The Ministry of Justice is a huge patch but with the backlog at record levels, victims and defendants waiting years for justice and criminal barristers on strike, the state of the courts looms larger than it ought. As we reported last week, the running repair bill now tops £35m.
Thankfully, the MoJ has finally got round to sending its ministers to take a look at a few, according to new justice minister Sarah Dines MP.
Shadow justice secretary Steve Reed asked which courts in England and Wales have rolled out the red carpet for ministers since the start of the year. The answer is 10, since January.
It is not clear if Dominic Raab or one of his underlings graced Ipswich Crown Court with their presence, though one expects the lord chancellor snaffled the plum job of looking around the Old Bailey for himself.
Obiter is trying not to be too miffed that the MoJ managed to respond to Reed’s question in just three days, while our freedom of information request submitted last November remains unanswered.
Dines, at least, has not been hanging around: appointed a junior minister only three weeks ago, she has already managed to visit Derby Combined Court Centre ‘to thank the team for their hard work tackling the backlog’.
One of the more salubrious, is Derby – perhaps not coincidentally.
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