Efforts to deliver speedier justice have been stepped up today (17 February 2021) with the announcement of 14 more temporary courtrooms and a first ‘super courtroom’ to hear large, complex cases
Manchester Hilton hotel, and event spaces in London and Birmingham are among the next 14 venues to be confirmed and will be transformed into so-called ‘Nightingale courts’ – helping to reduce delays and deliver speedier justice for victims while also providing a financial boost to the venues.
The sites will hear mostly non-custodial Crown Court cases, with the total number of Nightingale courtrooms set up across the country to enable more socially distanced trials increasing to 60 by the end of March 2021.
Ministers have also confirmed today that a ‘super courtroom’ will be created at Manchester Crown Court, Crown Square to deal with so-called ‘multi-hander’ cases, which typically require more space as they involve multiple defendants being tried together – such as gang murder trials.
The Lord Chancellor, Robert Buckland, said:
The move forms part of a £113m investment to alleviate pressures on courts and tribunals, including recruiting 1,600 extra staff, further technology, and on-site safety precautions such as plexiglass screens. This is on top of the £142m being spent to speed up technological improvements and modernise courtrooms. The impact of these measures is already being seen:
The decision to keep courts and tribunals open during the pandemic has had a tangible impact on people’s lives. Over 9,000 court orders were issued to protect children from female genital mutilation, forced marriage, and domestic abuse between April and September 2020.
Meanwhile, a major £40m investment announced last month will go towards specialist help for vulnerable victims – funding helplines and the recruitment of more counsellors. This comes as an extra £337m was confirmed in the recent Spending Review to deliver swifter justice and support victims in 2021/22, while £76m will further increase capacity in family courts and tribunals.
Caroline Bull, CEO of CCT Venues, London, said:
Dominic James, Venues Director, etc venues who operate Maple House, said:
Notes to Editors:
The confirmed Nightingale Court locations are:
Courts continue to prioritise cases of the utmost seriousness, where the safety of the public and individuals is a concern. This includes the judiciary prioritising hearings involving vulnerable victims and witnesses and urgent applications for matters such as domestic violence.
The ‘super courtroom’ to be created at Manchester Crown Court to deal with ‘multi-hander’ cases, will be a modification to the existing building at Crown Square.
We have invested £113m into a range of measures to boost recovery and ensure justice continues to be served: