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<p>In the oral contribution by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice
to which he refers, the PUS refers to the ‘precious resource’ of High Court Judges.
As it states on judiciary.uk: ‘High Court judges can hear the most serious and sensitive
cases in the Crown Court (for example murder)’. Our impact assessment sets out the
Cart judicial review measure will save 172-180 judge days per year in the High Court
and Upper Tribunal. A High Court Judge, who would otherwise be devoting time to considering
Cart judicial review, may therefore instead devote that time to considering other
serious cases in the Crown Court.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to take action to tackle
the impact the pandemic has had on our criminal justice system, including Crown Court
backlog.</p><p> </p><p>The Judicial Review and Courts Bill provides the Crown Court
with increased flexibility to return certain cases to the magistrates’ court, helping
support court recovery by saving an estimated 400 Crown Court sitting days per year.</p><p>
</p><p>We have allocated over a quarter of a billion pounds on recovery in the last
financial year, making court buildings safe, rolling out new technology for remote
hearings, recruiting additional staff and opening Nightingale courtrooms, including
retaining 32 Nightingale Court rooms until the end of March 2022.</p><p> </p><p>The
Ministry of Justice’s Spending Review settlement provides £477 million to improve
waiting times for victims and to reduce Crown Court backlogs caused by the pandemic.</p>
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