BBCMinisters have pledged to increase the number of judges hearing criminal cases in an attempt to cut unprecedented backlogs and delays in Crown Courts in England and Wales.
The Ministry of Justice’s announcement that judges will be funded to run more courtrooms than before comes as two highly critical reports say that victims of crime are being failed.
The Victims Commissioner Baroness Newlove said that some victims were so traumatised by delays they had resorted to drugs, alcohol and self-harm.
The new funding means judges can hear Crown Court cases for up to 110,000 days in total, which minister hope will start to cut a record backlog of 73,000 unresolved prosecutions.
Suspects being charged with new offences today are regularly told that there might not be a trial until 2027 – and some courts are already looking for diary space in 2028.
The delays – which have been caused by a combination of cuts to courts, the pandemic and then a barristers’ strike over pay – have also led to a record 17,000 defendants being held on remand, taking up a fifth of spaces in the crisis-ridden jails.
Last November, Baroness Sue Carr, the Lady Chief Justice, told Parliament she had enough judges available to sit for 113,000 days a year in court.
She said a cap on sitting days had a “drastic effect”, with her local leaders having to reschedule cases and cancel work given to part-time judges, who are critical to clearing the backlog.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “This government inherited a record and rising courts backlog, with justice delayed and denied for far too many victims.
“Bearing down on that backlog is an essential element of our Plan for Change, bringing offenders to justice to keep our streets safe.”
Mahmood said that recommendations from an ongoing review of how to speed up the criminal courts would play a key role in cutting the backlogs.
But two reports have raised questions about how quickly the government is acting.
The Victims Commissioner Baroness Newlove said in a report published on Tuesday that justice felt “out of reach” for many victims, which was causing extra trauma.
One woman, who had suffered sexual abuse, tried to take her own life after the trial of her attacker was put back.
Baroness Newlove urged the government to reverse a planned cut of around 4% to crucial victim support services, which she warned were under “immense pressure” because delays meant they are dealing with more clients than ever.
“With funding cuts looming, we face the very real threat of reduced support,” she said.
“I fear this will drive some victims to give up on seeking justice altogether – a second injustice compounding the first.”
Separately, Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee said it was concerned that the MOJ had “accepted” court delays getting worse until recommendations from the major review into reforming the courts, led by retired judge Sir Brian Leveson, were implemented.
The report said that the courts could not keep up with the rate of new cases arriving at their doors .
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the committee’s chair, said: “Our report is a terrible indictment of our criminal justice system and the government urgently need to reorganise it to aspire to that world-class standard for which the UK used to be renowned.”
Mary Prior KC, chair of the Criminal Bar Association which represents barristers, said that 110,000 sitting days was the minimum that had been needed since 2022.
“We welcome these additional sitting days… but to do our collective best to reduce the backlog we must ask for uncapped sitting days in the Crown Court for at least the next five years.”
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