Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Nightingale Courts

Tuesday 14 September 2021 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • There are currently 47 Nightingale courtrooms in operation, with 28 used for Crown court purposes.
  • The relevant Justice Minister is willing to meet to discuss further actions for reducing backlogs.
  • The Government has invested an extra 250 million in covid recovery and hired 1,600 staff for HMCTS.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Jeff Smith Lab Manchester Withington
Justice & Courts
Context

The MP noted concerns about the backlog of Crown court cases in Manchester Withington due to pandemic-related closures and government cuts over the past decade.

Question

What plans his Department has to increase the number of Nightingale courts. The issue of a record high Crown court backlog of about 60,000 cases is attributed to both court closures and a decade of Tory cuts.

Answer from Chris Philp

There are currently 47 Nightingale courtrooms in operation, with 28 used for Crown court purposes. The Government is extending the use of 32 until March. Additionally, 60 existing courtrooms across the country have been reopened and more than half are operational, leading to an expected total of about 500 Crown courtrooms available by reopening and Nightingale extensions.

Answered
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Q2 Alex Norris Labour (Co-op) Nottingham North and Kimberley
Justice & Courts
Context

The MP highlighted the significant backlog of Crown court cases in Nottingham, extending to late 2022, which is detrimental to victims and case strength.

Question

Will the Minister commit to meet me and other Nottingham Members to discuss further actions for reducing backlogs? The current backlogs have grown extraordinarily due to social distancing measures and pandemic impacts.

Answer from Chris Philp

The relevant Justice Minister is willing to meet to discuss these issues. The Government has invested an extra £250 million in covid recovery, hired 1,600 staff for HMCTS, deployed a Cloud video platform, and activated the 47 Nightingale courtrooms.

Answered
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Q3 Jeff Smith Lab Manchester Withington
Justice & Courts
Context

The MP raised concerns about the current record high of 60,000 Crown court backlogs attributed to pandemic closures and government cuts over a decade.

Question

Will the Government commit to continuing Nightingale courts until the backlog has cleared? When does the Minister think that will happen?

Answer from Chris Philp

Before the pandemic, in March 2020, the backlog was approximately 39,000 cases, which was lower than the 47,000 bequeathed by the previous Labour Government. The Government has made significant investments including £250 million for court recovery and unlimited Crown court sitting days this financial year.

Partly answered

Not addressed: specific timeline for clearing backlogs not provided

How: Referencing Historical Backlog

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