Make all court and tribunal transcripts available free of charge
204,129 people signed this petition to the UK Parliament after it opened on 5 February 2026; it closed on 5 August 2026. The Government responded on 3 March 2026. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 23 March 2026.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Make all court and tribunal transcripts available free of charge
Make all court and tribunal transcripts available for free. Currently, fees can reach thousands, creating a "paywall" for justice. All legal records should be public property to help ensure transparency, allow for fair appeals, and support victims. Access to the law should not depend on wealth.
High transcription costs can create a prohibitive paywall for justice. Private companies can charge thousands for transcriptions, which can effectively bar small-claims litigants from pursuing fair appeals or accessing their own trials. Full transcriptions of the longest trials can cost £20k. Access to the law mustn't be a luxury for the wealthy. We ask the Government to end the private-pay model and provide free digital access to all transcripts to help ensure transparency and equality.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 3 March 2026; the petitions site lists the Ministry of Justice as responsible. Its summary:
The Government is already increasing transparency in the courts, including expanding free access to Crown Court sentencing remarks. Going further now would place even more pressure on the system.
The opening 354 words of the 582-word response:
The Government is committed to strengthening transparency across the justice system and is already taking significant steps across all jurisdictions.
In the Crown Court, sentencing remarks are now published online in cases of significant public interest, and judges can also permit broadcasters to film Crown Court sentencing remarks, ensuring greater public visibility of judicial decisions. Victims of rape and serious sexual offences and bereaved families of victims of homicide, manslaughter and fatal road accidents are already entitled to free transcripts of Crown Court sentencing remarks. These can be requested here: Apply for a transcript of a judge's sentencing remarks: Form EX107H (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-for-a-transcript-of-a-judges-sentencing-remarks). From Spring 2027, the Government is expanding free access to Crown Court sentencing remarks to all victims, ensuring these remarks are provided in time to support any application to the Unduly Lenient Sentencing Scheme. The Government's ongoing reform of the criminal courts will further enhance transparency by making sure all hearings in magistrates courts are recorded.
In the family court, the Government has also been working to support the judiciary to increase the number of family court judgments that are published in anonymised form, while ensuring the privacy and protection of children and families involved in proceedings. On more targeted transparency measures, the Government is working with the judiciary to roll out new provisions relating to Transparency Orders across England and Wales, providing a clear framework for reporting where a journalist or legal blogger has attended a family court hearing. Since 29 September 2025, provisions relating to Transparency Orders have applied to all children’s cases.
In civil proceedings, litigants in England and Wales do not need to pay for the written order or judgment relating to their own case; this is sent to all parties involved, setting out the court’s reasoning for the decision, which parties can refer to if they wish to appeal that decision.
In tribunal proceedings, any judicial decision and the reasons will be provided to the parties unless there has been an order restricting that. Many of the major tribunal chambers also allow parties to proceedings to request fuller written reasons for tribunal decisions for no additional cost.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies. Measured against each constituency's electorate at the 2024 general election, the most came from Great Yarmouth, with 13.8 signatures per 1,000 electors (1,013 in all).
200,881 of the signatures were from the UK and 3,248 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures | Electorate, July 2024 | Per 1,000 electors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Yarmouth | 1,013 | 73,317 | 13.8 |
| Rossendale and Darwen | 550 | 74,440 | 7.4 |
| Hartlepool | 486 | 71,437 | 6.8 |
| Easington | 467 | 69,395 | 6.7 |
| Redcar | 472 | 70,241 | 6.7 |
| Burnley | 494 | 74,954 | 6.6 |
| Lowestoft | 483 | 74,332 | 6.5 |
| Washington and Gateshead South | 462 | 70,972 | 6.5 |
| Blackpool North and Fleetwood | 467 | 73,339 | 6.4 |
| Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland | 452 | 70,331 | 6.4 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| South East | 28,662 |
| North West | 25,864 |
| East of England | 21,611 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 19,205 |
| South West | 18,816 |
| West Midlands | 17,904 |
| East Midlands | 15,548 |
| Scotland | 14,528 |
| London | 12,607 |
| North East | 11,264 |
| Wales | 10,446 |
| Northern Ireland | 3,051 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 23 March 2026. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/756036.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
febad1e7933143a8… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.