Recommendation 9

The pandemic has had a significant impact on the court system, exacerbating an already growing backlog in cases, particularly in the criminal courts. Stakeholders are concerned that it could take years to clear the backlog that has now accumulated. The effects on the lives of defendants, witnesses and victims are acute; we heard from a vulnerable constituent how waiting four years to access justice had severely impacted their wellbeing and recovery. The Ministry committed to shorten these waiting times and told us that it was putting £40 million in funding towards supporting victims, including providing independent advisers in the cases of sexual abuse and domestic violence. It recognised that more needs to be done to ensure the existence of these services is clearly communicated to victims.11 5 Qq 68, 69 6 Committee of Public Accounts, Mental health in prisons, Eighth Report of Session 2017–19, HC 400, 13 December 2017 7 HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, Aggregate report on Short scrutiny visits 21 April – & July 2020, July 2020 8 Letter from HM Prison and Probation Service, 9 February 2021 9 Qq 41–45 10 Letter from HM Prison and Probation Service, 9 February 2021, page 6 11 Qq 6, 31, 32 10 Key challenges facing the Ministry of Justice