People face lengthy delays to see justice served as the number of Carlisle Crown Court sitting days are being slashed due to a lack of government funding.
His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service – responsible for the administration of the courts – and the judiciary, had sought money to finance an extra 6,000 sitting days nationally in the hope that courts could run at full capacity. But only 500 sitting days — one-twelfth — have been granted.
At Carlisle, this means the number of available days on which judges can sit on cases between now and the end of the financial year, in early April, has been slashed.
The workload must be reduced by up to 12 weeks.
More than two dozen trials and people involved in them could be affected.
Carlisle’s resident judge and staff in charge of listing are having to investigate the impact and make tough decisions about cases that are already listed.
A law called custody time limit governs the period of time an unconvicted defendant can be held in prison before they stand trial. It is for this reason that cases involving defendants currently in custody and awaiting trial at Carlisle will be given priority.
This means that cases with a defendant on bail could be pushed back, also causing a delay for complainants and witnesses.
The situation was highlighted at Carlisle Crown Court yesterday, as a 37-year-old man who denies engaging in sexual activity with a girl aged 15, allegedly in May 2023, heard he will not stand trial until February 2026.
“It’s horrible. My life is on hold,” he said after the hearing concluded. “The impact, on my mental health and also financially, is awful. I’m just struggling.”
The man had been told in court by Judge Nicholas Barker, as the trial date was announced: “That is the state of the court’s list. It has been well documented in the press. For this court and no doubt other courts this is the length of time it takes cases such as these to come into the list.
“It is regretful. Nevertheless, that’s what it is.”
Rachel Almeida, assistant director of the charity Victim Support, said: “Long waits for trial cause immense suffering and anxiety for victims and delay justice. Many find it impossible to move on with their lives while their trial is looming.
“We are supporting people who have been waiting for as long as six years for their case to get to court – this is unacceptable.
“The Government must urgently invest in our courts to tackle these delays and get wait times under control. If they don’t, many victims will lose faith in the criminal justice system altogether. The thousands whose lives are on hold deserve better.”
