Court cutbacks branded a 'reign of terror' on struggling legal system

Councillor Dr Paul Birch, who spent 15 years as a magistrate and who has tried over 15,000 criminal cases, said the system had "ground to a halt" over various issues.

Those include a loss of magistrates courts' – with just over half closing between 2010 and 2020 in England and Wales – alongside a reduction in magistrate numbers.

Figures show 359,261 cases were waiting to be dealt with by magistrates in England and Wales in the last three months of 2021 – up from 346,021 from the previous quarter.

And in crown courts, there were 58,818 outstanding cases over the same period which was slightly lower than the 60,049 from the quarter before, Ministry of Justice data showed.

Councillor Birch, who represents Blakenhall on Wolverhampton Council, said: "The big changes took place shortly after 2010. HMCTS (HM Courts & Tribunals Service) were planning to build a new court in Wolverhampton and they were going to move out of the existing magistrates court building.

"All of the magistrates were shown the plan but when the new Government came in and austerity was brought in – which was a political choice, it wasn't needed – they cut back on all of those plans and over the next few years they (began to close) magistrates courts.

"When I sat as a magistrate, there were just over 30,000 magistrates and 85 per cent of all criminal cases in England and Wales are dealt with by magistrates. Every case is progressed through a magistrates court whether it's murder or grand larceny, whatever the matter on the indictment. It's important they are there to progress it. This Government's reign of terror on the legal system, it's not only debilitated the police – it's had an impact on the criminal justice system."

The former magistrate said the numbers of current magistrates had fallen from just over 30,000 to 10,000 in a "shocking reduction", while the workload for District Judges and Recorders had since become "greater than ever" – but the number of sitting days each has been given has been reduced in an attempt to cut back.

He said legal aid had been cut back which meant people had to represent themselves in court, leading to cases taking longer, before he added: "And it can be argued if they are not represented properly, then justice isn't done".

The councillor added that clerks of the court, now referred to as legal advisors, had been on strike after a pay freeze where several bouts of legal action were taken and, more recently, barristers have also hit out at the system.

Councillor Birch said: "Barristers get paid by the written page when it comes to crown court cases and magistrates. They could be in court representing a client for an awful lot less than a paid cleaner, now that can't be right – the entire legal system has ground to a halt."

Nightingale Courts had been introduced by the Government in order to tackle the backlog – which has increased due to the pandemic – including one at the Park Hall Hotel & Spa on Park Drive in Wolverhampton.

But Mr Birch has argued against them saying there is spare capacity at the magistrates' court which is being ignored and the court is posing problems for the hotel and residents living nearby, due to weddings having to be held outside and the noise pollution.

Meanwhile Jo Sidhu QC, chairman of the Criminal Bar Association, warned "public faith in the justice system is at risk of completely collapsing" due to "worsening delays".

And Law Society of England and Wales president I. Stephanie Boycewarned that without "necessary investment" the backlogs will continue.

She said: "The long wait for victims and defendants to get justice continues with a quarter of crown cases (25 per cent) outstanding for a year or more. The average time it takes to go from offence to completion of a crown court case is 697 days. These delays are unacceptable."

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said: "It is encouraging to see the crown court backlog continuing to fall in (these) statistics. While there remains more to do, unlimited sitting days, super and nightingale courts and increasing magistrate sentencing powers are helping to deliver swifter justice for victims."

Wolverhampton had been due to receive a new £36 million magistrates' court in 2010 at the corner of Darlington Street and Ring Road St Marks, after the proposals were backed in 2010 but the plans never materialised due to cut-backs.

Data from the House of Commons' library showed Halesowen Magistrates' Court closed between 2011 and 2012 and was sold off for £314,250. West Bromwich Magistrates Court closed over the same period and fetched £160,000.

Sandwell Magistrates' Court closed in 2016-2017 and fetched £530,000 and Staffordshire Magistrates' Court closed over the same period and brought in £435,000. Over in Shropshire, Ludlow Magistrates Court, Oswestry Magistrates Court and Market Drayton all closed in 2011-2012 with Shrewsbury's shutting in 2015-2016.