Treasury blocked extra Nightingale Court plans despite justice crisis

Nightingale Courts have been opened to help tackle the justice crisis
PA Wire

The Treasury refused to bankroll the creation of an extra 33 Nightingale courtrooms despite the backlog of criminal trials soaring to record levels, it has been revealed.

The Ministry of Justice drew up plans earlier this year to open up a new series of ad-hoc courts to help tackle the justice crisis, as victims, witnesses, and defendants faced lengthy delays with rape and sexual assault cases being “acutely affected”.

But despite the dire position, officials had to scale back their ambitions after being told by the Treasury that funding would not be provided for the new courtrooms.

The internal government wrangling was revealed in a National Audit Office (NAO) report on the backlog in the criminal courts, which warned it could take several years to bring the situation back to pre-pandemic levels.

The government deliberately slashed court sitting days in 2019, allowing the backlog of case in the crown courts of England and Wales to increase by almost a quarter. The pandemic then caused the temporary shutdown of jury trials, and ongoing capacity issues have driven the backlog up to more than 60,000.

The NAO found London has been the worst-affected region in the last 18 months, with the average age of a case in the system increasing by 63 per cent to 266 days.

“Rape and serious sexual offence cases have been acutely affected”, the watchdog concluded, pointing out a 435 per cent increase in the amount of these cases now facing delays of more than a year.

“Despite the concerted efforts of HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the Ministry of Justice to increase capacity in criminal courts quickly and safely, the Crown Court backlog looks likely to be a pervasive issue beyond 2024”, the report found.

“This means more victims, witnesses and defendants will continue to be severely affected.

“In their work to recover, the Ministry and HMCTS cannot afford to lose sight of the impact that both the backlog and their recovery programme have on court users, particularly those who are vulnerable or have traditionally faced discrimination, including ethnic minorities.”

A series of Nightingale Courts have been set up since last summer, establishing ad-hoc hearing rooms for jury trials, magistrates cases, and civil court disputes in venues such as theatres and a cathedral.

Conference centres in Borough, Barbican, and Monument, as well as part of a hotel in Croydon, have been turned into Nightingales.

The NAO report reveals that the MoJ had hoped to have 111,500 judicial sitting days in 2021/22 across England and Wales, but “this was contingent on a range of assumptions, including 33 additional Nightingale courts.

“HM Treasury approved funding to extend the contracts of existing Nightingale Crown courtrooms until the end of 2021 but did not approve HMCTS’s request for 33 additional courtrooms.”

Without the extra space and an anticipated “very low” adoption by courts of the controversial ‘Extended Opening Hours’ scheme, the sitting days estimate was revised down to 103,500.

The MoJ estimated in April, prior to the government’s annual spending review, that £2.2bn was needed to carry out its action plan for courts, legal aid, prions, and probation service.

It is believed 4,000 extra prison places will need to be created by the end of 2023, while funding uncertainties pose a “significant risk” to the MoJ’s recovery plan. The department believes the backlog can be reduced to 48,000 by November 2024 if ‘ambitious’ plans succeed, it would be 52,000 under a ‘cautious’ approach, and the worst case ‘counterfactual’ scenario is 75,000.

The NAO also found the MoJ and HMCTS have a “poor understanding of how the pandemic and recovery programme have affected vulnerable and ethnic minority users”, and is relying on part-time judges – known as Recorders – to hear record-breaking levels of cases to help tackle the backlog.

“It is disappointing that those responsible for the criminal justice system are still not working effectively together to address the severe delays”, said Meg Hillier MP, Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts. “The Ministry of Justice needs to show greater leadership in order to reduce the backlog and deliver timely, effective justice for victims of crime.”

In response to the NAO report, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said it “recognises the speed at which we responded to the Covid-19.

“This meant that - in a matter of months - our buildings were made safe, remote technology was rolled out across all courts, and Nightingale Courtrooms opened up and down the country to increase the space available for trials.

“We are already seeing the results, with outstanding cases in the Magistrates’ courts falling, and in the Crown Court, the backlog stabilising.”

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