The courts were set up during the Covid-19 pandemic to help court users and professionals minimise infection risks. Six venues have been extended until March 2025: Chichester; Cirencester; Croydon; Fleetwood, Blackpool; Swansea; and Telford.
The remaining three venues have been extended until August this year (Barbican, London), September (Grand Connaught Rooms, London) and December (Maple House, Birmingham).
However, Nightingale courts at Maidstone and Wolverhampton will close at the end of March.
Law Society president Nick Emmerson said: ‘Physical capacity alone is not the solution.
‘We know there are already Nightingale courts sitting empty due to a lack of judges. Last month, the Lady Chief Justice highlighted that there were 100 unplanned closures of courtrooms every week due to the dilapidated physical state of our courts. We hear the same story from our members, who often work in courts with broken heating, sewage, mould and asbestos.
‘The most pressing issue is there are not enough lawyers, court staff or judges to cover all the outstanding cases. Long-term investment is needed across the whole criminal justice system to remedy this.’
