Courtrooms sit empty despite record backlog of cases

Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, claimed the financial inheritance from the Tory government meant she could only increase sitting days by an extra 500
Shabana Mahmood claimed the financial inheritance from the Tory government meant she could only increase sitting days by an extra 500 - Eddie Mulholland

Crown courtrooms are standing idle despite record backlogs of cases forcing victims to wait up to six years for justice.

Official data show nearly a third of courtrooms – 158 out of 492 – were not sitting amid shortages of judges, lawyers, court staff and a cap on Government funding.

This is despite a record backlog of 71,000 cases awaiting trial, up from 38,000 before the Covid pandemic, which has been blamed for waits of up to six years for victims of sexual offences and up to five years for crimes such as fraud and burglary.

Senior judges have sought to increase the number of days courts should sit, arguing that they have capacity for a further 6,000 so-called sitting days.

Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, maintained the “black hole” in the finances left by the Conservatives meant she could only increase it by an extra 500 days to 106,500 sitting days.

Although Fridays are traditionally quieter days, given courts are reluctant to start trials before the weekend, the official data still show that last week on Thursday 22 per cent, or 110 out of the 498 courts, were not sitting. On Wednesday, it was 19 per cent, while on Tuesday, it was 18 per cent and 17 per cent on Monday.

Baroness Newlove, the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales, said record numbers of victims were “walking away from the justice system” and withdrawing their support for cases because of the court delays.

She warned the backlog was adding to already “very high” caseloads of victim support services. “For these reasons, I hope the government will do everything it can to maximise sitting days to reduce the outstanding backlog and deliver swifter justice,” she said.

Baroness Newlove, the victims' commissioner for England and Wales, said record numbers of victims were 'walking away from the justice system'
Baroness Newlove said record numbers of victims were ‘walking away from the justice system’ - Lorne Campbell/Guzelian

Claire Waxman, the victims’ commissioner for London, said the increasing backlog meant victims were waiting “longer for justice than ever before”.

She said: “The current situation will delay justice even further or even prevent it entirely, as victims feel they cannot continue waiting years while facing ongoing adjournments and delays.

“The Government must acknowledge that this path is not sustainable, and risks achieving justice and keeping victims and the public safe. I urge them to develop and deliver a strategy to tackle the court backlog and deliver swifter justice for victims in this country.”

Criminal barristers' strike ended after accepting government pay off
Criminal barristers’ strike in 2022 ended after accepting £52 million government pay off - Kirsty O'Connor/PA

Shortages of legal professionals, the barristers’ strike, collapsing trials and the increase in complex cases like rape are blamed for compounding the delays caused by the courts shutdown during the pandemic.

The Telegraph revealed earlier this month that victims of sexual offences including rape wait the longest at an average of 2,307 days. That is six years from reporting the offence to a trial being completed.

Victims of fraud face the second longest waits at 1,647 days, or four and a half years. They are followed by public order offences (668 days), drug offences (632 days), violence (509 days), possession of weapons (499 days), robbery (473 days), theft (458 days) and criminal damage and arson (443 days).

Swifter justice is needed

Mary Prior KC, the chairman of the Criminal Bar Association said: “These are the courtrooms that would be used for rape trials, fraud trials, offences of serious violence. We are just not using them because the Government is not willing or able to put their money into actually providing swifter justice for victims of serious crime.

“Whilst we recognise that there has been an overall increase in the budget for the criminal justice system, it will not make a difference to those waiting for justice unless there are courtrooms to hear the cases and criminal barristers to prosecute and defend them.”

The Government are also extending magistrates' court sentencing powers from six to 12 months, freeing up to 2,000 days in the Crown Courts to handle the most serious cases
The Government are also extending magistrates’ court sentencing powers from six to 12 months, freeing up to 2,000 days in the Crown Courts to handle the most serious cases - Chris Ryan/OJO Images RF

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “Since coming to power, the new Government increased the number of Crown Court sitting days to a total of 106,500 – more than in six out of the last seven years.

“While we are bound by a challenging financial inheritance, this Government is committed to bearing down on the Crown Court backlog. On top of increasing sitting days, we are extending magistrates’ court sentencing powers from six to 12 months, freeing up to 2,000 days in the Crown Courts to handle the most serious cases, and recruiting more judges.”