England and Wales Court Backlog Reaches Record High, Prompting Consideration of Radical Reforms
The court backlog in England and Wales has reached a record high, with more than 79,600 criminal cases currently awaiting trial. The backlog in the Crown Court alone is at its highest level since early 2023 and is projected to potentially reach 100,000 cases by 2028, according to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
Delays have become severe enough that some serious cases may not be brought before a court until 2030 or later. As a result, the government is considering radical reforms aimed at speeding up justice and reducing the backlog, including proposals to remove juries from certain trials.
The root causes of the backlog include austerity measures implemented since 2010, which have reduced the MoJ budget by about £4.5 billion in real terms, now totaling approximately £13 billion. These cuts have contributed to the closure of eight Crown Court centres and over 160 magistrates courts by 2022, reduced courtroom capacity, and a cap on judge sitting days that has limited hearings and left some courtrooms idle.
The Covid-19 pandemic further exacerbated the backlog due to court closures for two months and social distancing measures that reduced usable courtroom space. Although Nightingale courts, providing 10,000 sitting days between 2020 and 2024, were introduced to help address delays, only five remain and are scheduled to close by March 2026.
Funding for legal aid has also faced repeated cuts; the National Audit Office reported a real-term £728 million reduction between 2012–13 and 2022–23. There has been a 12% decrease in criminal barristers from 2018–19 to 2024–25, contributing to slower case progression and leading to barrister strikes in 2022.
Pressure on remand prisons is mounting, with about 17,700 people on remand and roughly 12,000 awaiting trial. Remand accounts for around 20% of the prison population, which is projected to exceed 100,000 inmates by 2030. To manage this, reforms including early release schemes are under consideration.
