The Ministry of Justice has confirmed to the Times that Crown Court sitting days are being capped to 105,000 this year – two per cent lower than the previous year when the number of sitting days was uncapped.
In 2023/24 there were 107,700 sitting days in the Crown Court. Sitting days were capped in 2019 to 85,000 and then uncapped in 2021/22 to help clear the case backlog.
Commenting, Sam Townend KC, Chair of the Bar Council said:
“The short notice implementation of cuts in sitting days is causing real concern in courts up and down the country and will impact on victims, witnesses, and defendants.
“The government is right that the criminal justice system has been grossly underfunded for over a decade, more so than other public services. However, if we are to have any chance of reducing the court backlogs we need to restore the policy of uncapped sitting days.”