“Victims waiting years for justice” is how Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy framed the crisis as the government introduced the Courts and Tribunals Bill on Wednesday 25 February. Ministers say the package will modernise a system straining under record delays and put victims first. (gov.uk)

The Bill hands judges the call on where cases are heard, removes the automatic right for defendants to opt for a Crown Court jury in many either-way cases, and creates a new Bench Division so a judge can hear intermediate offences likely to attract sentences of three years or less. Complex, months‑long frauds could be tried by a judge alone, while magistrates’ sentencing powers rise to 18 months, with scope for a future increase to two years. New rules on evidence and special measures aim to spare victims needless trauma; tribunals move under the Lady Chief Justice; and the government will repeal the family courts’ presumption of parental involvement so judges focus squarely on child welfare. (gov.uk)

The context is stark. Government data published alongside the Bill puts the Crown Court backlog at around 80,000 cases, with more than 20,000 waiting over a year. Average completion times are now 255 days in the Crown Court and 423 days for adult rape cases. Official quarterly statistics separately recorded a series peak of 79,619 outstanding Crown Court cases at the end of September 2025, with the number over a year old passing 20,000 for the first time. (gov.uk)

For people in the North, the backlog is not an abstraction. As of 31 March 2025, Leeds had 2,086 outstanding cases, Sheffield 1,930 and Bradford 1,472. On Merseyside there were 1,765, while Preston had 2,032. Greater Manchester’s load was close to 5,000 across Manchester Minshull Street (2,311), Manchester Crown Square (1,755) and Bolton (905). Newcastle stood at 1,995 and Teesside 1,401. Yorkshire as a whole had topped 6,600 cases earlier in the year. (expressandstar.com)

Those numbers translate into very different waits depending on where you live. The Criminal Bar Association highlighted custody cases concluding in a median 265 days in Greater Manchester versus 166 days on Merseyside - a gap between neighbours often less than 40 miles apart. That is the postcode lottery ministers say the reforms must end. (criminalbar.com)

A National Listing Framework will standardise how courts list hearings, with a new AI Listing Assistant and dedicated case co‑ordinators in every Crown Court. The Ministry of Justice argues consistent, smarter scheduling will reduce delay and variation between courts. (modernising.justice.gov.uk)

Capacity is the other lever. From April, Crown Courts will operate without a cap on sitting days, with every court “funded to hear as many cases as possible” in 2026/27. The MoJ says this is the highest ever investment, backed by £287m for court repairs and upgrades. Sector briefings put total courts and tribunals funding at around £2.8bn for 2026/27. (gov.uk)

Alongside that, so‑called “Blitz” courts will group similar, older cases for short, intensive bursts to clear blockages. Ministers will start in London from April 2026, initially focusing on assaults on emergency workers, with the option to roll the model further if it works. The test for the North will be how quickly that approach is deployed here. (gov.uk)

Not everyone is convinced about curbing jury trials. The Institute for Government has been cited in Parliament estimating that limiting juries would save only 7–8% of Crown Court time, with judge‑only trials delivering a small fraction of that. The Bar Council warns there is “no evidence” curtailing juries will meaningfully cut the backlog. (hansard.parliament.uk)

Magistrates’ courts will carry more of the mid‑tier load under the plans. Yet they are already stretched: by Q3 2025, open magistrates’ caseloads hit a series peak of 373,000, roughly half of which were Single Justice Procedure cases. Listing remained fragile, with ineffective trials still elevated since the pandemic. Whether benches outside London have the staffing and sitting time to absorb extra work is a pressing practical question. (gov.uk)

Victim‑facing changes include clearer rules for giving evidence and easier access to special measures, designed to tackle harmful myths in courtrooms. Family law shifts are also promised, with the government committed to repealing the presumption of parental involvement from the Children Act 1989 so judges can prioritise safety and a child’s best interests. (gov.uk)

Fixing the fabric matters too. The MoJ is putting £287m into repairs across the estate after years of deterioration left too many courtrooms out of action at short notice. The National Audit Office has previously warned that earlier ambitions to reduce the backlog to 53,000 by March 2025 were no longer achievable - a reminder that funding and delivery have to move in tandem. (modernising.justice.gov.uk)

What should the North expect next? Unlimited sitting days begin with the new financial year, the National Listing Framework will start shaping diaries, and London’s Blitz pilots go live in April. The measure that matters on Tyneside, in Leeds and across Greater Manchester is simple: shorter, more reliable waits. That is the yardstick by which readers here will judge whether this Bill works. (theguardian.com)