Speeches by Sackman.

“I think that, for once, consensus reigns.”

“That reflects the clause as drafted and the intention behind it, from speaking to our judicial leadership. In my experience, I have certainly found our judicial and tribunal leadership to be progressive, reforming and more open to cultural change, scrutiny and improvement than perhaps might previously have been the cas…”

“The family justice strategy, which will be forthcoming in July, will address a lot of what the hon. Member asks for. It will set out where the Government think reform is needed, and it will bring together what we are already doing with our child-focused courts programme, which is accompanied by a £17 million investment…”

“Clause 20 concerns the statutory title “Central Criminal Court”, which has been on the statute book since 1834 and refers, in practice, to the Old Bailey. Under existing legislation, the title applies to the Crown court sitting within the City of London. Historically, the only Crown court located within the City has be…”

“Clause 7 ordered to stand part of the Bill.”

“The hon. Gentleman is making a fair point. I have no doubt that, not just in the context of this clause—where we are talking about family law—but more generally in other conversations that we have had around the criminal justice system, the Judicial Office and judicial leadership will be following these proceedings qui…”

“Schedule 2”

“Appeals from magistrates’ courts”

“That is true. We should be doing what is set out in this good clause and I have nothing more to add. Question put and agreed to. Clause 19 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 20 Special provision when Crown Court sits in City of London Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.”

“I will begin by addressing clause 18 and schedule 3 together before moving to Government amendments 72 to 96. Clause 18 makes significant reforms to the leadership of tribunals, a change strongly supported by the senior judiciary. This is a key step in the One Judiciary programme, which was set up to achieve the long-s…”

“I seek to assist the Committee, as I do not want us to get this wrong. The purpose of the definition is to exclude non-professional supporters or those who do not habitually perform a role in supporting witnesses. That is the intent. The fact that the court must also be satisfied that the support is not contrary to the…”

“I thank the hon. Member for Chichester for the points she raised. In many respects, they are well made, and they consider people’s choice architecture—for want of a better phrase—their understanding of what they might be entitled to request, and whether we should default to providing all the special measures or maintai…”

““The judgment must be given at, or as soon as reasonably practicable after, the time of the conviction or acquittal.””

“The Bill provides that:”

“On amendment 49, consistent with our approach to the allocation of cases within the existing caseload but where trials are not yet commenced in relation to allocation to a Crown court bench division, we follow the same approach in relation to questions of allocation with the creation of a judge-only forum for cases of …”

“The suggestion was that in the vast majority of cases, reasons could be given immediately.”

““I also do not accept that there will be additional time spent in the writing of judgments. The vast majority of decisions will follow the conclusion of the defence speech”.––[Official Report, Courts and Tribunals Public Bill Committee, 25 March 2026; c. 76, Q161.]”

“I will not; I am going to make some progress. As Sir Brian’s report clearly outlines, “this is a principled reform based on the need for cases to be resolved in a more timely manner, with a forum well suited to the demands of the case.” He suggests that allowing a judge to hear these cases alone—in tightly defined circ…”

“I understand the concerns that have been raised about the time taken to deliver a reasoned judgment, but I take Members back to what we heard at the oral evidence session, where a panel of senior judges, and in particular a former recorder of Liverpool, confirmed that they do not expect providing verdicts, including re…”

“Amendment 52 would require judgments in judge-alone trials to be given specifically at the time of conviction, except where an adjournment is needed for sentencing-related documents to be prepared. We can see no particular reason why those specific documents would be necessary for the giving of reasons for a verdict. I…”