Lammy said a £2.75bn settlement for courts and tribunals in the next financial year has been agreed. The magistrates’ courts will be funded to their highest operational capacity, and three-year commitments have been made to provide long-term stability.
Law Society president Mark Evans urged the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to ‘make this effective’ by ensuring ‘there are enough judges, court staff, prosecutors and defence lawyers to work on the cases.
‘It must also overcome issues such as prisoners not being delivered to court on time.’
The backlog in the Crown Court currently stands at about 80,000 cases, with some trials currently being listed for 2030. In 2024, the MoJ capped Crown Court sitting days to 105,000 per year, 2% lower than the 107,700 days in the previous year when the days were uncapped.
Bar Council chair Kirsty Brimelow KC said: ‘We have long called for the limit on the number of days that courts can sit to be removed and are encouraged that this is being implemented.
‘However, we continue to oppose the government’s proposed restriction of jury trials. It will drain precious resources away from the needed reforms that can be implemented now and place additional pressure on a stretched and stressed workforce.’
Lammy confirmed this week he will proceed with controversial plans to reduce the number of jury trials by changing the threshold. In a letter to Justice Select Committee chair Andy Slaughter last week, justice minister Sarah Sackman confirmed the changes will apply to cases already listed, including those past the point of trial determination.
Criminal Bar Association chair Riel Karmy-Jones KC said: ‘We estimate that up to 30,000 cases will be affected by the decision to apply the changes retrospectively.
‘This ill-conceived idea will mire the Crown Courts in satellite litigation for months or years to come.’ She predicted ‘many thousands of additional pre-trial hearings’ resulting in multiple appeals, ‘with thousands of other cases then waiting on those appeals for guidance’.
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