Labour dodges key question on radical reforms to courts as victims face 2029 wait

A Labour minister dodged questions over a timescale for radical reforms to slash the"unacceptable" delays faced by many victims of crime. Baroness Levitt, who was a legal colleague of Sir Keir Starmer when the Prime Minister headed the Crown Prosecution Service, told Parliament that behind the crown court backlog statistics "are human beings".

But she said proposals by former High Court judge Sir Brian Leveson are still being considered by justice chiefs amid fears they could heap more pressure on the prison system. The mounting logjam of cases means some trials have now been listed for 2029. Figures from the Ministry of Justice showed the open caseload was 78,329 at the end of June, up 2% from 76,957 at the end of March, the first time the backlog passed 75,000.

Ministers are due to respond this autumn to recommendations made by Sir Brian to overhaul the courts, aimed at trying to "reduce the risk of total system collapse".

Sir Brian said that thousands of cases usually heard by judges should only be considered by judges.

Another recommendation involves having more out-of-court resolutions, such as cautions.

He wants a new division of the crown court with two magistrates and a judge to handle less serious offences, and to increase the number of sentence reductions for guilty pleas at the first opportunity offered.

Either-way offences - those that can be heard in a crown court or a magistrates' court - with a maximum custodial sentence of two years or less, such as possession of drugs, bike theft and voyeurism, could face lower penalties of 12 months imprisonment or less.

Defendants in cases for offences including assault of an emergency worker, stalking and possessing an indecent photograph of a child would also no longer be able to choose a jury trial.

Speaking in the House of Lords, Lady Levitt said: "As of June 2025, the average time from charge to the main hearing in the crown court, whether that is a guilty plea or a contested trial, for all crown court cases is 241 days.

"That is 14 fewer days than in the corresponding quarter last year, a drop of 5%, so there is some improvement, but overall the crown court backlog that the Government inherited continues to rise, which means that victims are waiting too long for justice.

"The Government commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to propose reforms. We are carefully considering his report and will respond in due course."

Tory former senior law officer Lord Garnier said: "The minister will remember from her time as a crown court judge that the time between a case first coming before a crown court and being listed for trial has got longer and longer.

"Now, perhaps in her old court, trials are being listed for 2028 and 2029.

"This is unacceptable for victims, for witnesses and even for the defendant.

"It requires some will and leadership to crack this.

"What are the Government intending to do about it?

"The 1,250 extra days promised to the system by the Lord Chancellor just the other day could be taken up by her old court alone in one year.

"Please let us have some action."

Responding, the minister said: "I could not agree more with the basic premise of his question.

"It is simply unacceptable, and behind every one of those statistics are human beings waiting for justice.

"Our immediate reactions are that we intend to fund a record high of 111,250 sitting days in the crown court, to free up an additional 2,000 days in the crown court by extending the sentencing powers of the magistrates' courts from six to 12 months, and to make some capital investment.

"But it is obvious to everybody that simply making efficiencies and putting financial help into the system will not deal with the problem.

"The backlog is now twice what it was before Covid, which is why the Government asked Sir Brian Leveson to look at fundamental reforms of how the system works."

Pressed for a timescale, the Labour frontbencher said: "I am sure members will understand that the recommendations made by Sir Brian Leveson, to whom we are extremely grateful, are robust and far-reaching.

"They will have a potentially radical effect on our justice system as we know it, and it is right that the Government take time to consider them and make sure that there are no unexpected effects on other parts of the system - for example, on the prison estate.

"If more people are sent to prison, can the prison estate cope with it?

"For that reason, impact assessments are being undertaken, and we will respond as soon as we are sure that what we are recommending will actually work."

Sir Brian's recommendations are expected to save approximately 9,000 sitting days in the crown court each year from some of the main changes, such as by diverting cases to magistrates' courts or to a new type of crown court where cases are heard by judges.

Juries would be reserved to hear the most serious cases.