Source · National Audit Office

Reducing the backlog in criminal courts

Published: 22 Oct 2021 Recommendations: 9 Type: Value for Money NAO confirmed: 9 Department: Ministry of Justice

This report assesses the government’s plans for, and progress, in reducing the backlog in criminal courts.

Dept: Ministry of Justice Topics: Courts, sentencing and tribunalsCrime, justice and law nao.org.uk →

Recommendations

9 items

8 accepted 1 partially accepted 9 implemented

Rec	Recommendation	Addressee	Acceptance	Implementation
1	The Ministry should: a) agree with other criminal justice agencies a set of shared, published objectives for recovery in criminal courts that explicitly consider the implications for the rest of the criminal justice system. It should use these shared objectives to: Ref Page 11, point a · Implemented 03/2022	Ministry of Justice	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
2	• align recovery funding, planning and reporting across criminal justice agencies; and Ref Page 11, point a, first bullet point · Implemented 01/2024	Ministry of Justice	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
3	• set reasonable expectations around waiting times by case type, acknowledging the responsibility of the judiciary. Ref Page 11, point a, second bullet point · Implemented 10/2022	Ministry of Justice	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
4	b) develop a shared understanding of the capacity and capability of other parts of the criminal justice system, including the CPS and the legal professions, to support recovery in criminal courts. Ref Page 11, point b · Implemented 01/2024	Ministry of Justice	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
5	c) identify and obtain the data that it needs to understand the diversity of user experience, including for vulnerable users and ethnic minorities. It should use this to: Ref Page 12, point c · Implemented 09/2024	Ministry of Justice	Partially accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
6	• It should use [the diversity data] to: inform how it implements the criminal court recovery programme and all key initiatives in the criminal justice action plan and capture this in their performance monitoring; and Ref Page 12, point c first bullet point · Implemented 09/2024	Ministry of Justice	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
7	identify learning, particularly for aspects of the recovery programme that will endure through the court reform programme. Ref Page 12, point c second bullet point · Implemented 05/2024	Ministry of Justice	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
8	d) support improvements in data it needs for recovery by: • devising and implementing a plan to tackle the systemic barriers to collecting, using and sharing data effectively across the criminal justice system; and Ref Page 12, point d first bullet point · Implemented 03/2025	Ministry of Justice	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
9	• strengthening its work with the judiciary and regional offices to capture local intelligence systematically and consistently. Ref Page 12, point d second bullet point · Implemented 07/2022	Ministry of Justice	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO

Public Accounts Committee follow-up

1 report

The Public Accounts Committee examined this NAO report and published its own recommendations. The government responds to PAC recommendations via Treasury Minutes.

9 Mar 2022 Public Accounts C… Forty-Third Report - Reducing the backlog in criminal courts — 13 recommendations · parliament.uk