Courts: Standards

Criminal Courts

We remain committed to bearing down on the outstanding caseload and delivering swifter justice for victims, but the challenge we face to do so is significant.

The Government has taken action to reduce the rate of caseload growth, through extending magistrates’ court sentencing powers to 12 months and funding 108,500 days at the Crown Court this financial year (FY24/25), the highest level since FY15/16.  To tackle the outstanding caseload in the longer term it is clear that we must go further and do things differently. The Lord Chancellor has commissioned an independent review of the criminal courts, led by Sir Brian Leveson, to consider the merits of longer-term reform, as well as reviewing the efficiency and timeliness of court processes, through charge to case completion.

Family Courts

Delays in the court process can have a significant impact on children and families - we are committed to improving timeliness and reducing the outstanding caseload.

The Family Justice Board agreed system-wide targets for reducing delay in 2024/25. These are focused on closing the longest running cases and increasing the proportion of public law cases concluded within the statutory 26-week timeframe.  Areas delivering the Pathfinder model for private law are making significant progress in addressing delays, with some of the lowest case durations nationally. To address the particular challenges in London, we are investing up to £1 million this financial year to tackle the outstanding private law caseload through providing additional capacity.