Chichester court to remain open for another year

‘Nightingale Courts’ across England and Wales are being kept open for another year to reduce waiting times and deliver swift justice for victims.

A total of 24 temporary courtrooms, which were set up to boost capacity during the pandemic, will remain open in 2023 to allow more cases to be heard.

Two Crown court rooms in the former Crown Court building will remain open.

The Government is investing £477 million over next three years to tackle the Crown Court backlog which significantly increased because of the pandemic. This includes allowing courts to run at full capacity, doubling the sentencing powers of Magistrates, and recruiting even more judges.

The number of cases in the backlog fell by almost 800 cases in the last two months of 2022, after barristers ended strike action.

Deputy prime minister, lord chancellor and secretary of state for justice, Dominic Raab, said:   “We are determined to provide the swift justice that victims deserve, and Nightingale courts have a vital role to play as our justice system continues to recover from the unprecedented impact of the pandemic and last year’s strike action.  The Crown Court backlog is now falling once again, and the continued use of these courtrooms will help to drive it down even further.” 

 Nightingale courts were introduced in during the pandemic in 2020 when buildings such as sports arenas, hotels, and conference centres were rapidly transformed into courtrooms to provide more space for jury trials in line with social distancing restrictions. Following their success, the use of temporary courtrooms has continued to provide additional capacity. 

Today’s announcement marks the third year of the use of Nightingale courts and comes alongside a raft of measures implemented by the Ministry of Justice to tackle the backlog court cases.

Last year, the Government lifted the cap on the number of days courts can sit to help them run at maximum capacity, and doubled Magistrates’ sentencing powers so they can hear more cases, freeing up an estimated 1,700 extra days of Crown Court time each year.