Sir Brian Leveson has published the second and final part of his independent Review of the Criminal Courts. The report runs to 756 pages across two volumes.
Sir Brian says chronic underfunding over many years is the main cause of delays and inefficiency in the courts of England and Wales. A shortage of experienced legal staff, he adds, is making current problems worse.
He writes: “Courts, prisons and probation are also working under intense pressure with very limited capacity and decreasing efficiency.”
The review aims to do more than ease today’s pressures. It sets out to fix the system for the future. Sir Brian traces the problem to fragmented governance and siloed decision-making. He finds no unified vision or accountability across agencies or regions.
A single vision for the system
The report notes that each part of the system has its own budget pressures and priorities. Those bodies are HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the police and the defence community. Legacy IT systems also make it hard for them to adapt.
Sir Brian recommends a single vision for criminal justice. Ministers would set policy. A second Permanent Secretary within the Ministry of Justice would direct coordinated leadership.
He also proposes changes to disclosure, which he says has grown increasingly complex because of the volume of digital evidence. He recommends AI summarisation tools for disclosure schedules. The defence would be able to propose search terms for unused material.
Court inefficiencies are probably the biggest single driver of the record backlog, according to the review. Sir Brian calls for better listing, including a national listing framework for Crown Courts. AI tools would again play a part, assisting judges with this task. He also wants Case Progression Officers in every court.
He backs greater use of remote participation. First hearings in magistrates’ courts could take place remotely from police stations. The Prisoner Escort and Custody Services (PECS) contractors would manage them. At preliminary hearings in the Crown Court, only the judge would need to sit in the courtroom.
Crumbling court buildings
Sir Brian says: “The court estate suffers from chronic underinvestment, with a £1.3 billion maintenance backlog and facilities ill-suited to modern demands.”
He says these defects have left some courts unusable. They have also worsened morale among people who work in the system. He urges the Government to tackle the issue more firmly and treat it as a priority.
In closing, Sir Brian says more money and greater efficiency are essential. Without structural reform, however, he believes they will make only a limited difference.
Andy Slaughter, the Labour MP who chairs the Justice Committee, called the review a very substantial piece of work. He said it showed the scale of the problem and the unsustainable backlog in the criminal courts. He supported the whole-system approach Sir Brian recommends, combining structural reform and efficiency gains with the funding to back them.
Mr Slaughter added: “It is imperative the Government provides a timely response to the full review, with the opportunity for scrutiny of any forthcoming legislation within a defined timescale. After years of neglect, the struggling criminal courts system can no longer wait.”
