Ministry of Justice figures for October to December 2024, published last week, showed 74,651 cases outstanding, 16,813 of which have been waiting for more than a year.
In the magistrates’ courts, the backlog increased 14% to 309,838 year-on-year.
Mary Prior KC, Criminal Bar Association chair, said: ‘A record number of Crown Court trials were adjourned last year, some 26,910.
‘That figure is higher than during Covid. Of those, 7,822 were adjourned on the first day of trial for a variety of reasons including no judge, no barrister, no prisoner, no interpreter, defendant not produced from custody.’
The Law Society urged the government to take immediate action rather than wait for the outcome of two ongoing reviews—David Gauke’s independent sentencing review is due to report in the spring, while Sir Brian Leveson’s independent review will report on long-term reform in late spring and on court efficiency by the autumn.
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