Court Backlog

Mr Jonathan Brash (Hartlepool) (Lab) and Steve Darling (Torbay) (LD) asked the Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice, Heidi Alexander, about the steps the Government is taking to tackle the court backlog. In her response, Heidi Alexander stated that the Government is committed to reducing caseloads and bringing down waiting times for court users across all jurisdictions. She mentioned that the Government continues to keep 18 Nightingale courtrooms open across eight venues to increase physical capacity, and plans to sit more than 105,000 days in the Crown court and more than 102,000 days in the family court this financial year to work through as many cases as possible. Mr Brash followed up by asking the Minister to investigate the potential for reopening Hartlepool's court, which has stood empty since 2017, as part of the efforts to expand capacity and clear the backlog. He requested a meeting to discuss the issue further. Mr Speaker also suggested that the Minister might want to look into reopening the Chorley court, which is also empty. Heidi Alexander acknowledged Mr Brash's concerns and stated that while there are currently no plans to reopen Hartlepool magistrates court, she would be happy to meet with him and officials from Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) to discuss the matter. She also noted that the reasons behind the increased caseload in the criminal courts are complex and multifaceted, and the number of courtrooms available is not the main constraint they currently face. Steve Darling then asked the Minister to assure the House that there will be a review to ensure that justice is served more locally to the communities in south Devon, as Torquay magistrates court had closed in the last decade. Heidi Alexander responded that she would be happy to discuss this matter with the hon. Gentleman as well.