Crown Court backlogs

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 31 Oct 2024 Closed: 16 May 2025 Parliament page
In March 2022, the Committee found that the COVID-19 pandemic had exacerbated a growing backlog of cases waiting to be tried in the criminal courts, significantly affecting defendants, victims and witnesses. The report found that the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) meagre ambition to reduce the Crown Court case backlog by … Read more
4 Recommendations
28 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
3 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 7 events
4 Sep
2025
Correspondence
19 May
2025
Correspondence
16 May
2025
Report published
5 Mar
2025
Report published
27 Jan
2025
Correspondence
9 Jan
2025
Oral evidence
9 Jan
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
9 Jan 2025
View on parliament.uk
Dame Antonia Romeo DCB · Ministry of Justice Daniel Flury · HM Courts and Tribunals Service Jerome Glass · Ministry of Justice Nick Goodwin · HMCTS
Title HC No. Published Items Response
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs HC 348 5 Mar 2025 32 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
32 results
2 Conclusion Accepted
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Reduce delayed or postponed serious sexual and violent offence hearings and protect victim support funding.
Long waits for cases to start, delays and the often–last–minute postponement of cases all have a significant impact on the victims of crime, particularly for victims of Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) and violent crimes, seriously disrupting their lives, … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees and commits to rolling over the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund and maintaining ringfenced spending for community-based sexual violence and domestic abuse support in 2025/26. It also engages regularly with providers to improve victim support, but defers further commitments to the Spending Review.
HM Treasury
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3 Conclusion Accepted
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Improve data-driven forecasting of Crown Court cases to adapt court system processes.
For some time now, MoJ has been failing to adequately forecast increases in the number and mix of cases being sent to the Crown Court, reducing its ability to plan how the courts system may need to adapt to meet … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees and commits to regularly reviewing its CJS projections to incorporate latest data, interventions, and evidence, and will keep its data use under continual review. Specific actions include developing the “OneCrown” single data pipeline and reviewing future demand scenarios with the Home Office and CPS.
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4 Conclusion Deferred
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Urgently reduce remand numbers to 2019 levels and publish granular remand population data.
The remand population is at its highest number for 50 years, and the length of time some defendants on remand wait for their cases to be heard is disrupting their lives and their families’ lives, and adding to prison overcrowding. … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees but deflects responsibility for reducing remand numbers to the independent judiciary and its existing actions. It will consider further steps only after receiving recommendations from the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts.
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5 Conclusion Accepted
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Set out understanding of ineffective trial causes and required actions to address them.
The proportion of hearings that do not take place on the day they are scheduled (ineffective trials) remains far too high, and there are causes of ineffective trials that MoJ and HMCTS could be more active in addressing now. One … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees and will provide the requested letter outlining its understanding of ineffective trial causes, professional capacity factors, impact of changes, and further required actions, alongside its Treasury Minute response.
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6 Conclusion Accepted
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Set out total spending and impact of investments on Crown Court backlog reduction.
MoJ could not tell us which of the actions it funded from nearly £500 million of additional funding it received through the 2021 Spending Review had the biggest impact on reducing the backlog, nor could it quantify what it expects … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees and will provide the requested letter detailing total spending since 2021 on reducing the Crown Court backlog, how additional funding was used for interventions, and the assessed impact of that investment, alongside its Treasury Minute response.
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7 Recommendation Accepted
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Assure accuracy of criminal justice datasets and set out scope for courts' digitisation.
Despite MoJ assuring us that it has rectified the processing errors that led to it publishing inaccurate Crown Court statistics, we remain concerned that other datasets within the criminal justice system may be affected by the same quality and accuracy … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees and outlines its scope for further digitisation and AI, including current trials of transcription and summarisation in tribunals, past AI knowledge management trials, and plans to decommission legacy systems by Spring 2027. Future expansion of AI and data sharing improvements are contingent on Spending Review funding.
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1 Conclusion Deferred
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Committee took evidence on reducing the Crown Court case backlog.
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) about reducing the backlog of cases in the Crown Court.1
Government Response
The government agrees but deflects responsibility, stating it will consider implementation plans for reforms from the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts once its recommendations are received.
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8 Conclusion Accepted
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Ministry of Justice introduced various measures to address the Crown Court backlog.
MoJ has previously introduced measures to address the backlog, including those within the 2021 Criminal Justice Action Plan.17 MoJ described current work to manage the Crown Court caseload, including: • Increasing the number of sitting days to 108,500 this year. … Read more
Government Response
The government affirms its commitment to tackling the Crown Court backlog, outlining a range of measures including funding 110,000 Crown Court sitting days for 2025-26 (an increase from the previous year), increased court maintenance, ongoing judicial recruitment, and exploring legal aid funding. It also notes that demand requires substantial reform and awaits the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts' recommendations.
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9 Conclusion Deferred
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
MoJ's ambition to reduce the Crown Court backlog is contingent on the Leveson Review.
When asked about its current ambition for the level of open Crown Court cases, MoJ said that the crucial factor in achieving a reduction in the backlog is the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts (the Leveson Review), which MoJ … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the Committee's perspective, stating that work is already underway to prepare for a swift response and implementation of recommendations from the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts once received in July 2025, and that MoJ is actively considering implementation plans for proposed reform options.
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10 Conclusion Deferred
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
MoJ and HMCTS acknowledge numerous backlog issues but are deferring action pending the Leveson Review.
We heard of the many issues that MoJ and HMCTS know need addressing if they are to reduce the backlog, but which they are waiting for the Leveson review to report on: poor case preparation, defendants being absent or not … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the committee's conclusion, outlining numerous ongoing actions to reduce the Crown Court backlog. However, it acknowledges these are insufficient for substantial reform and confirms its reliance on the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts (Leveson Review) which is due in Spring 2025, with work already underway to plan for implementing its recommendations.
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11 Conclusion Deferred
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
MoJ and HMCTS's excessive reliance on the Leveson Review risks further backlog growth.
The Leveson Review is expected to report in two parts: firstly, in late Spring 2025 on options for long–term reform, and then not until Autumn 2025 on efficiency and timeliness.22 Until those reports, MoJ told us that it expects the … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the committee's concern, outlining extensive ongoing work to reduce the Crown Court backlog. However, it acknowledges that these actions are insufficient for substantial reform and confirms its anticipation of the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts' recommendations in Spring 2025, with plans already being considered for swift response and implementation.
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12 Conclusion Accepted
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Prolonged Crown Court waits, particularly for sex cases, contribute to increased victim attrition.
MoJ acknowledges that long waits in the Crown Court are bad for everyone, including defendants, victims and the system as a whole.25 MoJ noted particular concern for victims of sex cases, which are very complex and often take a long … Read more
Government Response
The government states that ineffective trials for sexual offences are declining and that judicial practices already prioritise serious sexual offences. It also highlights continued protected funding for VAWG support services and commits to improving victim support, though future actions are contingent on the Spending Review.
HM Treasury
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13 Conclusion Accepted in Part
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Court backlog delays severely impact victims' mental health and wellbeing, leading to withdrawals.
Written evidence to our inquiry highlighted concerns about the impact on victims, and particularly the serious impact that the backlog can have on victims’ work, family, and mental health and wellbeing.30 Academics from the Justice in COVID–19 for Sexual Abuse … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the Committee's concerns, highlighting existing judicial practices that prioritise serious sexual offence cases and routine data publication. They have also protected and rolled over funding for Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and victim support services, while remaining committed to improving victim support within future Spending Review constraints.
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14 Conclusion Accepted
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
MoJ acknowledges lengthy waits for RASSO victims and implements specific support measures.
MoJ acknowledged that the long waits for RASSO victims is “not a particularly desirable situation” and outlined some measures in place to support these victims. These measures included: • investing £41 million in sexual violence and domestic violence advisors, and … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the committee's conclusion, reiterating that judicial listing practices already prioritise serious sexual offences, and confirming continued protected funding for Violence Against Women and Girls support services for 2025/26. It also notes it cannot pre-empt the outcome of Phase 2 of the Spending Review for further improvements.
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15 Conclusion Accepted in Part
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Remand population has surged to a 50-year high, with many exceeding custody time limits.
The remand population has grown sharply in recent years. The number of people on remand in September 2024 was 17,600, 20% of the prison population, the highest level in 50 years, up from 9,602 (11% of the prison population) in … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the Committee's concerns, stating they will continue discussions with the Lord Chief Justice to prioritise remand cases, especially the oldest. They are exploring initiatives to address time spent on remand and commit to developing improved data systems for remand by April 2027, while noting existing actions should help expedite cases and further steps will be considered post-review.
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16 Conclusion Accepted
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Increasing remand lengths cause significant personal harm and risk of miscarriages of justice.
Written evidence submitted by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons stated that the length of time that people are remanded for and the extent to which this is changing is information that is not in the public domain. The Inspectorate’s evidence … Read more
Government Response
The government commits to exploring initiatives to address time spent on remand and plans to develop and publish improved data on this by April 2027. It also highlights ongoing efforts to enhance court capacity and prioritise remand cases, and will consider further steps after independent reviews.
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17 Conclusion Deferred
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Backlog directly correlates with remand population, increasing prison pressures and leading to 'time served' releases.
MoJ told us that there is a direct correlation between the number of cases in the backlog and the size of the remand population awaiting trial, and that this is adding to prison capacity pressures and making it harder to … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the committee's conclusion, noting judges already prioritise remand cases and existing actions should help. However, it states the Lord Chancellor will continue discussions on prioritisation, the MoJ is exploring initiatives to address time spent on remand, and will consider further steps once it receives recommendations from the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts.
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18 Conclusion Accepted
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Ministry of Justice struggled to manage planned increase in Crown Court caseload.
MoJ attributed the increasing backlog to a “significant increase” in the rate of new cases as a result of the recruitment of over 20,000 additional police officers since 2019, and to a change in the nature of the caseload to … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the Committee's observation and is committed to regularly reviewing its projections for the Criminal Justice System, incorporating latest data, trends, and new interventions. They are also developing a 'OneCrown' single data pipeline and reviewing future demand scenarios with partners to improve accuracy.
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19 Conclusion Accepted
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Crown Court backlog growing because cases conclude slower than anticipated.
The NAO report found that MoJ regularly models projections of the size of the Crown Court’s outstanding caseload, and has previously used projections from this modelling to inform decision–making on policy development, resource planning and capacity requirements.47 This modelling includes … Read more
Government Response
The government commits to regularly reviewing its Crown Court caseload projections, incorporating the latest data, trends, and interventions, and continually reviewing its use of data and assumptions. This includes developing a 'OneCrown' single data pipeline to improve data quality and coherence, and reviewing future demand scenarios with CJS partners.
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20 Conclusion Accepted
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Ministry of Justice unable to forecast future Crown Court backlog, expects increase.
At our evidence session in January 2025, MoJ could not tell us what it forecast the backlog would be in 12 months’ time. It told us that it would not be right to predict what the backlog will be in … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the Committee's observation and is committed to regularly reviewing its projections for the Criminal Justice System, incorporating latest data, trends, and new interventions. They are also developing a 'OneCrown' single data pipeline and reviewing future demand scenarios with partners to improve accuracy.
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21 Conclusion
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Criminal Justice Board failed to meet for two years, undermining system coordination.
We repeatedly heard from MoJ that the various parts of the criminal justice system–courts, prisons, probation services and police–are connected and changes in one part of the system have consequences elsewhere.52 However, for two years between July 2021 and July … Read more
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22 Recommendation Acknowledged
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Proportion of ineffective trials remains excessively high, impacted by over-listing.
MoJ confirmed that the proportion of ineffective trials–those that do not go ahead on the planned date and are relisted for later dates–had dropped from 27% at the end of 2023 to 25% in September 2024.55 MoJ acknowledged that this … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the Committee's recommendation and has provided further details in a letter to the Committee, stating that the recommendation was implemented by April 2025.
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23 Recommendation Acknowledged
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Counsel unavailability continues to cause significant ineffective trials after industrial action.
The NAO report charts a sharp increase in 2022 in the number of ineffective trials due to the unavailability of counsel, when it went up to 4,136 compared to 279 in 2021. While the impact of industrial action by the … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the Committee's recommendation and has provided further details in a letter to the Committee, stating that the recommendation was implemented by April 2025.
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24 Recommendation Accepted in Part
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Expensive Nightingale courts continue operating despite significant underuse of main estate.
MoJ told us that it has spent “a significant amount of money” on maintaining the court estate over the last two years.64 HMCTS told us that there is a significant maintenance backlog, but nevertheless assured us that the total capacity … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the Committee's implied recommendation and is taking several specific actions, including increasing Crown Court sitting days, boosting maintenance funding, ongoing judicial recruitment, and increasing legal aid funding. However, they note that demand is so great these actions alone are insufficient and await recommendations from an Independent Review for substantial reform.
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25 Conclusion Accepted
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Ineffective trials still caused by poor case preparation and prisoner transport failures.
We heard from HMCTS of other reasons for ineffective trials that would appear to have simple solutions.68 We heard how organisations contracted to transport prisoners fail to get all defendants from prison to court on time, incurring a financial penalty … Read more
Government Response
The government states it agrees with the Committee's conclusions and claims the underlying recommendation regarding issues causing ineffective trials, such as prisoner transport and case preparation, has been implemented as of April 2025, with further details provided in a separate letter.
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26 Conclusion Acknowledged
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Ministry of Justice received substantial funding to tackle Crown Court backlog and expand capacity.
In the 2021 Spending Review, MoJ received an additional £477 million to support recovery across the criminal justice system, including to help reduce the Crown Court backlog which then stood at around 60,000. MoJ also secured an additional £644 million … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the Committee's conclusion and has informed the Committee via a separate letter that the recommendation was implemented by April 2025.
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27 Conclusion Acknowledged
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Ministry of Justice cannot quantify total spending on Crown Court backlog accurately.
As the NAO report found, MoJ cannot put a figure on how much has been spent on addressing the backlog in the Crown Court, as actions to address the backlog are spread over different parts of the criminal justice system.73 … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the Committee's conclusion and has informed the Committee via a separate letter that the recommendation was implemented by April 2025.
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28 Conclusion Acknowledged
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
MoJ lacks confidence in securing resources for criminal justice reforms
We asked witnesses for a breakdown of the £477 million received in the 2021 Spending Review, and an outline of what it achieved. We were told that it “depends on what the counterfactual is”. Without that funding, MoJ told us … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the Committee's conclusion and has informed the Committee via a separate letter that the recommendation was implemented by April 2025.
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29 Conclusion Accepted
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Missed opportunity to fund maximum court sitting days exacerbated backlog
In evidence to the Justice Committee in November 2024, the Lady Chief Justice described how the concordat agreement with MoJ for 2024–25, agreed under the previous administration, had provided for 106,000 sitting days. She reported that in August HMCTS had … Read more
Government Response
The government commits to funding 110,000 Crown Court sitting days in 2025-26, the highest allocation ever, and outlines various other ongoing initiatives such as judicial recruitment, increased legal aid funding, and court maintenance to reduce the backlog. It also states it awaits recommendations from the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts for longer-term reform.
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30 Conclusion Accepted
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Crown Court caseload data previously unreliable due to Common Platform errors
MoJ confirmed that it had identified three factors that caused it to pause publication of its Crown Court caseload data from June to December 2024. It had found that case records in Common Platform (the new digital case management system … Read more
Government Response
The government confirms the external review found confidence in Crown Court caseload statistics and details improvements made to magistrates’ caseload data measurement, including revisions due to identified issues in legacy systems. It also notes ongoing investigation for further remedial action for a small number of legacy cases.
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31 Conclusion Accepted
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Accuracy of criminal and civil court data, including remand population, remains questionable
Despite these assurances, we concur with a request from the Law Society of England and Wales in its written submission to us for confirmation from MoJ that other data and statistics across the criminal and civil courts are not similarly … Read more
Government Response
The government confirms confidence in Crown Court caseload statistics and details improvements made to magistrates’ caseload data, noting previous overstatements due to legacy system issues and committing to further revisions for additional legacy cases in the future. It also states that other caseload elements like police recorded crime are for other government departments.
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32 Conclusion Accepted
12th Report - Crown Court backlogs
Common Platform system operation has vastly improved and is now reliable
We were relieved to hear from HMCTS that the operation of Common Platform has “vastly improved” over the last few years, describing it as a “a good and stable system”, and that HMCTS now has confidence in the system’s reliability.89 … Read more
Government Response
The government confirms continued trials of AI in courts and tribunals, though scaling up is dependent on future Spending Review funding. It also outlines plans for further digitisation, including decommissioning legacy systems (Xhibit and Libra) by Spring 2027 to reduce dual-keying, and exploring improved integration between case management systems.
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Government Response AI assessment · 31 of 4 classified
Accepted 17
Accepted in Part 3
Acknowledged 5
Deferred 6
Total 4 recs + 28 conclusions
Correspondence 3 letters
4 Sep 2025 To committee Letter from the Chief Executive at HM Prison and Probation Service and the Chief Executive at HM Courts and Tribunal Service relating to a follow up on the responses to the 12th and 15th Reports of Session 2024-25, Crown Court backlogs and Prison estate capacity, 15 July 2025
Parliament page
19 May 2025 To committee Letter from the Chief Executive of HM Courts & Tribunals Service relating to the 12th Report of Session 2024-25, Crown Court Backlog, Recommendation 5, 08 May 2025
Parliament page
27 Jan 2025 To committee Letter from the Chief Executive at HM Courts and Tribunals Service relating to the Crown Courts Backlog oral evidence session held on 09 January 2025, 22 January 2025
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