Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation 17

17

Backlog directly correlates with remand population, increasing prison pressures and leading to 'time served' releases.

Conclusion
MoJ told us that there is a direct correlation between the number of cases in the backlog and the size of the remand population awaiting trial, and that this is adding to prison capacity pressures and making it harder to manage the prison population.41 The written evidence submitted by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons also notes that some people awaiting sentencing are spending so long on remand that upon sentencing they are released from court having already served the length of their sentence while on remand.42 38 C&AG’s Report, para 3.4 39 CCB0008 40 CCB0003 41 Q 47 42 CCB0008, para 13 15 2 Understanding and managing the backlog Planning and adapting to increasing rates of new cases
Government Response

A response document is linked to this report, dated 16 May 2025. Response attribution to this conclusion has not been verified. Read the response document ↗