When Labour came in to power on 05 July 2024, they vowed to clear the backlog in the criminal Courts that under the Conservatives had grown to a record level. In December 2024 the Government announced a ‘once in a life time’ review of the Criminal Courts with the intention of clearing the backlog. That report is yet to be published. The real fear now relates to a statement by the Chancellor Racheal Reeves who announced on 23 March that she intended to bring in 15% of savings from the civil service. His Majesties Court Service falls under the civil service. The Criminal Justice System has for the past 30 years been the first target for cuts in the civil service. Since 1999 we have seen cuts of 50% to the criminal legal aid bill alone
The level of cuts to criminal legal aid funding and cuts to His Majesties Court Service has considerably contributed to the degree of backlog we have today. There are now a reported 77,000 unresolved prosecutions waiting to come to trial in the Crown Courts alone. There are 17,000 un-convicted people in custody waiting to go to trial. To highlight how bad the waiting list is for defendants on bail waiting to have their day in Court, cases being listed for trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court in London are being adjourned to dates approaching 2029. These figure do not take in to consideration the over 500,000 cases waiting to be resolved in the Magistrates Court
The further delay in publishing the expected report in to how to fix the broken criminal courts system, does not ease fears that the chancellor will as with previous chancellors, look to recoup savings with another attack on the already broken criminal justice system. The criminal justice system cannot take another cut. Time will tell where the chancellor will make this 15% saving.
