Today’s report by the National Audit Office on the backlog of cases in the Crown Court is unlikely to feature much in the election campaign, but it examines an aspect of criminal justice policy which will need to be addressed very urgently by the next government.
In April last year the Ministry of Justice had a plan: to reduce the backlog from around 60,000 cases to about 53,000 by April 2025. The increasing number of cases waiting to be heard was not only demoralising witnesses, victims and defendants, it was also driving up the prison population as remand prisoners found themselves waiting ever longer to have their cases heard.
Astonishingly, less was spent annually on prisons in 2023 than in 2010. They are more squalid, dangerous and drug-infested than ever
On the face of it a reduction should have been relatively easy. Both the pandemic, and the 2022 barristers’ strike had contributed to its rise, and with neither the virus nor militant barristers to worry about the Ministry – relying on computer models – confidently expected the backlog to fall.
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in