Court sittings to halve due to lack of legal staff

Hampshire magistrates' courts have a record backlog of cases

Some magistrates' courts will "drastically" reduce sittings because of a lack of legal staff, according to a leaked memo seen by the BBC.

The number of criminal courts in Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Wiltshire will halve from January to March 2025, a court administrator said.

Reductions will continue until September because of a shortage of legal advisers, who are courtroom officials who assist magistrates with the law.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ), which confirmed the cutbacks, said it would deploy extra resources to support the courts affected.

The internal memo said the staff shortages had resulted in "untenable... daily firefighting" and "last-minute court closures".

It continued: "To resolve this situation, we are going to adopt a severely reduced court matrix for a three-month period from January 2025 to March 2025.

"We recognise that this is a very difficult position to be in, but we are confident that by making these drastic and carefully planned reductions, we can ensure that we increase the competence and resilience of our legal team."

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has ordered a review of the criminal justice system

The Magistrates' Association said there was a national shortage of legal advisers, especially in the south of England.

Chief executive Tom Franklin said: "This causes many thousands of sitting days to be cancelled or delayed each year.

"Sorting out legal adviser numbers through better recruitment and retention will cost some money, but for a relatively small amount, it could have a big impact on sorting out one of the log-jams in the courts."

The Law Society, which represents solicitors, said there was also a lack of magistrates, lawyers and prison escort staff.

President Richard Atkinson said: "This is particularly unhelpful when the magistrates' court backlog is already huge and growing, with 333,349 cases outstanding at the end of September."

Hampshire and the Isle of Wight had 11,916 open cases - the highest number for five years - while Wiltshire had 2,350, according to the latest government figures.

The Crown Prosecution Service declined to comment on the backlog.

In a statement, the MoJ said: "To ensure new legal advisers can complete their essential training there will be a temporary reduction of magistrate sittings in Hampshire next year.

"We will deploy additional resources during this period to support the courts in ensuring justice continues to be served."

Earlier this month, the government announced a review of criminal justice in the face of record crown court backlogs.

It said the inquiry, led by former High Court judge Sir Brian Leveson, would consider whether magistrates should be given extended powers in order to ease the burden on crown courts.