As many as SIXTY Nightingale Courts in England by April - but still no news on Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire is yet to get any details on a possible Nightingale Court that was was hinted 14 weeks ago.

A Government promise to create as many as 60 'pop-up courts' to handle England's backlog of cases has brought no news about if and when Northampton will get one.

In November 2020, Police and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold indicated to this newspaper that the county would be one of the next locations to open an emergency Nightingale Court.

However, in the 14 weeks since then, there have been no other details reported. In fact, in a report last month, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson could not commit to an answer when asked outright if Northamptonshire would ever see one.

Now, the Government has announced it aims to increase the number of pop-up courts in England to as many as 60 by the end of March.

Despite this, there is still no confirmation if Northamptonshire will get one.

When asked if Northampton would open one of the courts, an MOJ spokesperson could not confirm or deny it.

In a statement on February 17, the Government confirmed 14 venues including Machester Hilton Hotel and event spaces in London and Birmingham.

The announcement claimed there would be £113m of investment to recruit staff and update court rooms, along with £142m being spent to "speed up technological improvements".

It comes after a report by this newspaper in October 2020 saw the Law Society of England and Wales, which represents solicitors, say the Covid-19 pandemic had merely exacerbated a significant existing backlog, caused by "years of underfunding and cuts".

“Justice is being delayed for victims, witnesses and defendants, who have proceedings hanging over them for months, if not years, with some trials now being listed for 2022," said president Simon Davis.

At the end of June 2020, the number of outstanding cases being dealt with by the Northampton Crown Court was 501. A Freedom of Information request in underway to determine how many cases are currently on the books.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said its response to the pandemic had been "world-leading", and that the crown court backlog had started to reduce since June.