Coronavirus diary, Friday 21 August

Law inaction: Cardiff law courts

The wheels of justice turn slowly, according to an ancient saying.

Judging from the latest news, for our criminal justice system, the wheels are about to come off.

There are warnings from both England and Wales that the effect of an enormous backlog of cases is catastrophic. England reports a queue of tens of thousands and Wales many thousands, with 2,000 estimated for Cardiff alone.

Even before the coronavirus crisis the system was in trouble, with the number of working courts cut by one third in nine yers and a wholesale selling of courts.  

In an effort to alleviate the position, the government announced a month ago the setting up of 10 pop up Nightingale courts in all types of buildings, similar to the NHS temporary hospitals.

But, according to the Law Society, four of these are still not being used. They say the court buildings up for sale should continue to be used. The same is happening in Wales, with Swansea council chamber one of the new  courts. Welsh Law Society members say the criminal justice system is on its knees, and urgent action is needed.

Lord Thomas, the former Lord Chief Justice, is asking for power to be devolved from England and more funding provided. It was getting to the stage where there would be catastrophic effects, he predicts.

And what about the cost? Robert Buckland QC, the Lord Chancellor, will not divulge but it is estimated to be around £700 million. 

A drop in the the ocean compared with the government's debts of  £2 trillion, announced today.