Criminal Court Backlog in England and Wales at Record Levels with Delays Extending into Next Decade
The backlog of criminal cases in the courts of England and Wales has reached more than 79,600, with the Crown Court backlog hitting record highs since early 2023. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) projects the backlog could reach 100,000 by 2028.
These delays mean some serious crime cases may not reach trial until after 2030, leaving victims and suspects waiting years for justice.
The government has proposed reforms to speed up justice and reduce the backlog, including removing juries from a number of trials.
The challenges stem partly from funding strains since 2010. The MoJ budget was cut in real terms by £4.5 billion, falling from about £9 billion to around £13 billion today adjusted for inflation. By 2022, this led to the closure of eight crown court centres and over 160 magistrates courts.
Judicial capacity has also declined, with a cap on judges' sitting days reducing court availability. Sitting days fell from 107,863 in 2016-17 to 81,899 by the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic caused courts to close for two months and social distancing measures reduced the number of usable courtrooms. Temporary Nightingale courts operated for about 10,000 days between 2020 and 2024, with five still open but scheduled to close by March 2026.
Cuts to legal aid funding and barrister shortages have further contributed to delays. The National Audit Office noted a £728 million real-term cut in legal aid between 2012-13 and 2022-23, along with a 12% fall in the number of barristers doing criminal work from 2018-19 to 2024-25. Although £135 million of extra legal aid funding was provided in 2021, it was insufficient and contributed to strikes.
The 2019 pledge to hire 20,000 extra police officers increased prosecutions but came without adequate court capacity planning, worsening delays.
Remand and prison population pressures add to the strain, with about 17,700 people on remand and approximately 12,000 more awaiting trial. Remand accounts for around 20% of the prison population, and the MoJ projects that prison numbers could exceed 100,000 by 2030.
Digital-evidence heavy cases, such as those involving mobile communications, require months to review before trial, creating additional bottlenecks in prosecutions and trials.
