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03
Jun
North Yorkshire court delays second worst in country, says law body
North Yorkshire has the second worst record for crown court delays, according to the professional body which represents solicitors.
Analysis by The Law Society of England and Wales found that on average it takes 29.4 months for cases in the region to be completed.
Only West Mercia, where cases take 34.7 months on average, had longer delays than North Yorkshire.
The society said people living in different parts of England and Wales face dramatically different waiting times for justice.
Its research ranked the worst-performing areas based on rising backlogs and increasing times to process cases.
Society president Mark Evans said:
This data shows a clear postcode lottery in access to timely justice. Cases are piling up and taking much longer to resolve.
That has serious consequences for victims, witnesses and defendants who are left waiting years for resolution of their case. Without action to address both the backlog and the growing delays these disparities are likely to widen further, denying people access to justice. The UK government must invest in justice in a consistent and sustained way to the benefit of all.
Meanwhile, the society found that, across England and Wales, the total crown court backlog had surged by 86% from 43,114 in quarter four of 2016 to 80,203 cases in the same quarter of 2025.
South East London topped the list of areas with the most open cases, with 5,556 cases in the final quarter of 2025 compared with 2,400 at the same time in 2016 — a 132% increase.
The Law Society said growing pressures on the justice system required urgent investment by government to ensure it works better for all.
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