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Criminal courts backlog: independent Leveson review

Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts highlights the depth of crisis in our justice system and the opportunity for meaningful reform.
09 Jul 2025
2 minutes read

Only a whole-system approach can deliver lasting change and restore public confidence in access to justice.

The report echoes our call to divert more cases away from the courts.

Solicitors play a vital role in this. By providing early legal advice, they prevent cases from going to court when they don't need to. This ultimately preserves capacity for the most serious offences.

The criminal courts are overstretched, facing increased demand with less resource, so we need bold system-wide solutions and new investment.

The proposed new division of the Crown Court on its own will not solve the Crown Court backlog.

Any ideas the government adopts must start with a commitment to long-term investment across the whole justice system.

Without it, the number of people stuck waiting years in legal limbo for their cases to be heard will continue to grow.

What we’re doing

In February 2025, we responded to Sir Brian Leveson’s call for evidence.

We welcomed the review of the criminal courts and emphasised that the system must become more efficient and effective to:

  • address the backlogs in both the Crown Court and the magistrates’ courts
  • restore the criminal justice system as an essential public service

We called for the funding cuts from the last decade and a half to be reversed to ensure access to justice and a good service for all court users.

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