Fast-Track Court Scheme Expanded Across England and Wales to Cut Backlog

The government rolled out its "blitz courts" scheme more broadly across England and Wales this month, intensifying efforts to clear a Crown Court backlog that has swelled to roughly 80,000 outstanding cases, with some trials now listed as far away as 2030.

The scheme, which concentrates similar cases before a single court over a short, intensive period, was already operating in Manchester, Bristol and Nottingham. It has now been widened to include courts such as London's Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey. Justice Secretary David Lammy confirmed the April expansion, with the capital's blitz courts initially prioritising assaults on emergency workers, a category of cases that accumulated for years without resolution.

The scale of the crisis shaping this push is stark. Currently 80,000 cases are waiting for justice, nearly 20,000 have been waiting for over a year, including around 2,000 rape cases. The average length of time to complete a Crown Court case is now 255 days; for adult rape cases, it is 423 days. According to the Ministry of Justice, the backlog is on track to reach 100,000 by 2028.

A snapshot of court listings as of January 29, 2026, obtained through a Freedom of Information request, showed 25,551 trials scheduled for this year, with 7,633 set for 2027, 2,039 for 2028, 625 for 2029, and 29 for 2030. Those 29 trials dated to 2030 include cases involving drug offences, violence against the person, theft, and weapons possession.

From this month, the government expanded blitz courts as part of a broader package of measures. The funding will come from £2.7bn of government investment in courts and tribunals for this financial year, up from £2.5bn the previous year.

Sir Brian Leveson's review endorsed the blitz courts approach, describing it as intensive scheduling where similar cases are listed together over a short period, allowing courts to work through outstanding cases in a focused way. Sarah Sackman, Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice, said the blitz courts would work alongside a recently developed AI listing tool.

Alongside the blitz courts, the government confirmed a landmark agreement for every Crown Court in England and Wales to be funded to hear as many cases as possible, describing it as the highest investment ever given to the courts. A further £287 million will be invested in the fabric of the court estate itself, almost 50% more than the previous year.

The backlog is not a problem of recent making. Over the 2010s, the Ministry of Justice's budget fell by around 12% in real terms, and dozens of courts were closed across England and Wales as part of cost-cutting efforts. Infrastructure problems have since taken further courtrooms out of use, with a 2022 Law Society survey reporting that 64% of solicitors had experienced delays caused by the poor condition of court buildings.

Behind the policy language and statistics are individuals whose cases have languished. Every rape case waiting 423 days on average, every assault victim whose attacker faces trial years after the offence, represents a justice system failing the people it is meant to serve. Whether blitz courts, AI listing tools, and record funding can collectively reverse decades of structural neglect remains the central test of this government's criminal justice agenda.