Courts backlog will fall despite scrapping of jury trial plan, minister says

A government minister has said the backlog of court cases in England and Wales will continue to fall despite the decision to scrap proposals that would have limited jury trials, according to the BBC.

The proposals to curb jury trials were originally put forward by former justice secretary David Lammy last year as part of a broader push to address long-standing delays in the criminal courts system. Those plans have since been abandoned.

Details of what specific measures will now be relied upon instead to bring down the backlog were not specified in the available reporting. The courts backlog in England and Wales has been a persistent issue in recent years, with cases in the Crown Court in particular facing lengthy delays before coming to trial.

Jury trials have long been considered a cornerstone of the criminal justice system in England and Wales, and proposals to limit their use attracted significant debate among legal professionals, victims' groups and politicians when they were first floated.

It remains unclear what alternative approach the government now intends to pursue to reduce the backlog, and no timeline for improvement was given in the minister's comments as reported.