What are Blitz courts?

The Law Show

This episode of The Law Show examines the UK government's expansion of blitz courts across England and Wales as a strategy to combat severe criminal court backlogs. Correspondent Adina Campbell reports from multiple

Key takeaways

• Blitz courts fast-track cases by grouping similar matters (pleas, sentences) together, with some judges hearing over ten hearings in a single five-hour session
• Justice Secretary David Lammy warns that without reforms, the Crown Court backlog could exceed 200,000 by 2035, currently standing at over 80,000

Main topics

• Blitz courts and fast-track hearings
• Criminal court backlogs and Ministry of Justice reforms

Notable quotes

"There aren't enough of them in place. We need some more."

Conclusion

The episode underscores that while blitz courts and legislative tweaks offer

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:00) This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Speaker 1 (0:05) The Signal Awards just announced finalists for the best podcasts of 2026. Now it's your turn. From September 29th to October 15th, you decide your favorite shows, hosts, and more in the Listener's Choice Awards. Visit vote.signalaward.com to see finalists in categories like Most Innovative Audio Experience. Make your picks at vote.signalaward.com and tell a friend. Don't wait. Speaker 5 (0:36) Thank you for listening to this edition of The Law Show, the podcast that helps you understand the law. In this week's podcast, we're looking at the expansion of blitz courts across England and Wales. A number of courts are now holding regular blitz hearings where multiple criminal cases are heard across a single day. I'll be speaking to our correspondent who has spent time at several of these courts since April. But will it help ease the court delays crisis in England and Wales? Also in the programme, how the government is addressing the myth of common law marriage with a new consultation on Speaker 4 (1:16) cohabitation rights. But Speaker 5 (1:18) first, we're returning to the ongoing problem of criminal court delays in England and Wales. You might remember there was an independent review of criminal courts carried out last year by Sir Brian Leveson to try and speed things up and reduce the backlog. Some of his recommendations are now being implemented, including the rollout of so-called blitz courts. So far, the Ministry of Justice says they're in operation across several regions of England and Wales. And there's one held at the Old Bailey, which hears cases when emergency workers have been assaulted. Riel Carmi-Jones, King's Council, Chair of the Criminal Bar Association, will be giving me her view on these courts. But first, let's get a picture of what they're actually like with our correspondent, Adina Campbell, who has visited several of them this year. Adina, first of all, what are blitz courts and how are they different from just regular Speaker 3 (2:15) criminal courts? Speaker 5 (2:16) Well, Speaker 3 (2:16) Joelle, they've been designed to kind of fast track. cases in the British legal system. So for example, in one day when a judge may normally hear just one case, a blitz court session could involve that judge hearing many more than that. And lots of work will have been done beforehand to run an effective day of blitz hearings. And the main purpose, as you say, of using this type of system is to try to clear the backlog of cases we're seeing in many courts up and down the country. So are they judge only or can they involve juries? They can be both. It very much depends on the nature and complexity of the case, as well as where that case is in the overall court process. So, for example, if a case is in the early stages, there will be a plea in case management hearings. So a defendant will give a guilty or not guilty. plea to those alleged offence or offences. Now plea hearings are normally short. Quite often in my experience of court reporting they're wrapped up in less than 15 minutes as the court will record the plea then set a date for future trials or even a trial date there and then. Plea hearings are scheduled a lot in blitz courts because you can get through so many in just one day. But if we jump to the end of a case, blitz courts are used regularly for sentence hearings as well. That's why it makes sense for cases of a similar nature to be grouped together. So when a judge is making a decision about a person's sentence, he or she will be following similar sentencing guidelines. However, in my experience of covering blitz courts, I've also heard the early stages of a trial involving juries. Providing the case can be resolved over a shorter time period when the judge, key witnesses and jury members are all available. So it can work in both ways. The idea of blitz courts isn't new, though, is it? No, blitz courts have been used for many years. But these fast track hearings have recently become known under this term blitz as part of a government rebrand, if you like. when the Justice Secretary, David Lammy, announced new legislation to tackle the backlog in Crown courts. The concept is not a new idea. Blitz hearings are sometimes used to speed up cases in exceptional circumstances. For example, back in 2011, when we saw the summer riots in England, there were large numbers of public disorder hearings. And more recently, the widespread riots after the murder of three girls in 2024. Adina, you've been to Speaker 5 (4:59) many of these. So what does a typical day look like at Blitzcourt? Yes, Speaker 3 (5:05) I've been to Blitz hearings in Nottingham, Liverpool and in East London. And they're really interesting to cover because you don't quite know. how the day will unfold. Normally, you may only have access to the court listing the day before or on the morning. So it feels like a much shorter notice period compared with when I cover, for example, a six-week murder trial, and I know what to expect then. But for me, it's the variety, it's the volume of cases which keeps me on my toes as someone who's been court reporting for many years. In Nottingham, in one day over five hours... I sat in on 10 sentence hearings and almost half of those cases were sex offences, so the outcomes were similar. It's almost like a revolving door, seeing defendants in the dock, listening to a summary of the case, the sentence itself, and then hearing the judges' sentencing remarks. The hearings were quick. yet detailed enough to see justice being served. And of course, you never quite know who will be in court. I saw family and friends of the defendants who, in some cases, found it quite hard to conceal how they were feeling. Now, in Liverpool and Nottingham, my days there involved a mixture of plea hearings, early stages of a trial, sentences, some of which happened in person and remotely from prisons. And the cases, as I said, they were really varied from offences such as allegations of controlling and coercive behaviour. attempted rape, possession of offensive weapons and making threats to kill. The timings of the day always stay the same, starting around 10am and finishing by 5pm at the latest. Speaker 5 (6:50) So what about the people involved in Betzcourt? So what have defendants, victims, barristers told you about their Speaker 3 (6:57) experiences? Some defendants I had a chat with said they really valued how fast their cases would be heard in these courts and appreciated not having to wait as long to know the outcome of what their case would