Reeves to give prosecutors extra £250m to tackle courts backlog

Telegraph

3 hours ago

More prosecutors are to be recruited, as part of a £250 million courts cash injection to be announced by Rachel Reeves.
The funding will tackle record legal backlogs which are forcing thousands of victims to wait more than two years for justice.
Secured by Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, the money is a 10 per cent uplift for the period 2026-29.
It will enable the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to recruit and retain hundreds of prosecutors to tackle the backlog of cases, which stood at a record 74,651 at the end of 2024.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is expected to emerge as one of the biggest winners in the spending review on Wednesday.
The Chancellor will also confirm an extra £700 million to recruit more probation officers as part of an expansion of community punishments to ease prison overcrowding.
Ms Mahmood has further secured a £4.7 billion capital investment to build new prisons to help meet the Government's target of 14,000 extra jail places by 2031. Three sites – HMPs Garth, Grendon and Gartree – have already been commissioned.
The funding increase is a recognition of the political damage the Government could suffer if it fails to solve the prison overcrowding crisis and reduce court delays.
Last year's early release of thousands of prisoners, including some who were filmed toasting Sir Keir Starmer, has been a major factor in undermining public confidence in Labour, according to opinion polls.
A Treasury source said the cash injection would 'speed up justice for victims and witnesses waiting months or years for cases to come to trial, after the Government inherited a justice system on the brink of collapse and courts in crisis'.
The source added: 'To battle the backlog, this new funding by 2028/29 will mean the CPS can recruit more Crown Advocates and front-line staff to prosecute cases and better support victims.'
The MoJ is soon expected to announce the biggest shake-up in a generation of the court system, with thousands of suspects to be stripped of the right to a jury trial.
The plans, to be outlined by Sir Brian Leveson, one of Britain's most senior judges, are expected to limit the number of such cases to help clear the backlog.
Proposals being considered include the creation of an intermediate court comprising a judge and two magistrates to hear cases that would previously have gone to a lengthy crown court trial before a jury.
It is understood Sir Brian has also been looking at the possibility of increasing magistrates' sentencing powers so that they would be able to rule on cases related to offences that carry prison sentences of up to two years. They can currently only imprison convicted offenders for up to a year.
Any removal of jury trials is expected to prompt a fierce backlash from many within the legal profession. However, Ms Mahmood has already warned that without such action the court backlog could increase to an unprecedented 100,000 cases.
The courts review, commissioned by Ms Mahmood, follows a sentencing review by David Gauke, the former Tory justice secretary, which recommended criminals should be freed as little as a third of the way into their sentences if they behave well and engage with rehabilitation schemes.
The proposals, which have been accepted by the MoJ, will also allow killers, rapists and other violent offenders to be freed halfway through their terms rather than two-thirds, if they behave well and engage in training, education and work while behind bars.
A Treasury source said: 'The criminal justice system was broken after 14 years of neglect. We need to rebuild not just the system itself, but confidence in it too. You can't make our streets safer if you don't have the resource to put dangerous suspects on trial.
'That's why the Chancellor is going to throw her backing behind battling the backlog in our courts, hiring more prosecutors and giving them the tools to deliver justice for victims as part of our Plan for Change.'