Overview
- Ministry of Justice figures show the open caseload reached 78,329 at the end of June, up 2% on the quarter and 10% year on year.
- Cases open for at least a year hit a record 19,164, and legal groups reported trials being listed as far out as October 2029 at Isleworth Crown Court.
- Violence, sexual and drug offences make up nearly two-thirds of the backlog (31%, 17%, 14%), with sexual-offence cases rising 20% year on year to 13,238.
- Sexual offences now account for 18% of cases delayed two years or more, with 1,070 such cases open at that length, up sharply from 776 a year earlier.
- Court capacity is being constrained by failing infrastructure and closures, and magistrates’ courts also face a record 361,027-case backlog despite expanded sentencing powers.