Audit Scotland have today published their review of the Criminal Courts Backlog which recognises the substantial work carried out by SCTS, the judiciary, justice organisations, the legal profession and the third sector in responding quickly and effectively to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The report also recognises the significant progress that continues to be made in reducing the criminal trial backlog that accrued during the pandemic through the court recovery programme. Summary cases should return to pre-pandemic levels by March 2024. While progress is being made in tackling solemn case backlogs, these are more challenging as new case levels continue to rise. Our modelling predicts that trials in the High Court will return to the new baseline by March 2025 and Sheriff Court solemn by March 2026.
Eric McQueen, Chief Executive said:
“We welcome this Audit Scotland report, highlighting the significant efforts made in managing an effective response to the extraordinary circumstances that Covid-19 presented us with.
"The development of innovative digital solutions, including the introduction of remote jury centres, have also been highlighted. The use of digital solutions combined with the court recovery programme have made significant inroads into the number of outstanding scheduled trials. These have reduced from 43,606 at the peak in January 2022 to 28,089 in February 2023 which is a remarkable achievement.
"We remain conscious that, in addition to the time period from an incident being investigated by the police and the prosecution registering the case in court, victims, witnesses and the accused are still experiencing delays in the trial taking place. SCTS, the judiciary, justice organisations, the legal profession and the third sector are working hard together to return to the normal court operating capacity of around 20,000 outstanding trials, which will enable trial delays to be reduced. We will continue to deliver the recovery programme, building on the progress made to date and learning from Audit Scotland’s recommendations.
"The recovery programme is enabling trial delays to be progressively reduced. The latest average trial waiting period, as at end April 2023, is 49 weeks in the High Court and 44 weeks in the Sheriff Court Solemn.
“We will continue to deliver the recovery programme, building on the progress made to date and learning from Audit Scotland’s recommendations.”
The Audit Scotland report can be accessed here