start / before end

Changes during this period do not by themselves show what the government caused. Statistics reflect many influences, including earlier decisions, the economy and how the data is collected.

Crown Court median waiting time for trial: 2016 Q1 to 2026 Q1ConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeLabourLabour010202016201820202022202420262016 Q1: 16 weeks · published 25 June 20262016 Q2: 17 weeks · published 25 June 20262016 Q3: 17 weeks · published 25 June 20262016 Q4: 17 weeks · published 25 June 20262017 Q1: 16 weeks · published 25 June 20262017 Q2: 16 weeks · published 25 June 20262017 Q3: 16 weeks · published 25 June 20262017 Q4: 17 weeks · published 25 June 20262018 Q1: 17 weeks · published 25 June 20262018 Q2: 18 weeks · published 25 June 20262018 Q3: 17 weeks · published 25 June 20262018 Q4: 16 weeks · published 25 June 20262019 Q1: 16 weeks · published 25 June 20262019 Q2: 15 weeks · published 25 June 20262019 Q3: 14 weeks · published 25 June 20262019 Q4: 16 weeks · published 25 June 20262020 Q1: 14 weeks · published 25 June 20262020 Q2: 12 weeks · published 25 June 20262020 Q3: 13 weeks · published 25 June 20262020 Q4: 13 weeks · published 25 June 20262021 Q1: 15 weeks · published 25 June 20262021 Q2: 18 weeks · published 25 June 20262021 Q3: 21 weeks · published 25 June 20262021 Q4: 22 weeks · published 25 June 20262022 Q1: 22 weeks · published 25 June 20262022 Q2: 21 weeks · published 25 June 20262022 Q3: 19 weeks · published 25 June 20262022 Q4: 21 weeks · published 25 June 20262023 Q1: 22 weeks · published 25 June 20262023 Q2: 22 weeks · published 25 June 20262023 Q3: 20 weeks · published 25 June 20262023 Q4: 21 weeks · published 25 June 20262024 Q1: 20 weeks · published 25 June 20262024 Q2: 21 weeks · published 25 June 20262024 Q3: 20 weeks · published 25 June 20262024 Q4: 20 weeks · published 25 June 20262025 Q1: 20 weeks · published 25 June 20262025 Q2: 20 weeks · published 25 June 20262025 Q3: 20 weeks · published 25 June 20262025 Q4: 21 weeks · published 25 June 20262026 Q1: 22 weeks · published 25 June 2026
Published valueProvisional or revisedLatestShaded bands: governments (see labels)Hover, tap or use arrow keys to read a value; tap again to unpin
The chart as a table
PeriodCrown Court median waiting time for trial
2016 Q116 weeks
2016 Q217 weeks
2016 Q317 weeks
2016 Q417 weeks
2017 Q116 weeks
2017 Q216 weeks
2017 Q316 weeks
2017 Q417 weeks
2018 Q117 weeks
2018 Q218 weeks
2018 Q317 weeks
2018 Q416 weeks
2019 Q116 weeks
2019 Q215 weeks
2019 Q314 weeks
2019 Q416 weeks
2020 Q114 weeks
2020 Q212 weeks
2020 Q313 weeks
2020 Q413 weeks
2021 Q115 weeks
2021 Q218 weeks
2021 Q321 weeks
2021 Q422 weeks
2022 Q122 weeks
2022 Q221 weeks
2022 Q319 weeks
2022 Q421 weeks
2023 Q122 weeks
2023 Q222 weeks
2023 Q320 weeks
2023 Q421 weeks
2024 Q120 weeks
2024 Q221 weeks
2024 Q320 weeks
2024 Q420 weeks
2025 Q120 weeks
2025 Q220 weeks
2025 Q320 weeks
2025 Q421 weeks
2026 Q122 weeks

Definition and caveats

The median weeks a defendant sent for trial waited from their case reaching the Crown Court to the start of the trial, for trial cases closed in the quarter.

Doesn’t measure: Sentence cases and appeals (the all-cases measure includes them), time at the magistrates' court, or cases still waiting — only closed cases are measured, so the figure lags the backlog.