Courts Minister Informs MP of Case Relocation Strategy to Address Backlog

The Courts Minister has communicated to an MP that the accumulation of court cases in his constituency is expected to be partially eased by moving them to a different county. Ipswich Labour MP Jack Abbott brought this matter to Parliament’s attention on Tuesday. Mr. Abbott stated that reports indicated over 1,000 cases were awaiting resolution at Ipswich Crown Court. He noted that the average case required 249 days to advance, and 144 cases had remained unsettled for a period of two years or longer. Courts Minister Heidi Alexander stated that measures were underway to diminish the backlog, encompassing the relocation of some cases to Cambridge and an increase in the number of court sitting days. She affirmed the government’s “fully committed” stance on decreasing Crown Court caseloads. Ms. Alexander stated, “To relieve pressure on Ipswich Crown Court in particular, the South East region has begun sending appropriate cases to Cambridge Crown Court for hearing.” She added, “Nationally, we have increased the number of Crown Court sitting days to 106,500 – 500 more than was agreed by the previous Lord Chancellor.” Mr. Abbott commented: “I am grateful to the Government for working urgently to deal with the unforgivable mess left by the Conservatives.” He continued, “It means justice will be delivered for people in Ipswich and Suffolk as we look to fix our broken criminal justice system.” According to a source who spoke to the BBC, Cambridge Crown Court commenced receiving cases from Ipswich approximately three weeks prior and has processed around 15 of them to date. Barrister Simon Spence KC informed BBC Radio Suffolk last month that a “huge backlog” of cases had accumulated leading into the Covid pandemic, a situation that has not improved and is, in fact, deteriorating. He remarked, “When the courts reopened, all of us in the legal profession were hopeful that the government would provide the resources to enable the courts to catch up, but that’s simply not happening.” Mr. Spence added, “The national figures, on a daily basis, show there’s usually between 15 and 20% of Crown Courts that are available but are not being used and the current prediction is that by next year the number of cases in the backlog will be 80,000, which would be a record high.” He stated that he perceived no “major problem” with the transfer of west Suffolk cases to Cambridge. However, he cautioned, “if you start moving cases around the country, the risk of people not being produced in the right place, at the right time, will go up.” Tim Passmore, the Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner for Suffolk, commented: “This will only affect those people involved in the Crown Court system in Suffolk who live in the west of the county.” He elaborated, “So the actual travelling distance and time will not be any greater; in fact, it might even be less.” Nevertheless, he described the situation as “not ideal” and emphasized the necessity of long-term remedies to “make sure that justice is served in a much more timely manner.” Readers can find Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram, and X. This content is copyrighted by BBC in 2024, with all rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content of external sites and provides information on its approach to external linking.