Reducing the backlog in criminal courts
Public Accounts Committee
Closed
Inquiry
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated a growing backlog of cases waiting to be tried in the criminal courts system. During the first national lockdown, HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) closed some court buildings, and suspended all jury trials. Since then, courts have reopened, but national guidelines for social distancing …
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5
Recommendations
18
Conclusions
1
Report
1
Oral session
2
Letters
1
Event
Activity timeline 6 events
23 Sep
2022
2022
27 May
2022
2022
9 Mar
2022
2022
Report published
7 Feb
2022
2022
13 Dec
2021
2021
Oral evidence
13 Dec
2021
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
13 Dec 2021
View on parliament.uk
Reducing the backlog in criminal courts
Andrew Baigent · HM Courts and Tribunals Service
Antonia Romeo · Ministry of Justice
Jerome Glass · Ministry of Justice
Reports 1 report · click to expand
| Title | HC No. | Published | Items | Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forty-Third Report - Reducing the backlog in criminal courts | HC 643 | 9 Mar 2022 | 23 | Responded |
Recommendations & Conclusions
10 results
6
Recommendation
Accepted
Forty-Third Report - Reducing the …
We recognise the long overdue move towards bringing data on the criminal justice system together,...
We recognise the long overdue move towards bringing data on the criminal justice system together, although it is not clear how the Department will use this to improve performance. In December 2021, the Department published a national scorecard and an …
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Government Response
The government published local criminal justice system scorecards in March 2022 and will publish them quarterly to increase transparency and support collaboration. It will also use the data to identify disparities and share best practices, with plans to improve data quality and metrics.
HM Treasury
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9
Conclusion
Accepted
Forty-Third Report - Reducing the …
In the meantime, the Department is relying on using part-time judges (recorders) to provide the...
In the meantime, the Department is relying on using part-time judges (recorders) to provide the additional judicial capacity it needs. It recruited 104 crime recorders in the last recruitment round, and is looking to expand numbers further significantly. The Department …
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Government Response
The government is already addressing the shortfall in judicial capacity by increasing Recorder recruitment, allowing crime Recorders to sit more days, and approving District Judges and Circuit Judges to sit in retirement.
HM Treasury
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11
Conclusion
Accepted
Forty-Third Report - Reducing the …
The Department expects that the demand for prison places will increase significantly.
The Department expects that the demand for prison places will increase significantly. Its plans to increase the number of days that the Crown Court hears cases, and the resultant reduction in the backlog, will likely mean more people being convicted …
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Government Response
The government is committed to building as many prison places as are needed, investing £3.8 billion to deliver 20,000 modern prison places by the mid-2020s and continues to invest in critical maintenance projects to ensure as many prison places as possible are kept online.
HM Treasury
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12
Conclusion
Accepted
Forty-Third Report - Reducing the …
In July 2021, the Department estimated that its court recovery plan and the increase in...
In July 2021, the Department estimated that its court recovery plan and the increase in police officers would result in a shortfall of 4,000 prison places by the end of 2023, over and above the 18,000 additional prison places that …
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Government Response
The government is committed to building as many prison places as are needed, investing £3.8 billion to deliver 20,000 modern prison places by the mid-2020s and continues to invest in critical maintenance projects to ensure as many prison places as possible are kept online.
HM Treasury
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13
Conclusion
Accepted
Forty-Third Report - Reducing the …
The Department described how it is tightly managing the prison build programme to ensure there...
The Department described how it is tightly managing the prison build programme to ensure there is sufficient capacity, including closely monitoring the delivery of new prison places against the demand for those places. The Department told us that HM Treasury …
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Government Response
The government states it is already committed to building as many prison places as needed, investing £3.8 billion to deliver 20,000 modern prison places by the mid-2020s, and has delivered around 2,700 already.
HM Treasury
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14
Conclusion
Accepted
Forty-Third Report - Reducing the …
We have reported previously on matters concerning the expansion and maintenance of the prison system.
We have reported previously on matters concerning the expansion and maintenance of the prison system. For example, in September 2020 we found that the Department had delivered just 206 new prison places, against a commitment of 10,000 new-for-old places by …
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Government Response
The government states it is already committed to building as many prison places as needed, investing £3.8 billion to deliver 20,000 modern prison places by the mid-2020s, and has delivered around 2,700 already.
HM Treasury
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19
Conclusion
Accepted
Forty-Third Report - Reducing the …
The Department explained how the longer victims wait for their case to be heard in...
The Department explained how the longer victims wait for their case to be heard in court, the greater the risk the victim withdraws their support of the process and the case collapses.34 It told us that the proportion of cases …
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Government Response
The government states the first local criminal justice system scorecards for all crime and adult rape were published in March 2022, with quarterly publication to increase transparency and support collaboration.
HM Treasury
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21
Conclusion
Accepted
Forty-Third Report - Reducing the …
The Department told us that having good data across the criminal justice system is a...
The Department told us that having good data across the criminal justice system is a crucial first step in achieving the right outcomes and bringing the courts backlog down. In December 2021, the Department published two scorecards—one covering all crime …
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Government Response
The government states the first local criminal justice system scorecards for all crime and adult rape were published in March 2022, with quarterly publication to increase transparency and support collaboration.
HM Treasury
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22
Conclusion
Accepted
Forty-Third Report - Reducing the …
We asked HMCTS what progress it had made on implementing Dr Natalie Byrom’s recommendations on...
We asked HMCTS what progress it had made on implementing Dr Natalie Byrom’s recommendations on digital justice and data.44 HMCTS told us it had set up a senior data governance panel to provide advice on the accessibility of data and …
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Government Response
The government published the first local criminal justice system scorecards in March 2022 and will publish them quarterly to increase transparency and support collaboration, also overhauling its governance structures to increase accountability and drive forward progress in priority areas.
HM Treasury
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23
Conclusion
Accepted
Forty-Third Report - Reducing the …
We asked the Department what it is doing to improve data flows across different parts...
We asked the Department what it is doing to improve data flows across different parts of the criminal justice system. The Department told us that joining up data across the system is a priority.49 It has recruited an additional director …
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Government Response
The government states that it is already taking forward work to improve data flows across the criminal justice system, including establishing a new data and performance board and recruiting key personnel.
HM Treasury
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Correspondence 2 letters
23 Sep 2022
Correspondence from Antonia Romeo, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, re response to the PAC Committee – Reducing the backlogs in criminal courts, dated 7 September 2022
Parliament page
7 Feb 2022
Correspondence from Jerome Glass, Director General, Policy and Strategy Group, Ministry of Justice, re Individuals released under investigation for RASSO Crimes, dated 2 February 2022
Parliament page