In a devastating report published this week, ‘Court Capacity’, the Justice Committee sets out the impact of lengthy delays in disposing of cases on victims, defendants and justice professionals. The time taken from offence reported to ultimate completion has been rising since 2011 and increased during the pandemic by 77 days to a median length of 217 days, for Crown Court trials in Q4 2021.
The committee also urged the government to recruit more judges, pay court staff better, fix court buildings and continue the use of Nightingale courts in order to tackle the backlog of cases.
It warned the maintenance backlog in the court estate was a ‘serious problem’, with too many buildings in a poor condition, and called for a comprehensive plan to improve the quality of buildings. It praised the contribution of Nightingale courts to increasing capacity during the pandemic, and suggested this showed temporary courtrooms could be used in future while permanent buildings underwent essential work.
However, it cited the shortage of judges as ‘the most pressing constraint on the capacity of the courts’, and called for more judges to be recruited. Similarly, it warned shortages in HM Courts and Tribunals Service staff were also hampering capacity, and recommended pay levels keep up with equivalent roles in other departments.
The committee heard evidence that the Ministry of Justice is one of the most poorly paid departments and some employees could earn £3,000 more by transferring to an equivalent level role in another government department.
Chair of the Justice Committee Sir Bob Neill said: ‘The physical estate has been left to crumble for too long and must be made fit for purpose. There must be sufficient numbers of judicial and clerical staff to cope with the volume of cases.
‘Understanding of the demand on courts needs to improve so that long-term planning can be based on an accurate picture of likely demand. Data should be collected of sufficient quality to allow long-term trends to be understood.’
