Crown court judges will sit for a collective 110,000 days - a ‘record’ high – in a bid to combat the increasing court backlog, the government announced today.
The announcement adds 4,000 sitting days to those initially allocated and a further increase from December 2024 when the lord chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, promised the justice committee an additional 2,000 sitting days at a cost of around £1m. The court backlog reached a record high of more than 73,000 cases in the year to September 2024.
The number of Immigration and Asylum Tribunal sitting days will also increase to ‘near’ maximum capacity, the government said. The increase in sitting days is part of the government’s work to stop the backlog continuing to increase and put the justice system ‘on a more sustainable footing’.
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. Funding a record number of sitting days is a critical first step.
‘But there is more that we must and we will do. I have asked Sir Brian Leveson to consider radical reforms to deliver the swifter justice that victims deserve.’
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Leveson, a former Queen’s Bench Division president, is midway through his review of the criminal courts. Leveson is expected to report back to the lord chancellor with reform options this spring and follow-up findings on court efficiency by the autumn.
The news follows the Victim Commissioners’ latest report on Crown court delays and the impact on alleged victims.
As well as the increase in sitting days, the government will boost court maintenance and building funding to £148.5m this year, up from £120m last year. The increase will fund repairs across the court and tribunal estate including to help fund security improvements, fix leaking roofs and broken lifts and concrete remedial works at Harrow Crown Court, which has been closed since August 2023.
During her annual press conference last month, the lady chief justice pointed out a number of courts in poor conditions including Nottingham, which had lost 100 sitting days because ‘the roof had gone’, lack of running water in other buildings, and a ‘serious’ fly infestation in Cardiff Civil Justice Centre.
The boost in capital funding, the government said, will help fund ‘the next generation’ of court buildings. Projects in line to receive funding include the new 30-hearing room tribunal centre in London, 18 hearing rooms at the City of London courts and a county and family court in Reading.
Minister for courts and legal services Sarah Sackman KC said: ‘The crumbling state of the courtrooms we inherited illustrate why public confidence in our justice system has ebbed away. That is why we’re boosting funding for vital repair work so our courts are, once again, fit for purpose, safe and welcoming places. This money will also help ensure we maintain and increase court capacity so more trials and tribunals can take place.’
Richard Atkinson, Law Society president, said the increased sitting days and budget were ‘welcomed steps in the right direction’.
He added: ‘But sitting days are still not at the maximum the lady chief justice has said is possible to achieve. While the funding increase for court maintenance is only a small fraction of the £1.3bn repairs backlog for courts and tribunals reported by the National Audit Office. Only sustained investment – including in courts, legal aid, prisons and probation – will ensure we have the justice system we all deserve.’
CILEX president Yanthe Richardson said: ‘This is much needed investment into the court system. CILEX would like to see greater efficiencies made within court days, with additional staff and better agreements with private companies to ensure that more hours are used per court day.’
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