James Wild MP has challenged the government over its plans to end jury trials for certain cases, questioning why ministers announced major reforms without publishing an impact assessment to justify the proposals.
Speaking in the House of Commons, James who strongly opposes this proposal pressed ministers on the evidential basis for the changes, questioning whether the government has carried out an impact assessment to support the proposals and is choosing not to publish it or whether they made this decision to scrap jury trials for offences with sentences of three years or less without evidence.
He raised concern that major reforms to the justice system are being announced without MPs being presented with the evidence needed to assess their consequences or justification.
Speaking in the House of Commons, James Wild MP said:
“The Government have announced plans to end jury trials for certain cases, yet MPs have still not been able to see the impact assessment that is meant to set out the evidence behind these reforms. Have the Government already carried out that assessment and, if so, when will it be published so that this House can scrutinise the findings before legislation is brought forward?”
The Minister for Courts and Legal Services, Sarah Sackman MP, said:
“My answer to the hon. Gentleman is simple: there will be an impact assessment and this House will have the opportunity to scrutinise it. It is important that the impact assessment assesses the Bill that is brought forward, which must of course interact with the concordat process and the agreed number of sitting days with the judiciary.
We as a Government do not practise the learned helplessness that His Majesty’s Opposition did in the past 14 years; we look for solutions. That is why we commissioned the independent review of the criminal courts, to conduct and carry out a careful piece of work, and to provide the blueprint for the change that is so desperately needed. All I hear from the Opposition is, ‘The Government should simply ignore that work,’ but that is the evidence base, and that is the blueprint we are going to follow.”
