His annual report, laid before Parliament last week, covers the period July 2021 to September 2022. Lord Burnett said: ‘The shortfall [of district judges] across England and Wales is now over 100 with the most acute shortages being in London and the South East. District judges undertake most of the work in the County Court and much of the work of the Family Court.’
He also warned maintenance failures in court buildings ‘results in hundreds of lost sitting days each year’.