Ten 'Nightingale Courts' to tackle backlog of cases caused by lockdown

19 July 2020, 17:05

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said the courts will boost capacity. Picture: PA

By Matt Drake

Ten emergency "Nightingale courts" have been set up to help the justice system cope with the backlog of cases built up during the pandemic.

The ad hoc courts will hear non-custodial crime cases as well as tribunals, family and civil matters to ensure "the wheels of justice keep turning", the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said.

Magistrates' courts in England and Wales are facing a backlog of some 480,000 cases, while crown courts - where the most serious offences like rape and murder are dealt with - are dealing with a pile-up of some 41,000 cases, according to MoJ data for June.

The MoJ said the new courts would create more space for existing courts to hear serious jury trials, which were temporarily paused as lockdown took effect.

Caroline Goodwin QC, chairwoman of the Criminal Bar Association, welcomed the news as a "start", adding: "Now let's get serious and open up 50 more buildings and focus on criminal trials."

She said: "Time is of the essence. Two months of delay getting these 10 on-stream just piles on the human suffering to get trials on that have already been delayed for between one and three years, impacting tens of thousands of those left waiting."

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Ms Goodwin said some 26,000 crown court trials have piled up and are waiting to start, "more than twice the number than those which took place last year after Government cuts forced court rooms to shut".

She said the Government's "destructive slashing" of justice system budgets had led to backlogs pre-pandemic, noting that 12,473 trials with fixed dates last year were "simply bumped due to cuts to court sitting days, while perfectly good court rooms were kept idle just to shave costs".

A court set up in East Pallant House, Chichester, is expected to begin hearing cases next week, with all 10 locations aiming to be operational by next month, the MoJ said.

After jury trials were halted in March and around half of courts closed, up to nine in 10 hearings have used remote technology to continue making progress throughout the pandemic, it added.

Some jury trials resumed in May, after almost two months on hold, but last month Justice Secretary Robert Buckland QC warned that clearing the lockdown-induced backlog could continue into next year.

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Mr Buckland said of the new interim courts: "Our action to keep the justice system running throughout the pandemic has been globally recognised, with these Nightingale courts being the latest step in this effort.

“They will help boost capacity across our courts and tribunals – reducing delays and delivering speedier justice for victims.

“But we won’t stop there. Together with the judiciary, courts staff and legal sector, I am determined that we must pursue every available option to ensure our courts recover as quickly as possible.”