The government\u2019s own modelling suggests the Crown court backlog may not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2025 at the earliest, the public spending watchdog has revealed.<\/p>\n
In a highly critical report, the National Audit Office also said the Ministry of Justice and HM Courts & Tribunals Service were \u2018not yet working towards shared, strategic objectives for recovering in criminal courts\u2019 and had a \u2018poor understanding\u2019 of how the court recovery programme has affected vulnerable and ethnic minority users.<\/p>\n
According to the report, the Ministry of Justice\u2019s latest models indicate that the backlog could be between 17% and 27% higher than pre-pandemic levels by November 2024.<\/p>\n
To inform Spending Review negotiations with HM Treasury, the MoJ set out two scenarios \u2013 an \u2018ambition\u2019 and a \u2018cautious\u2019 approach \u2013 that forecast a backlog of 48,000 and 52,000 cases respectively by November 2024.<\/p>\n
The report says: \u2018Both scenarios assume increasing the use of part-time judges to unprecedented levels. Since the two sets of projections are very similar, it is difficult for decision-makers to understand the reasonable range of potential outcomes from their funding and other strategic decisions.\u2019<\/p>\n
The ministry then developed a third scenario to support its Spending Review discussions, which assumed maintaining the funding agreed in the 2020 Spending Review and forecast a backlog of 72,000 cases by November 2024. <\/p>\n
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The Crown court backlog increased by 23% in the year leading up to the pandemic, increasing from 33,290 on 31 March 2019 to 41,045 on 31 March 2020. The backlog increased a further 48% since the onset of the pandemic, to 60,692 cases on 30 June 2021.<\/p>\n
Cases in the backlog on 30 June 2021 had been waiting an average 230 days \u2013 84 days longer than cases in the backlog on 31 March 2020. \u2018Delays could mean more victims and witnesses withdraw from the process, increasing the likelihood of cases collapsing,\u2019 the report says.<\/p>\n
Other \u2018significant risks\u2019 identified by the NAO to the government\u2019s long-term efforts to reduce the backlog include judicial availability, the capacity of other criminal justice agencies and long-standing data limitations, which obscure understanding of future demand.<\/p>\n
On a more positive note, HMCTS is praised for responding quickly in the early stages of the pandemic, prioritising staff and court user safety, and access to justice for urgent cases.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the report, National Audit Office head Gareth Davies said: \u2018Despite efforts to increase capacity in criminal courts, it looks likely that the backlog will remain a problem for many years. The impact on victims, witnesses and defendants is severe and it is vital that the Ministry of Justice works effectively with its partners in the criminal justice system to minimise the delays to justice.\u2019<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the MoJ said: \u2018This report recognises the speed at which we responded to the Covid-19. This meant that – in a matter of months – our buildings were made safe, remote technology was rolled out across all courts, and Nightingale courtrooms opened up and down the country to increase the space available for trials.<\/p>\n
\u2018We are already seeing the results, with outstanding cases in the magistrates\u2019 courts falling, and in the Crown Court, the backlog stabilising.\u2019<\/p>\n
Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce said the report ‘highlights the lack of capacity and the dire need for investment, resulting from years of cuts including court closures, underfunding of legal aid and caps on judicial sitting days \u2013 all exacerbated by the pandemic\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u2018Next week\u2019s budget must deliver the investment needed to ensure victims, witnesses and defendants are able to get timely access to justice,\u2019 she added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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