Criminal case backlog down 30% in 2022: SCTS
The backlog of criminal cases in the Scottish courts caused by the Covid-19 pandemic reduced by 30% in 2022, Scottish Courts & Tribunals Service said as it published the monthly workbook showing the throughput of criminal cases during December.
Figures for the month itself were below the monthly average due to the festive holiday period, the overall level of cases concluded standing at 80% of the average pre-COVID level, but SCTS said it remained on track to clear the summary criminal court backlogs by March 2024 as planned.
Additional resources are being deployed to tackle the continuing growth in solemn business, for which the backlogs are projected to be cleared for the High Court by March 2025 and for sheriff solemn cases by March 2026.
SCTS has also revised the figures issued for November 2022, which contained a number of errors in the figures for the High Court.