The Crown Courts are in a parlour state. They have suffered system underfundeing for decades, there have been a systemic lack of funding for training for administration staff, Judges and even for recruitment, coupled to buildings maintenance and the systems used by the HMCTS it is a wonder the system has even managed to maintain the level of service it has. But, it is creaking, the cracks are showing, and since Covoid-19, with funding cuts increasing, and the impacts of LAPSO on the Legal Aid budget digging deeper, the impact has been harder.
The None Profit support group, Law Advocacy has completed some research on this topic and recently published a well reseahced article on this very topic, it is a damning indictment of the state of the criminal justice system in England and Wales at this time.