Temporary new courts are being set up across the country in a bid to help clear the backlog of cases caused by the coronavirus pandemic
Ten courts are being established in England and Wales and will be open from next week.
One of the new ‘Nightingale’ temporary courts will be in Stevenage in north Herts at Hertfordshire Development Centre.
Like the others it will be able to hear civil, family and tribunals work as well as non-custodial crime cases.
Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said: ”The new ‘Nightingale Courts’ would help with “educing delays and delivering speedier justice for victims.”
It’s hoped the new courts will mean there will be more room in current courts for hearings where cells and secure dock facilities are needed,
Even before the lockdown it was estimated there were around 37,000 cases waiting to be heard in the crown courts and nearly 400,000 waiting for slots in magistrates’ courts.
