The backlog of trials at Swindon Crown Court has begun to fall, data shows.

There were 230 outstanding cases at the Islington Street court at the end of the first quarter of 2022.

This is down from its post-pandemic peak of 255 in Q4 of 2021.

The number of disposals, that is completed trials or cases otherwise thrown or transferred out, remained broadly the same as the previous quarter, whilst the number of receipts, that is cases sent to the court, reduced from 158 to 123.

But, save for the end of 2021, the backlog in Swindon is still at its highest level since summer 2016.

In other nearby courts, the backlog at Salisbury is 86 cases, down massively compared to three months ago, is 844 in Bristol, down slightly, and is also down slightly at Winchester, to 212.

However, it is thought this will rise again – with national monthly data released on Thursday showing the backlog in June was at its highest level since September 2021 and had increased in recent months.

It is expected to grow when the effects of strike action by barristers is felt.

Criminal barristers across the country are striking in protest over pay and working conditions, with many junior barristers earning less than the minimum wage.

Currently, strike action is taken every other week, although that could become every week following the results of a new ballot by the Criminal Bar Association.

Speaking in May, the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett, said the cause of the Crown Court backlog was “complicated and multifaceted”.

England and Wales’s most senior judge said crown courts are “struggling” to find enough judges and lawyers.

These were the two “greatest constraints”, Lord Burnett said.

Speaking to the Lords Constitution Committee, he said: “Just put very straightforwardly more and more cases are not going ahead, because either the prosecution or the defence have not been able to find an advocate to deal with the case.”

He also warned the “dispute between the Government and the Bar” needed to be dealt with, otherwise “the numbers of criminal barristers and solicitors will continue to decline at a time when police numbers are going up.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “This reduction shows our decisive action to keep justice moving despite the unprecedented impact of the pandemic is working.

“We are determined to deliver swifter access to justice for victims and investing almost half-a-billion pounds to help improve waiting times and reduce the Crown Court backlog further.”