Context
In North Shropshire, there is a significant court backlog with more than 730 open cases at Shrewsbury Crown court as of last September, representing a 7% increase from the previous year. The wider West Mercia area ranks poorly for case processing time in the Crown court.
Question
In my constituency of North Shropshire, residents have to travel to Shrewsbury to have their case heard. As of last September, there was a backlog of more than 730 open cases at Shrewsbury Crown court, a 7% increase on 2024. The wider West Mercia area ranks 43rd out of 44 areas for the time that it takes cases to get through the Crown court; they often take more than two years to be heard. Does the Secretary of State agree with Shrewsbury Crown court’s resident judge, Anthony Lowe, who said that this is not a “proper justice system”, and what steps will he take to improve the situation in West Mercia and Shropshire?
Answer from David Lammy (The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice)
The hon. Member is right, which is why the Minister for Courts and Legal Services visited Telford a few months ago. It is important to say that Sir Brian Leveson has been absolutely clear in his report that we must pull all levers if we are serious about seeing this backlog come down by the next general election. That means investment in more sitting days; the hon. Member will be pleased about the extra days that we have invested in, in her area. It means modernisation, and dealing with the efficiency problems in the system that we inherited. Sir Brian will publish his report tomorrow. We also need reform, and I urge the Liberal Democrats to support our court reforms.
Not addressed: The questioner asked for specific actions but the response was more about acknowledging the problem and announcing general measures such as investment in sitting days and modernisation without concrete details.
How: Under Review, Will Focus On
Was this summary accurate? Tell us
How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)