19 July 2023
The criminal court backlog has grown and the number of part-time judges has fallen.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service data for May, published last week, reveal 63,238 cases outstanding in the crown courts, up from 62,062 in April. The Ministry of Justice target is 53,000 cases by March 2025.
The magistrates’ court backlog was 344,154, up from 343,206 in April. Diversity of the judiciary statistics, also released last week, showed the number of recorders has fallen to 955 this year, from 1,047 in 2022.
Law Society president Lubna Shuja said: ‘It is alarming that the huge backlogs of criminal court cases continue to grow rather than shrink.’
