15 September 2021
The cases backlog stands at 367,294 magistrates’ court cases and 58,188 Crown Court cases in July, according to the latest HM Courts and Tribunal Service statistics
This represents a drop of nearly 10,000 outstanding cases on the previous month and of 78,000 from the previous July, in magistrates’ courts. However, the backlog had decreased by only 1,000 from the previous month and had actually risen by 13,000 on the previous July, in the Crown Court.
Law Society president I Stephanie Boyce welcomed the improvement in magistrates’ courts but expressed concern about the Crown Court backlog.
‘With some trials being delayed until 2023, victims, witnesses and defendants are being denied timely access to justice. With the easing of pandemic restrictions, physical court space is now less of a problem, but we are seeing the ability to run criminal courts at capacity hit by a lack of judges, court staff, prosecutors and defence lawyers.’
Boyce said years of underfunding and cuts meant sustained investment was now needed across the criminal justice system.
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