More than 300 trials did not go ahead on time in region's crown courts, figures show

Ministry of Justice figures showed around 327 trials out of 1,335 were classed as "ineffective" – meaning they had to be adjourned to a later date – last year.

The Law Society said the high proportion of ineffective trials in England and Wales will cause delays for victims and warned underfunding was a "key cause".

Trials can be labelled as ineffective for a range of reasons, including barristers not being ready, witnesses being absent or overlisting – which means some cases will only be heard if court time becomes available.

Figures for Wolverhampton Crown Court showed 390 trials were listed in 2021, with 22 per cent – around 86 – being classed as ineffective. It marks the most since records began in 2010.

Meanwhile, at Stafford Crown Court, 149 were listed and around 10 were ineffective, an increase on the year before. And at Birmingham Crown Court, there were 796 trials and around 231 were ineffective and had to be adjourned – unchanged from the rate recorded the year before.

A further 32 per cent of trials at Birmingham Crown Court last year were cracked – when the Crown Prosecution Service drops the case or the defendant pleads guilty – and 39 per cent were effective meaning the trial went ahead as planned.

In Stafford, this was 33 per cent and 51 per cent – and in Wolverhampton this was 34 per cent and 44 per cent, Government figures show.

And of the 21,805 crown court trials across England and Wales last year, just 48 per cent were effective – the lowest proportion in a decade. Meanwhile, the proportion of ineffective trials rose to 23 per cent – the most since comparable records began in 2010.

I. Stephanie Boyce, President of the Law Society, said the coronavirus pandemic is one factor, but lack of capacity in the system is another.

She said: "Decades of underfunding and cuts mean there simply aren’t enough judges, prosecutors and defence lawyers left to cover the huge backlog of cases.

"Defence lawyers will continue to leave the profession in their droves, and we will no longer have a criminal justice system worthy of the name, unless the Government changes tack urgently."

She said swift investment is needed across the criminal justice system to get it back on its feet.

Jeffrey DeMarco, assistant director at Victim Support, said this suggests victims are facing a "postcode lottery" which needs urgently addressing.

He added: "We are seriously concerned that effective trials in England and Wales have reached these lows. These statistics, alongside long waits for trial and poor prosecution rates for some crimes, show that the justice system has serious room for improvement."

The MoJ said its almost half a billion investment in court recovery shows it is doing everything it can to deliver swifter access to justice.

A spokeswoman added: “While the unprecedented impact of the pandemic has led to large numbers of court staff and counsel falling ill or being forced to self-isolate, our decisive action has kept justice moving."