Minister warns it could take 300 years to bring courts backlog under control

The backlog of criminal court cases could take “nearly 300 years” to bring back to levels seen before the COVID pandemic without reforms to cut jury trials, a justice minister has said.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said the overall number of outstanding crown court cases had "fallen slightly" with a "marginal" drop of 37 in the three months from the end of December last year to the end of March - the first quarterly fall in three years.

But the backlog is still up 5% on the previous year and more than double the pre-pandemic level seen at the start of 2019 (33,118).

The figures also showed record numbers of victims are waiting more than a year for their case to be heard by crown courts in England and Wales, with nearly a quarter of these being for sexual crimes.

Overall, there were 80,061 outstanding cases in the crown court backlog at the end of March, while outstanding cases in magistrates' courts peaked at 370,722 at the end of March, up 11% on the previous 12 months (323,194).

Courts minister Sarah Sackman said investment and greater efficiency were "starting to stabilise the backlog - but they cannot reverse it alone", insisting "only structural reform can turn the tide to deliver faster justice for victims".

"We're moving in the right direction, but the scale of the challenge is stark. In the most serious cases, victims are waiting longer than ever - and at this pace, it could take nearly 300 years to clear the backlog to pre-pandemic levels," she said.

But the government's plans to scale back jury trials in a bid to overhaul the justice system and cut the backlog of cases have attracted widespread criticism.

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The Criminal Bar Association (CBA), which represents barristers, said the latest figures show the backlog is "coming under control".

CBA chairwoman Riel Karmy-Jones KC claimed the Government did not have a "shred of evidence that jury reforms were needed", adding: "It's high time the government ditched its ill-conceived attack on the right to trial by jury."

Brett Dixon, vice president of the Law Society of England and Wales which represents solicitors, said: "Rising pressure in the magistrates' courts shows that the system remains under serious strain.

"It's time to scrap headline-grabbing plans to reduce jury trials and focus on the investments and reforms which will really make a difference."

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