Insight

Are our courts fit for purpose?

Delays and cancellations in crumbling court buildings are leaving clients in limbo and denied access to justice, with their time and costs wasted.

19 Dec 2022

3 minutes read

We asked over 500 solicitors about their experiences in courts and tribunals.

Around two-thirds (64%) of respondents had experienced delays in cases being heard within the past 12 months, due to the state of the court.

Over 30% did not feel physically safe while attending court and 28% told us the courts were “not at all fit” for purpose.

To see the infographic about this topic, please refer to the live page.

What is not working?

Many solicitors flagged the poor condition of court buildings, due to lack of investment.

Commonly cited issues include:

To see the infographic about this topic, please refer to the live page.

Common technology issues include:

unreliable wifi or connection problems
trouble logging into the system with double-factor authentication
glitches playing media
lack of consultation about introducing new tech

When asked about poor experiences, the five most mentioned courts were:

Snaresbrook Crown Court
Birmingham Magistrates Court
Isleworth Crown Court
High Wycombe
Central Family Court

To see responses for your local area, see the appendix in our report.

Disabled court users being let down

Disabled court users are even less likely to feel physically secure or safe from harm while attending court.

This group were more likely to feel that the court’s physical building (37%) or the technology provided (27%) were not fit for purpose, compared to those without a condition (28% and 21% respectively).

To see the infographic about this topic, please refer to the live page.

What is working?

Positive court experiences tended to focus on court staff, both when there are adequate numbers working and with staff described as “friendly”, “helpful”, “efficient” and “experienced”.

Buildings more likely to receive positive feedback included:

modern or purpose-built courts and buildings that have benefited from significant investment
clean and well-maintained courts

How to clear the backlog

In October 2022, there were 63,121 cases in the courts backlog.

To help clear this queue by allowing more sitting days and speeding up cases, solicitors suggested:

increasing staff numbers – from judges to admin support
reopening closed courts

To see the infographic about this topic, please refer to the live page.

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I want to know more

Solicitors’ views on the court infrastructure – are the physical buildings and technology fit for purpose? (PPTX 6.6 MB)

Read our five-point plan on how to fix the backlog: Justice delayed: five steps to resolve the backlogs in our courts (PDF 1.1 MB)

We’ve come up with fresh ideas for practical, affordable changes to our civil justice system that will enhance access to justice and could save the system £72 million over a five-year period.

Explore our ideas and join the conversation on 21st century justice.

Are our courts fit for purpose?

What is not working?

Disabled court users being let down

What is working?

How to clear the backlog

Download the research

I want to know more

Related articles

Court closures

Court reform

Courts and Tribunals Bill