Reducing the backlog in criminal courts

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 21 Sep 2021 Closed: 27 May 2022 Parliament page
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 … Read more
5 Recommendations
18 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
2 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 6 events
23 Sep
2022
Correspondence
27 May
2022
Report published
9 Mar
2022
Report published
7 Feb
2022
Correspondence
13 Dec
2021
Oral evidence
13 Dec
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
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Forty-Third Report - Reducing the backlog in criminal courts HC 643 9 Mar 2022 23 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
1 result
Clear
3 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Forty-Third Report - Reducing the …
We are not convinced that the Department can recruit enough judges to deliver on its...
We are not convinced that the Department can recruit enough judges to deliver on its ambition to reduce the Crown Court backlog. Reducing the backlog to 53,000 by March 2025 relies on increasing the number of days that the Crown … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. They have increased the pool of fee paid judges and are taking action on remuneration and adjusting their recruitment approach. Recruitment for 70 Circuit Judges and 125 Recorders commences in 2022, and shortfalls will be mitigated by increasing Recorder recruitment and sittings, approving District Judges to sit in the Crown Court, and approving Circuit Judges to sit in retirement.
HM Treasury
View details
Government Response AI assessment · 23 of 5 classified
Accepted 10
Accepted in Part 1
Acknowledged 6
Deferred 4
Not Addressed 2
Total 5 recs + 18 conclusions
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