Lord Chancellor David Lammy confirmed this week the cap on sitting days will be raised from 110,000 to a total of 111,250 days next year.
Barbara Mills KC, chair of the Bar Council, described the move as ‘a positive step’ but called for ‘no limit to the number of days that courts can sit’.
The Crown Court backlog has reached a record high of 78,329 cases, according to government statistics published last week, with some trial dates being set as far ahead as 2029. For comparison, the backlog stood at 38,000 cases in 2019.
Law Society president Richard Atkinson said the increase was ‘a welcome step’ but called for long-term investment across the criminal justice system to get the service ‘back on its feet’.
Sitting days were capped at 105,000 in September 2024, but increased by 2,000 days in December and raised to 110,000 in March 2025.
