<P> On 28 May 2013 the committal procedure was abolished in England . As a result, the serious matters are sent straight to the Crown Court from the Magistrates' Court for a pre-trial hearing . There is no committal procedure to determine sufficiency of evidence . Instead, the defendant charged with the offence may make an application to the Crown Court to have the case dismissed for lack of evidence . The idea behind this reform was to get cases to trial more quickly and reduce the number of pre-trial hearings . However, it is questionable whether this has been achieved given the number of pre-trial hearings that are often required in the Crown Court . </P> <P> The first hearing in the Crown Court will be a Plea and Trial Preparation Hearing (PTPH), where a plea is taken and, if not guilty, a timetable for trial is set and directions given for service of further evidence, followed by the trial itself . There may be additional hearings in between (called' mentions'). The PTPH was introduced on the 5th January 2016 and replaced the previous procedure of having a separate initial Preliminary hearing followed by a Plea and Case Management Hearing (PCMH) in an attempt to reduce the number of pre-trial hearings . </P> <P> In triable either way offences, the defendant's right to elect a jury trial remains unfettered . </P>

What is the purpose of a commital hearing