Ministry of Justice statistics for the final quarter of 2023, published this week, show private children law cases took an average of more than 11 months, the same as a year ago.
In criminal law, the Crown Court backlog reached 67,573 by the end of 2023, 8% higher than in 2022. 18,045 of those cases had been outstanding for at least a year and 6,523 had been outstanding for at least two years.
The magistrates’ court backlog rose 7% on the previous quarter to 370,731 by the end of the year.
Law Society president Nick Emmerson said: ‘Tens of thousands of children continue to wait almost a year for decisions about their future which is affecting children and exacerbating uncertainty within families.
‘Restoring early legal advice for family cases would mean fewer cases would have to go to court. Instead, solicitors could help negotiate settlements, refer clients to appropriate forms of alternative dispute resolution and better manage people’s expectations of what the court process may yield.’
Emmerson called for ‘increased and sustained funding’ for criminal justice, warning there ‘aren’t enough judges and lawyers to cover the cases. Pay and conditions to work in the system are unattractive and court staff are undermanned and under pressure. Eligible people can’t access legal aid because changes to the means test have been delayed. Prisons are overcrowded with inmates being released early to free up space’.
