Judicial Capacity Shortages
11 items
2 sources
Insufficient numbers of judges and staff leading to significant capacity issues and constraints within the court system.
Cross-Source Insight
Judicial Capacity Shortages has been flagged across 2 independent accountability sources:
6 inquiry recs
5 PFD reports
This issue has been identified by multiple independent accountability bodies, suggesting it is a recurring systemic concern.
Inquiry Recommendations (6)
15 — Research high child remand population
Recommendation: The Inquiry was told that children should only be placed in custody as a last resort. However, it was concerned to hear evidence that some children are remanded in custody because of a lack of appropriate community provision. Given that …
Gov response: On 26 January 2022, the Ministry of Justice published its Review of Custodial Remand for Children. The review's findings challenged the narrative that remand is overused and highlighted several factors that have impacted the increase …
Accepted
Delivered
IR2-7 — No Exemplary Damages but Court Access Preserved
Recommendation: I recommend that there should be no award for exemplary damages, though it should remain open to a claimant to pursue such a claim in the courts irrespective of whether they make a claim on the scheme.
Gov response: There is no award for exemplary damages, as recommended by the Second Interim Report in recommendation 7.
Accepted
Delivered
JB-15.21 — Amend Criminal Procedure Rules for firearms court applications
Recommendation: There should be an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Rules which govern the process in applications for a firearms presence in court – a requirement for witness statements, sworn evidence and the taping of proceedings should all be included.
Gov response: Directed to Criminal Procedure Rule Committee. Implementation status unclear.
Response Unclear
No update 2+ yrs
JB-15.22 — Training for officers presenting firearms court applications
Recommendation: There should be training of those who are authorised by reason of rank to present such applications at court, and no-one should act as a substitute for a properly authorised person unless they have been appropriately trained. In any event, …
Gov response: College of Policing updated APP-AP in August 2023. Training implementation ongoing.
Accepted
No update 2+ yrs
F284 — Appointment of assistant deputy coroners
Recommendation: The Lord Chancellor should issue guidance as to the criteria to be adopted in the appointment of assistant deputy coroners.
Gov response: The government published "Hard Truths: the Journey to Putting Patients First" (Cm 8777) on 19 November 2013, responding to all 290 recommendations of the Francis Report. This followed an initial response "Patients First and Foremost" …
Accepted
F285 — Appointment of assistant deputy coroners
Recommendation: The Chief Coroner should issue guidance on how to avoid the appearance of bias when assistant deputy coroners are associated with a party in a case.
Gov response: The government published "Hard Truths: the Journey to Putting Patients First" (Cm 8777) on 19 November 2013, responding to all 290 recommendations of the Francis Report. This followed an initial response "Patients First and Foremost" …
Accepted
PFD Reports (5)
Paul Appleby
Concerns: The absence of a regular Saturday Court Service by the Liaison and Diversion Team, relying solely on an 'On Call' system, raises concerns about potential future deaths.
Response: The Trust clarified the specific incident by explaining communication failures and stated that to mitigate future risks, they have reissued the Standard Operating Procedure to Saturday court operators on how …
Responded
Zahra Mohamed
Concerns: Significant 2-week delays in obtaining and executing Mental Health Act warrants persist due to court and police scheduling issues, increasing the risk of harm to vulnerable patients.
Responded
Ronald Bainborough
Concerns: Protracted 20-day timescales for obtaining and executing Mental Health Act warrants, due to limited court availability and police delays, expose individuals to significant harm before assessment.
Responded
Frank Ospina
Concerns: Mismatched healthcare and Home Office interpretations of Rule 35 led to a failure in reporting suicidal intentions, and an inappropriate "closed" visit denied a detainee physical contact and private conversation with family.
Responded
Christopher Hutton
Concerns: Significant backlogs and high demand within Probation services meant a critical court-ordered treatment program for the deceased was not commenced, despite his anxiety to complete it.
Responded