Snaresbrook Crown Court (John Stillwell/PA).
(Picture: PA Archive)A barrister needed an umbrella during a court hearing because of a leaking roof, it has been revealed, amid a major call for proper funding of the justice system.
The Bar Council revealed details of the incident at Snaresbrook crown court, as well as highlighting a flea-infested Welsh court and another building in South East England where “sewage poured down the walls for months”.
“Some court buildings are so poorly maintained that they pose health and safety concerns”, said Bar Council chair Mark Fenhalls KC, saying the whole justice system has suffered “a decade of neglect”.
The body, which represents barristers practising in England and Wales, has now called on the government to provided sustained funding across the justice system, including in Legal Aid.
In its report, titled “Access denied: The state of the justice system in England and Wales in 2022”, the Bar Council notes there have been 239 court closures since 2010, leaving 65 per cent of Parliamentary constituencies without a working court.
“Tales of ‘sick courts’ – where the facilities are poorly maintained – abound among legal professionals”, reads the report.
“In one of the main London courts, a lawyer had to hold a hearing under an umbrella as the court roof was leaking.
“In a court in the south east of England, sewage poured down the walls for months. At one Welsh court, they had only just managed to cure the infestation of fleas when the roof fell in.”
At a workshop of lawyers to gather information, one commented: “It’s awful not having even basic facilities.”
“When there is clearly no money in the system for the most basic maintenance of court buildings, or provision for hot drinks or hygienic facilities for court users, confidence in the administration of justice within those buildings understandably declines”, continued the report.
It goes on to highlight the struggles some face getting to courts miles away from their homes after the programme of closures.
“Many now observe that the cost and time involved in travel is a serious obstacle to people accessing justice”, it said.
“One barrister told of a litigant who walked for two days to get to court for a family proceeding. Others described how people had to take three or four buses, sometimes with their children, often involving long waits in the dark, and taking three or more hours.”
Criminal barristers went on strike this summer in a dispute with the government over Legal Aid rates, and solicitors are now considering similar industrial action.
The Bar Council lamented the “profound” ramifications of cuts to justice, leaving “a workforce that is tired, cynical and increasingly looking for other sources of employment”.
Referencing attacks on lawyers by Conservative politicians, it added: “It has felt in recent months as though the passive starving by the Government of the justice system through lack of finance has changed in tone to active hostility, which is a source of grievance to those currently working overtime to prop up the crumbling system.
“The solution is clear: long-term planning and resourcing of a system that is equipped to provide the legal redress to which people are entitled.”
