Major justice reforms needed to stop court backlog rising, MPs told

The record high backlog of criminal cases waiting to be dealt with by crown courts will continue to rise without major government policy changes, a top civil servant has warned.

Ministry of Justice (MoJ) permanent secretary Antonia Romeo told MPs that demand is “going to continue to grow” and “outstrip our ability to deal with that demand”.

It comes after the Government said it was considering “fundamental” justice reforms after the crown court backlog in England and Wales almost doubled in five years to 73,105 at the end of September, hitting another record high.

Crisis

Court listings are now running into 2027, with prosecutors warning victims are facing wait times of between two and five years before a case goes to trial.

The crisis prompted ministers to draft in retired judge Sir Brian Leveson to carry out a major review of the courts system.

Speaking to the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday, Ms Romeo said: “I’m not suggesting that this is a temporary problem.

“The problem is that the demand coming in is not being met.

“We do not have the ability to dispose of the cases that are coming in at the rate that they’re coming in.”

Projections

Ms Romeo would not be drawn on projections for how high the figure could rise in the coming year but, under questioning from MPs, admitted: “Our modelling indicates that – absent significant additional policy changes or changes to the system – the number will be higher than it is now.”

Justice minister Sarah Sackman last month said “if we don’t do anything about it (the crown court caseload) we’ll soon be in the territory of a caseload backlog of six figures” as measures already taken are “barely touching the sides”.

Watchdog Anthony Rogers, chief inspector of the body which monitors the performance of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), told the PA news agency he feared the backlog could soon top 100,000.

Former Conservative government ministers previously set officials a target of reducing the crown court backlog to 53,000 by March 2025 – which the department has since conceded it will be unable to meet.

Ms Romeo repeated the MoJ’s assertion that the growing backlog was largely driven by the fallout of restrictions on movement put in place during the coronavirus pandemic and the knock-on effect of strikes by criminal barristers, but she also acknowledged the backlog was already rising prior to the pandemic.

Amid pressure from MPs to commit to cutting the backlog as soon as possible, she stressed the MoJ was “very focused” on reducing the numbers of cases waiting to be dealt with.

Scrapping jury trials in some cases could be among the measures considered in a bid to speed up justice.

Describing the backlog as “unsustainable”, Sir Brian suggested diverting cases from the criminal courts would also be considered as part of “radical” steps to curb the numbers.

He is expected to present his findings in the spring, around the same time as ministers are due to consider conclusions from former justice secretary David Gauke’s sentencing review.

The latest criminal court backlog figures to the end of December are due to be published in March, MPs heard.