Every claim, its source and its limits

At the end of June 2026 the open caseload was 80,829 in the Crown Court and 380,230 in the magistrates' courts in England and Wales. Both were the highest in the published series.

Ministry of Justice, Criminal court statistics quarterly: April to June 2026, 24 September 2026. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: Official statistics. The Crown Court back series was revised up by less than 1% in this release.

In April to June 2026, 31% of Crown Court trials cracked and 25% were ineffective. The largest published reasons for ineffective trials were overlisting (27%), the defence or prosecution not being ready (24%) and the defendant being absent (12%).

Ministry of Justice, Criminal court statistics quarterly: April to June 2026, 24 September 2026. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: Witness absence is not among the largest published reasons for ineffective trials. We do not claim that it is. A cracked trial is one that is not needed on the day; an ineffective trial is one that has to be rescheduled.

In the magistrates' courts in April to June 2026, 40% of trials were effective, 40% cracked and 20% were ineffective.

Ministry of Justice, Criminal court statistics quarterly: April to June 2026, 24 September 2026. Checked 15 November 2026.

The Victims' Code for England and Wales applies to victims. It says: "All other witnesses can access services provided under the Witness Charter rather than under this Code."

Ministry of Justice, Code of Practice for Victims of Crime in England and Wales (Victims' Code), 29 January 2025. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: The date shown is the page's last update. A consultation on a new Victims' Code has closed and the outcome had not been published when we checked (see E19).

The Witness Charter for England and Wales was first published on 1 March 2008 and last updated on 10 December 2013. By its own description it "does not cover the work of judges and magistrates".

Ministry of Justice, The Witness Charter: standards of care for witnesses in the criminal justice system, 10 December 2013. Checked 15 November 2026.

Victim Support began delivering the Witness Service in England and Wales on 1 April 2026 under a four-year Ministry of Justice grant worth £14 million a year. Citizens Advice had delivered it since 2015. The service supports both defence and prosecution witnesses and reports supporting 80,000 people in the previous year.

Victim Support, Support for witnesses boosted as Victim Support to run Witness Service in every criminal court, 19 March 2026. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: Figures are the provider's own announcement.

On 15 November 2026, more than seven months after the Witness Service moved to Victim Support, the GOV.UK guide for people going to court as a victim or witness still told people outside London to contact the "Citizens Advice Witness Service", and linked to a Citizens Advice referral page.

GOV.UK, Going to court to give evidence as a victim or witness. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: This is our own observation of the page on the date shown. Pages change: check the live page before repeating this.

Official guidance in England and Wales gives prosecution and defence witnesses different routes. A victim or prosecution witness is contacted by a witness care officer. A defence witness is told to speak to the defence lawyer, including about help getting to court, video links and interpreters.

GOV.UK, Going to court to give evidence as a victim or witness. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: The Witness Service itself supports both prosecution and defence witnesses (E06).

In a Victims' Commissioner survey, 48% of victims who had been given a Crown Court trial date had it changed at least once (70 people). Of those, 36% (25 people) were given no explanation.

Victims' Commissioner for England and Wales, Justice delayed: the impact of the Crown Court backlog on victims, victim services and the criminal justice system, 10 March 2025. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: A self-selecting survey with small numbers at this question. It covers victims, not all witnesses.

Only 19% of respondents to the Victims' Commissioner's 2023 survey had heard of the Victims' Code.

Victims' Commissioner for England and Wales, Victim Survey 2023, 27 August 2024. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: A later survey (2024, published October 2025) exists. We have not yet verified its equivalent figure.

The Witness Intermediary Scheme received 10,403 requests for a registered intermediary in 2025, 6.7% more than the year before. 96.6% were matched.

Ministry of Justice, Witness Intermediary Scheme Annual Report 2025, 2026. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: A 96.6% match rate still leaves roughly 350 requests unmatched in the year.

Inspectors rated 36.9% of the Crown Prosecution Service letters to victims that they examined as adequate. In 2020 the figure was 24.1%.

HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, Victim communication and liaison letters inspection, 2026-07. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: Covers letters to victims explaining decisions to stop or alter charges, not all contact with witnesses.

In April to June 2026, 3,323 prosecutions in England and Wales were stopped after charge because the victim no longer supported, or was unable to support, the prosecution. That was 2.8% of prosecutions.

Crown Prosecution Service, CPS data summary Quarter 1 2026-2027, 22 October 2026. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: CPS management information, not official statistics. The data do not say why a victim stopped supporting the case, so they cannot show how many would have continued with better support.

In the year to March 2026, around a third of recorded sexual offences (32.4%) and about one in five robberies (19.5%) were closed by police because the victim did not support further action. In the year to March 2025, 58.4% of domestic-abuse-related violence offences were closed for that reason.

Home Office, Crime outcomes in England and Wales 2025 to 2026, 23 July 2026. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: Police outcomes before charge. People have many reasons for not supporting action. These figures show the scale of drop-out, not what support would change.

The Court of Appeal has held that "training or coaching for witnesses in criminal proceedings (whether for prosecution or defence) is not permitted", but that this does not prevent arrangements to familiarise a witness with the layout of the court and the likely sequence of events. "Witnesses should not be disadvantaged by ignorance of the process."

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), R v Momodou [2005] EWCA Crim 177, paragraphs 61 to 62, 2 February 2005. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: England and Wales criminal authority. The Bar Council advises a similar approach in civil cases (E17).

In June 2026 the Court of Appeal dealt with a trial in which a complainant had used an AI tool to produce practice cross-examination questions and suggested answers. The trial judge had treated the documents as evidence of coaching and stopped the case. The Court of Appeal reversed that ruling and ordered a re-trial.

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), R v FGD [2026] EWCA Crim 918, 4 June 2026. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: The judgment is anonymised and a re-trial was ordered, so we say nothing more about the case. We cite it only for the general point that witnesses are already turning to AI tools without guidance.

Bar Council guidance on witness preparation, updated in November 2025, covers civil and family cases as well as criminal ones.

Bar Council, Witness preparation guidance (November 2025), 2025-11. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: Professional guidance for barristers, not law.

The civil courts' own rules for England and Wales recognise that "vulnerability of a party or witness may impede participation and also diminish the quality of evidence", and require the court to take proportionate measures in every case.

Ministry of Justice, Civil Procedure Rules, Practice Direction 1A: participation of vulnerable parties or witnesses, 2021-04. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: A duty on the court. It does not create a support service for civil witnesses.

The consultation on a new Victims' Code for England and Wales has closed. On 15 November 2026 the page still said feedback was being analysed and no outcome had been published.

Ministry of Justice, A new Victims' Code (consultation), 2026-02. Checked 15 November 2026.

The Victims and Courts Act 2026 places a duty on the Victims' Commissioner to report on compliance with the Victims' Code. The Commissioner's statutory title is Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses.

UK Parliament, Victims and Courts Act 2026 (c. 19), section 10; Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, section 48, 29 April 2026. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: We have not checked which sections are in force. The compliance report is about the Victims' Code, which does not cover witnesses who are not victims (E04).

Northern Ireland's official guidance describes the aim of witness services as "to help prosecution witnesses, and their families and friends". Victim Support NI runs the service for adults and the NSPCC runs the Young Witness Service for under-18s. Both are available in all courts.

nidirect (Northern Ireland Executive), Witness services and special court measures. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: We have not confirmed with the providers whether defence witnesses can use these services in practice.

In Northern Ireland the Victim and Witness Care Unit gives a single point of contact, a named case officer, from the point a file reaches the Public Prosecution Service to the outcome of any court proceedings.

Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland, Victim and Witness Care Unit. Checked 15 November 2026.

A follow-up review by Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland found that of 16 recommendations on the care and treatment of victims and witnesses, 3 had been achieved, 10 partially achieved and 3 not achieved. None of the four strategic recommendations had been fully achieved.

Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland, Victims and witnesses: follow-up review (summary), 2025-05. Checked 15 November 2026.

A Bill to create a statutory Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses of Crime for Northern Ireland was introduced in the Assembly on 22 June 2026.

Northern Ireland Assembly, Victims and Witnesses of Crime Bill, 22 June 2026. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: A Bill, not yet law.

Scotland has legislated for a Victims and Witnesses Commissioner, and the Scottish Parliament launched a recruitment competition for the first holder of the post in September 2026.

Scottish Parliament, Recruitment competition to appoint Scotland's first Victims and Witnesses Commissioner launched; Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act 2025, 2026-09. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: No appointment had been announced when we checked.

In Scotland the Victim Information and Advice service is provided by the prosecution service in criminal cases. The prosecution service refers to it the victims it decides should receive extra support. Official guidance tells a witness to raise interpreters, access needs and special measures with whoever cited them: the Procurator Fiscal, the Children's Reporter or a defence lawyer.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service; mygov.scot, Victim Information and Advice (VIA) service; Being a witness: help and support. Checked 15 November 2026.

A 2016 National Audit Office report found that around two-thirds of criminal trials in England and Wales did not go ahead as planned on the day they were first scheduled, with wide regional variation: a 7 in 10 chance of a Crown Court trial going ahead on the day in North Wales, against 2 in 10 in Greater Manchester.

National Audit Office, Efficiency in the criminal justice system, 1 March 2016. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: Ten years old. We cite it as the last time the public auditor quantified the problem this way, not as a current figure.

In New Zealand a judge can direct communication assistance to help defendants understand proceedings and to help defendants and witnesses give evidence to the best of their ability.

New Zealand Ministry of Justice, Communication assistance. Checked 15 November 2026.

An evaluation of New Zealand's Sexual Violence Court pilot found the time from a case entering the pilot to the start of trial fell by 30% in Auckland (110 days on average) and by 39% in Whangārei (201 days on average).

District Court of New Zealand, Sexual Violence Court Pilot Evaluation, 24 July 2019. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: A pilot in two courts. The pilot changed case management as a whole, not witness support alone.

In New South Wales the Witness Assistance Service is part of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Its officers work from each prosecution office and support vulnerable victims and witnesses, with dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander officers.

Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW), Witness Assistance Service. Checked 15 November 2026.

The European Union adopted Directive (EU) 2026/1472 on 17 June 2026, amending its 2012 directive on minimum standards for the rights, support and protection of victims of crime.

European Union, Directive (EU) 2026/1472, 17 June 2026. Checked 15 November 2026.

Limit: It does not apply in the UK. We have not yet analysed its provisions on support at court.