Closed petition Increase Legal Aid funding to help clear the backlog of criminal cases

Closed on 21 January 2023

We worry that the UK Criminal Justice system is crumbling. Because of low pay and a lack of a funding into the Legal Aid budget, barristers began a strike in June, with no ‘set end date’ in sight.

Crown court cases are likely to postponed, delaying the trial process for both victims and defendants alike.
There are 58,271 cases waiting to be heard in UK crown courts, which is almost double what it was in 2019. This is not acceptable; potentially innocent defendants and victims have their cases postponed; often waiting years for a sexual offence trial. The stress of this delay can cause victims to withdraw from the legal process, which they had to enter through no fault of their own. These strikes will only make this worse. We need the government to do more to help clear the backlog of cases.