More than 460,000 cases were open across the Crown and magistrates’ courts in Q2 2026.
Court backlogs have reached record levels in England and Wales, with the Bar Council calling for urgent investment in the criminal justice system ahead of the October Budget.
Ministry of Justice figures for the second quarter of 2026 show 80,829 open cases in the Crown Courts, the highest point in the current series. The figure is 3% higher than the same quarter in 2025, when 78,226 cases were open.
The magistrates’ courts recorded a further 380,230 open cases, up 9% year-on-year from 347,365 and 2% from the previous quarter.
The number of cases that have remained open for at least a year has also reached a peak of 23,706. That represents a 22% increase on the previous year and a 5% increase on the previous quarter.
The median age of open cases has risen to 203 days, meaning complainants, defendants and witnesses are waiting longer for cases to progress.
The Bar Council said the figures provide further evidence against plans from the previous administration to restrict access to jury trials, arguing that moving more cases into magistrates’ courts could result in further delays.
The organisation has renewed its call for increased funding and measures to tackle inefficiencies. It noted that the government has lifted the annual cap on the number of days courts can sit and has announced specialist rape and sexual offence courts.
There are also examples of measures already being used to reduce delays. At Maidstone and Canterbury Crown Courts, increased sitting days and additional courtrooms have helped reduce outstanding cases. At Preston Crown Court, prioritising domestic abuse cases has reduced waiting times for listing by 16%.
Kirsty Brimelow KC, Chair of the Bar Council, said the scale of the backlog had developed through “decades of underinvestment” in the criminal justice system. She said recent additional funding and resources were welcome but remained below the level of a decade ago.
Brimelow also said measures already being used by judges and barristers, including expedited listing, were helping to reduce delays. She called for a long-term strategy for the criminal justice system rather than further measures that involve “cutting corners”.
The latest figures cover April to June 2026 and were published on 24 September 2026