Government lifts cap on crown court sitting days to tackle backlogs

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Every crown court in England and Wales will be funded to hear more cases next year after the government lifted the cap on court sitting days. On Tuesday 24 February, Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy announced the move, which the Law Society of England and Wales described as a “step in the right direction”.

Removing the limit is expected to increase the annual total sitting days to 113,000, up from the 111,250 announced by the Ministry of Justice in October. While Law Society President Mark Evans applauded the decision, he noted: “To make this effective, the government must ensure there are enough judges, court staff, prosecutors and defence lawyers to work on the cases. It must also overcome issues such as prisoners not being delivered to court on time. Lessons on efficient scheduling of cases can be learned from courts that are operating well.”

The government and the judiciary have also agreed on a £2.8 billion settlement for courts and tribunals for 2026/27, an increase from £2.5 billion last year. This funding includes a £287 million capital investment to repair court buildings.

The Law Society cited research showing that two-thirds of solicitors have faced delays caused by court-related issues. Evans commented: “We welcome investment in the court estate, which must be directed to the areas of greatest need and increased in future years. With a maintenance backlog of more than £1.3 billion, the investment must be focused on repairing court buildings, rather than seeing AI and technology as a silver bullet.”

He added: “Our criminal justice system is a crucial public service which for too long has been neglected, with victims, witnesses and defendants waiting years for justice. It is unacceptable that some cases are listed for 2030. This investment needs to be matched across the system to ensure swift and fair justice.”

Meanwhile, the chair and vice-chair of the Criminal Bar Association, Riel Karmy-Jones KC and Andrew Thomas KC, said: “Complainants, witnesses, defendants, and all who works in the criminal justice system, will be hugely relieved as removing the cap on sitting days is the single most important measure which the government can take to bring down the backlog, and reduce the delays.”

Elsewhere, CEO of the pressure group Justice, Fiona Rutherford, welcomed the announcement but warned against it being used to pave the way for cuts to jury trials.Bottom of Form She Rutherford stated: “Restricting the right to jury trial would trample on one of the few parts of the system the public still trusts and cutting them would risk more miscarriages of justice, especially for marginalised communities.”

Lammy is expected to announce additional measures on Tuesday, targeting efficiencies highlighted in the second part of Sir Brian Leveson’s review into the court backlogs, including remote hearings.

He commented: “Investment alone will not be enough to deliver timely justice, which is why it has to be combined with our pragmatic reforms and modernisation.”