More than 3,800 new magistrates have been recruited under the government to help get more cases heard, the Ministry of Justice said in a press release published on 23 October 2026. Almost 1,500 local justice champions were appointed in the first six months of 2026, nearly double the number recruited in the same period the previous year, the department said.

According to recent statistics cited in the release, women accounted for 55% of new appointments, and more than a third of new recruits were under 50. The government has launched a £4 million recruitment campaign across national television and social media, aiming for a 21,000-strong magistracy in 2028/29.

The release also describes a first-of-its-kind audio recording pilot running across seven courtrooms nationwide, intended to test whether the technology can provide a reliable record of proceedings and support a more streamlined system. It links this to plans to replace the automatic right of appeal with a permission stage, and to the government's response to Lord Leveson's review of the Criminal Courts. The Courts and Tribunals Bill entered the House of Lords on 14 October, the release says, after the government amended it to remove proposals to limit jury trials.