The Ministry of Justice’s target of reducing the backlog of criminal courts in England and Wales to 53,000 by next March is no longer achievable, a parliamentary watchdog group has said.
The Ministry of Justice set the target in October 2021 when the backlog of cases was 60,000, but a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) showed that by the end of last year the backlog had reached a record high of 67,573 cases.
The report’s release date was set before the election was called, but the criminal justice system is expected to be a key issue between the Labour and Conservative parties. Ministers on Wednesday activated emergency measures to tackle prison overcrowding, postponing hundreds of court hearings at the last minute and allowing suspects to be released on bail without custody.
According to the National Prosecutor’s Office, the number of inmates in prisons exceeded 16,000 last year, the highest number in the past 50 years, and about two-thirds of them were awaiting trial but not sentenced, contributing to a “serious prison population pressure”.
Meg Hillier MP, chair of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, said: “Victims, witnesses and defendants are waiting unacceptably long times for their cases to be heard, with criminal trials taking almost two years on average.” [from offence until completion].
“Longer waiting periods have a negative impact on victims’ mental health and increase the risk of trials going wrong. Changes made to one part of the criminal justice system will have an impact on other parts of the system, including increasing pressure on the prison population. The Ministry of Justice must be aware of these impacts, gain a better understanding and take concerted and timely action to ensure justice is delivered more quickly and case backlogs are reduced.”
In the final quarter of last year, it took an average of 683 days from indictment to completion in criminal courts, of which around one-fifth were sexual offences and around one-third were for violence against persons.
Factors contributing to the growing backlog identified in the report include a shortage of criminal law specialists, frequent last-minute trial postponements, an increase in complex cases such as adult rape, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Criminal Lawyers Association (CBA) strike from April to October 2022.
Last year, the number of trials that were cancelled on the day of hearing because all necessary legal experts were not available increased to 1,436 (5% of trials) from 71 in 2019 (0.3% of trials).
The NAO warned that reducing the backlog could become even more difficult as court buildings are no longer fit for purpose “due to a long-term lack of investment”, leading to closures due to leaks or heating failures, for example.
The Justice Ministry’s own estimate is that the number of unsolved cases will reach nearly 64,000 by next year, according to a report released Friday, but it has not set any new targets for reducing it.
CBA chair Tana Adkin KC said: “The NAO report confirms what criminal practitioners have known for a long time – that the criminal justice system is in crisis with no sustained investment plan, despite repeated warnings from prosecutors and defence lawyers tasked with delivering justice every day in publicly funded courts.”
Nick Emerson, president of the Law Society, said: “The report pinpoints the decline in lawyers taking up criminal defence work, which is due to cuts to legal aid fees, increasing stress and poor working conditions. There are not enough solicitors, barristers and judges to do all the work and few young lawyers are attracted to criminal defence work.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “Last year, the Crown Court was in session for more than 107,000 days, more than at any time in the previous seven years.
“We are also increasing investment in our system, rolling out remote hearings, expanding the use of Nightingale courts and recruiting hundreds of judges to give victims the justice they deserve and keep more criminals behind bars.”
“The government is pushing ahead with the biggest prison expansion plan in 100 years, with 20,000 extra places due to be delivered, 10,000 of which are due to be delivered by the end of 2025.”
