Magistrates’ Court Sittings Halved in Three Counties Amid Staff Shortages

Certain magistrates’ courts are set to “drastically” cut down on their sessions due to insufficient legal personnel, according to a leaked internal document obtained by the BBC. A court administrator confirmed that the volume of criminal court proceedings in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, and Wiltshire is scheduled to decrease by half between January and March 2025. These reductions are projected to persist until September, stemming from a scarcity of legal advisers, who serve as courtroom officials providing legal assistance to magistrates. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) confirmed these operational cutbacks, stating its intention to allocate additional resources to aid the impacted courts. The internal memorandum indicated that the scarcity of personnel had led to “untenable… daily firefighting” and “last-minute court closures.” It further stated: “To resolve this situation, we are going to adopt a severely reduced court matrix for a three-month period from January 2025 to March 2025.” The memo added: “We recognise that this is a very difficult position to be in, but we are confident that by making these drastic and carefully planned reductions, we can ensure that we increase the competence and resilience of our legal team.” The Magistrates’ Association reported a nationwide deficit of legal advisers, particularly pronounced in the southern regions of England. Tom Franklin, the chief executive, commented: “This causes many thousands of sitting days to be cancelled or delayed each year.” He continued: “Sorting out legal adviser numbers through better recruitment and retention will cost some money, but for a relatively small amount, it could have a big impact on sorting out one of the log-jams in the courts.” The Law Society, an organization representing solicitors, also highlighted a deficiency of magistrates, lawyers, and prison escort personnel. President Richard Atkinson stated: “This is particularly unhelpful when the magistrates’ court backlog is already huge and growing, with 333,349 cases outstanding at the end of September.” The most recent government statistics indicated that Hampshire and the Isle of Wight recorded 11,916 active cases – marking a five-year high – while Wiltshire had 2,350. The Crown Prosecution Service declined to offer comment regarding the backlog. In a formal statement, the MoJ declared: “To ensure new legal advisers can complete their essential training there will be a temporary reduction of magistrate sittings in Hampshire next year.” The statement continued: “We will deploy additional resources during this period to support the courts in ensuring justice continues to be served.” Earlier in the current month, the government disclosed plans for a review of the criminal justice system, prompted by unprecedented backlogs in crown courts. It was stated that this inquiry, headed by former High Court judge Sir Brian Leveson, would examine the possibility of granting magistrates expanded powers to alleviate the workload on crown courts.