Every Crown Court in England and Wales is to get at least one courtroom specially set up for rape and serious sexual offence cases over the next two years.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the changes, which will give rape trials fixed dates rather than leaving them on floating lists, alongside private waiting areas, facilities for evidence recorded in advance, trauma informed training for staff and a trial of a single point of contact for victims. The Ministry of Justice describes the funding only as a "multi-million cash injection"; the announcement does not give a total figure.
Many of those measures were tested four years ago.
Leeds, Newcastle and Snaresbrook Crown Courts began piloting specialist sexual violence support from October 2022. The government said at the time that the pilots would help tackle the backlog and reduce delays, as well as improve support for victims.
The Ministry of Justice published its assessment of that pilot on 3 September 2026, based on research carried out during 2024/25.
It was qualitative rather than an outcome evaluation. Researchers interviewed sexual violence advisers, Crown Prosecution Service staff, witness care officers, Witness Service staff and judges. They had intended to interview victims and survivors but were unable to recruit them.
Trauma informed training was received positively and has since been made available nationally to HMCTS staff. Improvements to witness suites were also welcomed, although interviewees said their value was limited by the wider stress victims still face when giving evidence. Technology upgrades were viewed positively but were affected by technical problems.
The assessment did not publish figures showing whether cases at Leeds, Newcastle or Snaresbrook were completed more quickly after the pilot began, or whether the backlog at those courts fell.
Burnham's announcement does not refer to the 2022 pilot or to that assessment.
The rollout comes as the Crown Court caseload for sexual offences continues to grow.
At the end of June 2026 there were 16,089 open sexual offence cases, the highest figure in the series and 20 per cent of the entire Crown Court open caseload. The number of open sexual offence cases had risen 22 per cent in a year; open rape cases were up 26 per cent.
More than 23,700 Crown Court cases had already been open for at least a year. Eleven per cent of those were rape cases, implying roughly 2,600 rape cases had been open for 12 months or longer.
The Ministry of Justice says rape cases completed in 2025 took an average of 424 days after reaching the Crown Court, and acknowledges that too many victims withdraw before their case is heard.
New rape cases are also entering the courts at record levels. The Crown Court received 1,516 rape cases in the latest quarter, the highest figure in the series. Adult rape receipts were 19 per cent higher than a year earlier and child rape receipts were up 10 per cent.
Across the Crown Court as a whole, disposals fell 4 per cent from a year earlier while the open caseload rose to a record 80,829 cases. The median age of an open case reached 203 days, another series high.
The government's decision to give rape trials fixed dates will operate inside a court system where listed trials are frequently moved or abandoned.
Of 7,766 Crown Court trials listed to start between April and June, 44 per cent began effectively as planned. Another 31 per cent cracked before trial and 25 per cent were ineffective and had to be rescheduled. Overlisting accounted for 27 per cent of ineffective trials, while the prosecution or defence not being ready accounted for 24 per cent.
A further 6,197 trials were vacated before their start date, 13 per cent more than a year earlier. Twelve per cent were vacated because of an anticipated lack of court time.
Rape Crisis England & Wales welcomed the new package, particularly the move towards fixed dates and separate waiting areas and entrances for victims. The organisation said those changes addressed reforms it had been calling for over many years.
The announcement does not state how many additional judges or sitting days will accompany the rollout, or how many more rape trials the Crown Court will be able to hear.