Written question asked by Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 2 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 4 June 2026. It was answered by Sarah Sackman (Labour) on Wednesday, 10 June 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Convictions and Prosecutions: Appeals

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of people who appeal against sentence and conviction from the magistrates court are unrepresented.

Answer: The Ministry of Justice does not hold, and does not have access to, centrally collated data identifying whether people who appeal against conviction or sentence from the magistrates’ courts are legally represented. As a result, we are unable to provide figures for the proportion of such appellants who are unrepresented. We are working towards a more robust evidence base so that we can track issues transparently and support future improvements.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 6189
Session: 2026-27
Subjects: Appeals Convictions Legal representation Prosecutions Magistrates' courts
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk