Ministry of Justice · 5 July 2024present

Magistrates' court open cases during the Labour 2024– government

2024 Q22026 Q1 · 7 periods

27.3%+79,561 cases

Magistrates' court open cases rose by 27.3% over the period, from 291,161 cases (2024 Q2, the level when the government took office) to 370,722 (2026 Q1, the latest available).

  1. Inherited level 2024 Q2: 291,161
  2. Latest 2026 Q1: 370,722
  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.

Magistrates' court open cases: 2019 Q1 to 2026 Q1ConservativeConservativeConservativeLabourLabour0100k200k300k20202022202420262019 Q1: 222,176 cases · published 25 June 20262019 Q2: 219,963 cases · published 25 June 20262019 Q3: 214,907 cases · published 25 June 20262019 Q4: 223,533 cases · published 25 June 20262020 Q1: 250,500 cases · published 25 June 20262020 Q2: 345,284 cases · published 25 June 20262020 Q3: 331,806 cases · published 25 June 20262020 Q4: 302,355 cases · published 25 June 20262021 Q1: 309,595 cases · published 25 June 20262021 Q2: 277,491 cases · published 25 June 20262021 Q3: 262,047 cases · published 25 June 20262021 Q4: 273,246 cases · published 25 June 20262022 Q1: 259,674 cases · published 25 June 20262022 Q2: 249,404 cases · published 25 June 20262022 Q3: 265,773 cases · published 25 June 20262022 Q4: 260,843 cases · published 25 June 20262023 Q1: 252,887 cases · published 25 June 20262023 Q2: 254,061 cases · published 25 June 20262023 Q3: 259,138 cases · published 25 June 20262023 Q4: 278,367 cases · published 25 June 20262024 Q1: 282,125 cases · published 25 June 20262024 Q2: 291,161 cases · published 25 June 20262024 Q3: 321,717 cases · published 25 June 20262024 Q4: 327,236 cases · published 25 June 20262025 Q1: 333,194 cases · published 25 June 20262025 Q2: 347,193 cases · published 25 June 20262025 Q3: 359,306 cases · published 25 June 20262025 Q4: 364,779 cases · published 25 June 20262026 Q1: 370,722 cases · published 25 June 2026

Published valueProvisional or revisedLatestShaded bands: governments (see labels)Hover or use arrow keys to read a value

Definition and caveats

The number of criminal cases open at magistrates' courts in England and Wales at the end of the quarter, a snapshot of live cases on the Libra case-management system.

Doesn’t measure: Cases waiting at the Crown Court, how long individual cases have been open, or cases in Scotland and Northern Ireland.