Value for Money

Reducing the backlog in criminal courts

Published 22 October 2021 9 recommendations Ministry of Justice Courts, sentencing and tribunalsCrime, justice and law nao.org.uk
This report assesses the government’s plans for, and progress, in reducing the backlog in criminal courts.

Recommendations (9)

Source: NAO Recommendations Tracker · PAC follow-up below
8
Accepted
1
Partially Accepted
9
Implemented
9
NAO Confirmed
Ministry of Justice
Rec 1 Accepted Implemented
The Ministry should: a) agree with other criminal justice agencies a set of shared, published objectives for recovery in criminal courts that explicitly consider the implications for the rest of the criminal justice system. It should use these shared objectives to:
Page 11, point a 03/2022 Crown Prosecution Service; HM Courts and Tribunals Service
Ministry of Justice
Rec 2 Accepted Implemented
• align recovery funding, planning and reporting across criminal justice agencies; and
Page 11, point a, first bullet point 01/2024 Crown Prosecution Service; HM Courts and Tribunals Service
Ministry of Justice
Rec 3 Accepted Implemented
• set reasonable expectations around waiting times by case type, acknowledging the responsibility of the judiciary.
Page 11, point a, second bullet point 10/2022 Crown Prosecution Service; HM Courts and Tribunals Service
Ministry of Justice
Rec 4 Accepted Implemented
b) develop a shared understanding of the capacity and capability of other parts of the criminal justice system, including the CPS and the legal professions, to support recovery in criminal courts.
Page 11, point b 01/2024 HM Courts and Tribunals Service
Ministry of Justice
Rec 5 Partially Accepted Implemented
c) identify and obtain the data that it needs to understand the diversity of user experience, including for vulnerable users and ethnic minorities. It should use this to:
Page 12, point c 09/2024 HM Courts and Tribunals Service
Ministry of Justice
Rec 6 Accepted Implemented
• It should use [the diversity data] to: inform how it implements the criminal court recovery programme and all key initiatives in the criminal justice action plan and capture this in their performance monitoring; and
Page 12, point c first bullet point 09/2024 HM Courts and Tribunals Service
Ministry of Justice
Rec 7 Accepted Implemented
identify learning, particularly for aspects of the recovery programme that will endure through the court reform programme.
Page 12, point c second bullet point 05/2024 HM Courts and Tribunals Service
Ministry of Justice
Rec 8 Accepted Implemented
d) support improvements in data it needs for recovery by: • devising and implementing a plan to tackle the systemic barriers to collecting, using and sharing data effectively across the criminal justice system; and
Page 12, point d first bullet point 03/2025 HM Courts and Tribunals Service
Ministry of Justice
Rec 9 Accepted Implemented
• strengthening its work with the judiciary and regional offices to capture local intelligence systematically and consistently.
Page 12, point d second bullet point 07/2022 HM Courts and Tribunals Service

Parliamentary Committee Follow-Up

The Public Accounts Committee examined this NAO report and published its own recommendations. The government responds to PAC recommendations via Treasury Minutes.

Forty-Third Report - Reducing the backlog in criminal courts
Public Accounts Committee · 9 March 2022 · 13 recommendations
View PAC report & government responses parliament.uk