The government appears to have stalled on plans to set up dozens of specialist rape courts to deal with a huge backlog of cases, amid warnings there are not enough lawyers to make the proposals work.
Labour pledged during the election campaign to use vacant rooms and buildings on crown court sites to fast-track rape cases and reduce the numbers awaiting trial.
How can Labour deliver on its pledge to halve violence against women and girls?
But government sources and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) appeared to confirm this weekend the idea had in effect been put on ice, with consideration of how to tackle the backlog set to be folded instead into a wider review of courts policy being conducted by Sir Brian Leveson. It will make its initial recommendations in the spring.
In its manifesto, Labour said specifically it would “fast-track rape cases through specialist courts at every crown court location in England and Wales”, suggesting it was an urgent priority and a key element of its commitment to tackle violence against women and girls.
Plans for fast-tracking rape cases have been folded into a wider review of courts policy being conducted by Sir Brian Leveson. Photograph: Lewis Whyld/PA
But the legal profession was always sceptical, saying that the lack of lawyers prepared to take on such complex and often relatively poorly paid cases was the more fundamental challenge in addressing the backlog, which has caused 60% of rape victims to drop out even before trials begin.
Between 2019 and the end of 2023 there was a 346% increase in the number of adult rape cases in the crown court backlog, leading to claims that rape was in effect being “decriminalised”.
Just 2.6% of rape cases in England and Wales result in a charge.
When asked what had happened to the pledge and whether any new rape courts had been set up in the first six months of the Labour government, an MoJ spokesperson said: “The government has committed to halving violence against women and girls. We are carefully considering how to fast-track rape cases through the system as part of this work.”
The spokesperson added: “Since July, we have begun work to deliver swifter justice for victims. We have funded 2,500 extra sitting days in the crown courts, taking our courts to their highest capacity in a decade.
“We have also doubled magistrates’ sentencing powers, freeing up time in the crown courts to hear the most serious cases. And we have commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to recommend once-in-a-generation reform of our criminal courts, reporting in spring this year.”
Government sources said ministers were now “carefully considering” how to move forward, with any decisions waiting until after Leveson’s findings.
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The sources also made clear that ministers would work “with the judiciary to do this” rather than impose solutions from the top.
Labour ministers have already announced funding will be provided for 2,500 more sitting days in crown courts and have extended magistrates’ sentencing powers from six to 12 months to allow crown courts to handle more of the most serious cases.
Anthony Rogers, the chief inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service and Serious Fraud Office, said the backlog in the courts could rise to more than 100,000 cases. Photograph: HMCPSI/PA
Anthony Rogers, the chief inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service and Serious Fraud Office, said recently that he feared the backlog in crown court cases could rise from more than 70,000 to at least 100,000.
While increases in funding for justice announced in last November’s budget were welcomed, they are not seen as being sufficient on their own without radical changes to the court system.
Rogers said a separate sentencing review being conducted by former Tory justice secretary David Gauke was also welcome but emphasised it would not happen quickly. In the meantime, he added, victims were being let down every day as the backlog increased and were pulling out of one in three crown court trials.
