The government insists magistrates’ courts will be strong enough to handle the extra work that the Courts and Tribunals Bill will create - despite admitting that the struggle to retain qualified legal advisers could threaten capacity.

Prior to justice secretary Alex Norris’s partial U-turn on jury trial reform, the House of Commons justice select committee told the government that the magistrates’ court would not be able to cope with the volume of cases generated by curbs on jury trials. The backlog in the magistrates' court reached a record 370,222 between March and June this year.

The committee was unconvinced that the magistrates’ court would grow quickly enough. In 2005 there were 28,000 magistrates. In 2025, there were 15,000. The idea that the government can recruit 7,000 more magistrates by 2029 was ‘unrealistic’.

Responding to the committee’s report, the Ministry of Justice said it was on track to have 21,000 magistrates on the bench by 2028-29, with 655 magistrate appointments between April and June 2026, compared with 384 in 2025 and 215 in 2024.

The ministry said the Judicial Appointments Commission recently managed to recommend candidates for 50 immediate and 50 reserve spots, and the reserve list was even increased to 86.

Despite beating its target of recruiting 100 trainee legal advisers by eight, the ministry admitted that the retention of qualified legal advisers ‘remains a risk to increasing magistrates’ courts capacity’.

The ministry said it has doubled legal adviser allowances and created a new grade 7 senior legal adviser role to support career progression.

The committee does not appear to be fully assured. Committee chair Catherine Atkinson said: ‘Ministers must demonstrate in more detail how the proposal to expand capacity in the magistrates’ court is deliverable. We are seeing backlogs in the magistrates’ courts already rising even before reforms are implemented. A clear plan to ensure there is capacity to meet increased demand is vital.’

The committee is also concerned about the ‘lack of clarity’ in the government’s response on legal aid thresholds. Should more cases stay in the magistrates’ court, defendants facing prison who earn less than £37,500 could be priced out of free legal support.

The ministry said the government remains confident that the majority of defendants charged with either-way offences will be eligible for legal aid at the magistrates’ court and it is ‘currently considering’ the implications of the reforms on legal aid eligibility.