By Gabriel Princewill-
David Lammy Announces Record Investment to Combat UK Justice Delay Crisis
The Deputy Prime Minister and new Lord Chancellor, David Lammy,(pictured) is taking decisive action to address the profound crisis in the country’s criminal justice system.
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David Lammy. Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty Images
He announced a significant injection of funding to deliver an extra 1,250 Crown Court sitting days, bringing the total to a record high of 111,250 days for the current financial year.
This unprecedented allocation of resources directly targets the monstrous UK court backlog, a figure that has swelled to over 78,000 cases, according to the latest Ministry of Justice (MoJ) statistics.
This staggering number represents a human cost that cannot be quantified merely in data points; behind every single file is a victim awaiting closure or a defendant hoping for resolution.
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Reducing the monumental UK court backlog has become a top political priority for the new administration. Indeed, it was also a desired objective for the former administration, which woefully failed to get a grip on the growing problem. This new government is at least purporting to address the issue
Mr Lammy delivered his pledge in a keynote speech marking the solemn opening of the legal year on Wednesday, clearly acknowledging the widespread distress caused by years of chronic under-resourcing and delay.
He emphasised the scale of the challenge the government inherited, stating: “The Crown Court backlog we inherited stands at over 78,000, and behind each case is a real person, waiting years for justice.” He continued, “That is why we are acting with the biggest investment on record as part of our Plan for Change.” This plan aims to fundamentally restructure and revitalise a system that is currently buckling under immense pressure.
Funding these additional sitting days is expected to enable the Crown Court to hear many more trials, thereby accelerating the process and bringing much-needed, swifter justice to numerous victims of crime.
The long-term goal remains to achieve generational reform, but this immediate investment promises to “ease the torment and bring swifter justice to many more victims.”
Judicial apologies for excessive delays have become a distressingly common feature of courtrooms across England and Wales, highlighting the severe consequences of the pervasive UK court backlog.
This unfortunate necessity underscores the ethical dilemma faced by judges who must balance the demands of justice with the system’s crushing inability to deliver timely trials.
Recently, the case of peer and reality television personality Lord Charles Brocket has tragically illustrated the extent of court backlog’s.
Appearing before Isleworth Crown Court on Tuesday to face allegations of sexual assault and rape, he received the shocking news that his trial could not be heard until November 2027. This wait of over two years is simply unacceptable by any measure of a functioning justice system.
Other serious cases suffer equally egregious delays. Just last month, seven defendants involved in a park attack in Peterlee were told their trial date was set for March 2028—an appalling two-and-a-half-year delay.
Judge Richard Clews, addressing the group who had all pleaded not guilty, openly acknowledged the “substantial backlog” paralysing the court. These prolonged waits significantly impact the quality of justice; memory fades, witnesses withdraw, and the trauma for victims is cruelly extended.
The Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales has repeatedly highlighted that these intolerable delays contribute to mental health deterioration, job disruption, and an alarming rate of victims disengaging entirely from the judicial process, sometimes compounding their original ordeal with a second injustice.
Indeed, for too many victims, the adage rings painfully true: justice delayed is justice denied.
Legal Professionals Demand Comprehensive Systemic Reform
While the Law Society of England and Wales cautiously welcomed the announcement of extra sittings, they were quick to caution that this funding surge is only a short-term palliative.
Richard Atkinson, the Law Society President, described the move as a “welcome step forward” but stressed that investment is critically needed across the entire justice pipeline.
Richard Atkinson is the 180th president of the Law Society of England and Wales. Law Society
The magistrates’ courts, the gateway to the Crown Court for all criminal cases, are also facing a record-breaking backlog, with figures exceeding 360,000 cases.
Mr Atkinson pointed out that simply increasing capacity in the Crown Court without addressing the bottlenecks at the Magistrates’ Court level and in the pre-court stages will ultimately fail to resolve the core structural issues.
“The Government needs to ensure improvements in one part of the system can be matched throughout the pipeline,” he stated, arguing that sustained investment is required to fully get this vital public service “back on its feet.”
Furthermore, the complexities of modern criminal cases contribute significantly to the problem.
Data indicates a substantial rise in serious and lengthy trials, particularly involving sexual and violent offences, which inherently demand more court time and judicial capacity.
For instance, the number of ineffective trials, those that collapse and must be rescheduled, remains disturbingly high, chewing up valuable court time. These collapses happen for a variety of reasons, including disclosure issues, absence of legal professionals, the state of the court, or problems with prison transport, and they demonstrate a lack of coordination across the justice system’s disparate parts.
Addressing these issues, along with increasing the number of legal advisers and improving the crumbling court estate—some of which suffer from severe maintenance issues like mould and asbestos—must be part of any genuine long-term strategy.
The total number of sitting days is therefore only one factor in a complex equation.
The government’s “Plan for Change” intends to be more than just a temporary funding fix; officials suggest it forms the basis of a long-term strategy.
Lammy’s commitment to the new sitting days brings the total allocated for the Crown Court to 111,250, a significant increase over previous years. This level of resourcing is intended to allow the system to process cases faster than the rate at which new ones are entering the system, finally making an actual reduction in the overall UK court backlog.
However, some critics, including the Criminal Bar Association, suggest that anything less than uncapped sitting days will only “chip away” at the problem without delivering the immediate and decisive impact required.
They argue that uncapped days, alongside greater investment in legal aid and rehabilitation programmes, are essential to truly return the system to efficiency.
Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, which is currently underway, provides a crucial opportunity for the government to implement generational reform. His recommendations are expected to include proposals for greater use of out-of-court resolutions and expanded deferred prosecution schemes, thereby reducing the sheer volume of cases that require a full Crown Court trial.
Without these fundamental changes to reduce the demand on the system, the UK court backlog will inevitably continue its upward trajectory, regardless of the number of extra days the courts are ordered to sit.
The Deputy Prime Minister is carefully considering the Leveson Review’s initial findings and promises a full response shortly.
The nation watches closely, hoping that this record investment marks the true beginning of the end of the persistent justice delay crisis.
Individuals seeking guidance or support related to court delays can access resources through the Ministry of Justice website. You can read further on the court backlog from the MoJ statistics page.
The recent announcements by Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy regarding record investment to combat the UK justice delay crisis have direct and indirect implications for people remanded while waiting for trial, the court backlog, and Custody Time Limits (CTLs).
Here is a breakdown of what is expected:
Remand in Sentencing Reform
The primary goal of the announced investment and increase in Crown Court sitting days is to speed up the criminal justice process, thereby accelerating the process of justice for eithe ror both the victim [alleged] and defendant.
The funding for an additional 1,250 Crown Court sitting days aims to allow the courts to hear more cases and begin to tackle the record backlog of over 78,000 cases.
A reduction in the backlog should, in theory, mean that individuals remanded in custody wait for a shorter period before their trial. Justice Lammy stated that the investment is intended to “bring swifter justice to many more victims.”
Separate from the sitting days announcement, the government is proceeding with the Sentencing Bill, which includes “Changes to the test for remand”, where defendants are held in custody awaiting trial or sentencing, are sensible and should avoid short sentences ‘by the backdoor’ which suggests an intent to reduce the number of people remanded when an eventual prison sentence might be avoided .
The Labour government believes that extending the options for deferred sentences would also support more effective rehabilitation.
Despite the investment, the sheer scale of the Crown Court backlog (which has reached a record high) and the associated waiting times (sometimes three or four years) mean that pressure on those remanded in custody remains a major concern until the backlog is significantly reduced.
In a direct response to the UK’s spiralling judicial backlog, Justice Secretary David Lammy has announced a “biggest investment on record” aimed at delivering “swifter justice,” a move that holds critical implications for thousands of individuals remanded in custody awaiting trial.
The core of the Justice Secretary’s immediate strategy to tackle the backlog—which currently stands at over 78,000 Crown Court cases—is the funding of an additional 1,250 Crown Court sitting days, bringing the total to a record high of 111,250 this financial year.
This significant injection of court capacity is intended to accelerate the hearing of cases, thereby shrinking the queue that leaves many defendants, presumably including those on remand, waiting for justice for up to three or four years.
For those held in prison, the fate of their pre-trial detention is directly tied to the speed of the courts, and a successful reduction in the backlog is the government’s primary mechanism for ensuring their ordeal is shortened. Keeping defendants in prison awaiting trial for an excessive period would equally be incompatible with the overarching objectives the Justice Secretary aims to achieve.
On the wider crisis, the Justice Secretary is maintaining a two-pronged approach: immediate capacity boost and “generational reform.
While the extra sitting days address the urgent court backlog, Lammy has stressed that money alone cannot solve the systemic problems, confirming that the government is carefully considering the ambitious, long-term proposals put forward by Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts.
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