Record High Court Backlog in England and Wales Threatens Justice Timelines
As of 2023, over 79,600 criminal cases are backlogged in the courts of England and Wales, and the Crown Court backlog is at a record high. Projections estimate this figure will reach 100,000 by 2028, causing serious delays in the justice system. Some serious cases could take until 2030 to come to trial, impacting victims, suspects, and witnesses.
The backlog includes around a quarter of violence and drug offence cases and over 30% of sexual offence cases, with more than 4,000 sexual offence cases now pending longer than a year, a stark increase from about 200 in 2019. Root causes of these delays include austerity-driven budget cuts to the Ministry of Justice since 2010, amounting to a real-term reduction of approximately £4.5 billion compared to other government departments. Additionally, eight crown court centres and more than 160 magistrates courts have closed by 2022.
The Covid-19 pandemic further disrupted court operations with two-month closures and social distancing measures. Nightingale courts were established to provide roughly 10,000 trial days between 2020 and 2024 but were only limitedly used; five remain in operation but are scheduled to close by March 2026.
Cuts to legal aid funding have also played a significant role, with the National Audit Office reporting a £728 million real-term cut between 2012 and 2023, and a 12% drop in the number of criminal barristers from 2018–19 to 2024–25. A 2021 funding advice proposing £135 million was not implemented, contributing to strikes in 2022.
Increased police activity without corresponding court capacity, along with more complex evidence from digital sources like mobile data, has slowed case preparation and trial progress. The remand population stands at about 17,700, with roughly 12,000 awaiting trial. Remand cases make up around 20% of the prison population. The Ministry of Justice projects prison numbers could exceed 100,000 by 2030, risking renewed overcrowding if remand case delays continue.
In response, the government has announced radical reforms aimed at speeding up justice and reducing the backlog, including removing juries from several trials. However, policy-linked strains remain, including earlier pledges to hire thousands of police officers and ongoing reforms affecting court case progression.
