Courts backlog could stretch beyond 2027 without extra funding, minister warns

Naomi Long also expressed concern that the PSNI’s officer headcount of 7,100 was not sustainable under current budgetary plans for her department.

Naomi Long said she would not be prepared to back the draft budget unless ‘significant changes’ were made to it (Niall Carson/PA) (PA Wire)

A backlog in crown court cases could extend beyond 2027 without additional funding for the justice sector, Naomi Long has warned.

The Justice Minister said last month there were around 11,900 defendants in the court system compared with 7,300 at the outset of the pandemic in March 2020 – an increase of 63%.

Ms Long outlined the scale of the backlog in the court system caused by the public health emergency as she gave evidence to her Assembly scrutiny committee on future funding for her department.

The minister was briefing members on the potential consequences for the justice sector if a draft three-year budget proposed by Finance Minister Conor Murphy was ever introduced.

I've been very clear from the outset that I can't support the draft budget given the damage that would cause the justice system

Naomi Long

The budget, which has been shelved in the short term due to the powersharing crisis, proposed a 10% uplift in cash funding to the Department of Health.

That was set to be achieved by slicing 2% off what other departments were set to receive without the prioritisation on health spending.

Ms Long said the draft plan would have been “bleak” for her department.

She said a 2% reduction was not achievable without a hit to frontline services.

“I’ve been very clear from the outset that I can’t support the draft budget given the damage that would cause the justice system,” Ms Long told the Justice Committee.

She said the draft budget also did not incorporate any specific funding for post-Covid recovery within the justice sector.

“Without that recovery, funding backlogs will continue,” Ms Long said.

“Based on the current modelling, for example, backlogs will continue to beyond 2027 in the crown court, with unacceptable impacts on both victims and witnesses.”

The number of defendants in the court system has increased by 63% during the pandemic (Niall Carson/PA) (PA Archive)

The minister also reiterated her concerns on the potential impact on the PSNI.

Chief Constable Simon Byrne has already suspended a recruitment exercise for new officers this new year due to budgetary uncertainty.

Minister Long said the PSNI would be unable to maintain officer numbers at the current 7,100 under the draft allocation proposals, never mind increasing them to the 7,500 pledged in the New Decade, New Approach agreement.

“The draft budget for 2022 to 2025 includes £14.8 million per annum to the PSNI for police staffing,” she said.

“This allocation can only be used for that specific purpose, which is insufficient to maintain police officer numbers at approximately 7,100.

“Also, further progress towards achieving the New Decade, New Approach commitment of 7,500 officers will not be possible unless further funding is made available.

“In fact, with an allocation of only £14.8 million, this would reverse the uplift in headcount under way in 2021/22. Furthermore, the department could not achieve 2% cuts without impacting the PSNI budget, as the PSNI budget is around 67% of the total departmental budget, excluding security funding.”

The minister said she would not be prepared to back the draft budget unless “significant changes” were made to it.